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Women’s telehealth company WISP acquires TBD Health

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Women’s telehealth company Wisp has acquired TBD Health, a sexual health platform, in its first acquisition and expansion beyond direct-to-consumer care.

The deal adds TBD Health’s diagnostics infrastructure and hospital partnerships to Wisp’s platform, which the company says serves 1.8 million patients across the US.

Wisp, which describes itself as the largest women’s telehealth company in the US, said the acquisition marks a move into enterprise and hybrid care models that combine consumer-first digital care with hospital systems, enterprises and public health programmes.

TBD Health operates a sexual health and diagnostics platform across all 50 states, combining routine STI and HIV testing, virtual clinical support, and partnerships that help remove cost barriers for patients.

The company has established relationships with Mount Sinai Health System, San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Planned Parenthood Direct.

Monica Cepak, chief executive of Wisp, said: “This acquisition reflects where healthcare is going and where women have been left behind.

“TBD Health brings the infrastructure and partnerships that allow us to move into hybrid and enterprise care quickly, while staying true to Wisp’s patient-first approach.

“Together, we are making preventative care more accessible especially to women and integrating them into proven care models.”

The companies say gaps in access remain in sexual health and preventive care, particularly for women.

While women account for 19 per cent of new HIV diagnoses in the US, they remain underserved by existing prevention models, which have historically been designed and marketed for men.

Of the 2.4 million people eligible for PrEP, a medicine that reduces the risk of getting HIV, only around 25 per cent are currently enrolled.

Daphne Chen, co-founder of TBD Health, said: “By joining forces with Wisp, we can provide partners with a turnkey solution for PrEP along with sexual health diagnostics and care that integrates seamlessly into their existing workflows, ensuring no patient falls through the cracks.”

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Kindbody unveils next-gen fertility platform

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Kindbody has launched a fertility platform integrating AI with clinical care and patient support for employers and health plans.

The platform will enter a pilot with select Kindbody employer clients in 2026, covering over three million lives, ahead of wider availability in 2027.

Building on the company’s clinical model, the platform aims to improve outcomes and cost efficiency across family-building journeys. It connects Kindbody-owned clinics, partner clinics and an integrated clinical app.

The app offers virtual care across conception, pregnancy and reproductive health, extending through the menopause transition.

Launch features include updates in medication management, third-party reproduction, adoption, pregnancy, men’s health and global programme design.

David Stern, chief executive of Kindbody, said: “With our next-generation fertility platform, Kindbody is redefining what comprehensive, intelligent and affordable family-building care looks like for employers, health plans and patients.

“By unifying best-in-class clinical care, AI-driven intelligence and whole-person support, we are making it easier and more cost-effective for more people to build the families they envision.”

Kindbody has expanded access via its national network of IVF centres, including IVIRMA, Inception Fertility and Ivy Fertility.

A new Fertility Medication Portal is designed to streamline authorisations so medicines can be dispensed on time, giving patients visibility from prescription to coverage, pharmacy fulfilment and delivery tracking.

Through KindMan, men’s health education, digital resources and integrated clinical care are expanding, including hormone management programmes.

Services cover andropause (age-related testosterone decline), erectile dysfunction, low testosterone and other male reproductive conditions.

Specialist fertility care includes semen analysis, diagnostic testing, male hormone panels, genetic testing, surgical sperm extraction and sperm cryopreservation.

Launching in the second quarter, a pregnancy support app will act as a digital companion for expecting and new parents, with resources, interactive tools and clinical assessments to identify social drivers of health and mental health needs during pregnancy and beyond.

Kindbody’s physician-led menopause programme provides consultations with board-certified obstetricians and gynaecologists to diagnose, treat and manage menopausal symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy where appropriate, with support from nutritionists, mental health therapists and pelvic floor specialists.

AI and analytics will be embedded across the care journey. An AI care navigator will guide employees from benefit activation through intake, triage and scheduling.

Tools will track benefits and treatment plans, showing coverage and expected out-of-pocket costs at each step.

AI-supported scribing will assist clinicians with documentation, and a predictor tool will estimate a patient’s likelihood of having a baby across different treatment paths.

In 2027, Kindbody plans a savings model for eligible large employers that it says will guarantee lower total fertility spend while improving clinical efficiency and patient experience.

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Kate Ryder headlines Women’s Health Week USA 2026 as full agenda goes live

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Women’s Health Week USA 2026 has unveiled its first populated agenda, anchored by an opening keynote from Kate Ryder, Founder and CEO of Maven Clinic, and featuring a cross-sector lineup shaping the next phase of scale in women’s health.

You can view the full agenda here.

Taking place May 13–14, 2026, at the New York Academy of Medicine, Women’s Health Week USA brings together the full women’s health ecosystem to focus on one central question: what does it take to move women’s health from innovation to institutional scale?

Kate Ryder will open Day 1 with a keynote drawing on her experience building Maven Clinic into the world’s largest virtual clinic for women’s and family health.

Under her leadership, Maven has partnered with employers and health plans to deliver care across fertility, maternity, postpartum, paediatrics, and menopause at scale.

Her perspective sets the tone for a program centered on commercialisation, partnership, and sustainable growth.

Beyond the opening keynote, the newly released agenda reflects the sector’s growing maturity.

Across two days, the program features 70+ speakers, with representation from leading organizations including the FDA, Planned Parenthood, CVS Health Ventures, Samsung Next, NIH, WHO, and Maven Clinic.

Sessions span investment and deal flow, clinical innovation, regulation, data and technology, and market expansion, alongside dedicated pitch sessions and curated 1:1 matchmaking designed to turn insight into action.

The agenda has been built to facilitate meaningful connections across the ecosystem, with partnerships positioned as the primary driver of scale.

As women’s health continues to attract institutional capital and global attention, Women’s Health Week USA 2026 offers a clear snapshot of where the market is heading, and who is shaping it.

The full agenda is now live, with additional speakers and partners to be announced in the coming months.

View the full programme here.

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Merck partners on intravaginal drug delivery device

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Calla Lily Clinical Care has partnered with Merck to support the intravaginal drug delivery platform Callavid in an effort to improve how vaginal medicines are given.

The collaboration will continue development of Callavid, described as a leak-resistant device that addresses challenges with self-administered vaginal therapies.

Callavid uses a small, tampon-shaped device with an integrated absorbent liner. It is inserted, remains in place during drug absorption, then is removed.

The platform is intended for use with medicines in fertility treatment, oncology and hormone therapy. Administration via the vaginal route can prompt patient anxiety about positioning, dosing accuracy and leakage.

The partnership is the first industry collaboration for the Callavid technology, which was developed by Calla Lily Clinical Care.

Thang Vo-Ta, co-founder and chief executive of Calla Lily Clinical Care, said: “This collaboration with Merck marks an important milestone in the development of Callavid, our novel vaginal drug delivery platform.

“Merck’s scientific heritage and forward-looking approach to innovation make them an ideal partner as we work to address long-standing unmet needs in women’s health.

“By improving how vaginal therapeutics are delivered and experienced, Callavid has the potential to enhance both patient outcomes and quality of life.

“We see this collaboration as a meaningful step towards translating our technology into real-world clinical and patient impact.”

Calla Lily Clinical Care is seeking to develop what it describes as the world’s first drug-device combination product to prevent threatened miscarriage and for IVF luteal phase support, the phase after ovulation when the body produces progesterone to support early pregnancy.

The device is also being developed to deliver therapeutics for oncology, menopause, infectious diseases and live biotherapeutics to reduce repeated antibiotic use.

Dr Lara Zibners, co-founder and chairman of Calla Lily Clinical Care, said: “Our initial engagement with Merck through the Merck Innovation Challenge in October 2024 was an important moment of alignment around the need for more patient-centric innovation in women’s health.

“As both a clinician and a patient, I have seen how profoundly drug delivery can shape treatment experience.

“This collaboration builds on that early dialogue and reflects a shared interest in rigorously exploring new approaches that may improve how therapies are delivered and experienced by patients.”

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