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Merck launces MENA femtech accelerator

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Merck has launched a MENA femtech accelerator with Qatar Science & Technology Park to back startups improving women’s health.

The QSTP x Merck FemTech Accelerator aims to identify and support up to 30 startups developing solutions across women’s health, with a focus on innovations powered by artificial intelligence, robotics and materials science.

Selected companies will receive scaling support, market entry pathways and pilot opportunities to support commercial expansion into Qatar and the wider region.

Ahmed Aboelfadl, general manager for the Gulf at Merck, said: “Women’s health remains one of the most under-addressed areas in healthcare innovation globally.

“Through this partnership with QSTP, Merck is proud to support the growth of FemTech companies developing science- and technology-led solutions that can meaningfully improve health outcomes for women.

“By combining global scientific expertise with regional collaboration, this initiative will help accelerate innovation, enable real-world impact, and strengthen the ecosystem for women’s health across Qatar and the wider MENA region.”

The programme will feature a two-week immersion in Doha, where founders will engage with clinicians, regulators, investors and innovation leaders.

Rama Chakaki, president of QSTP, said: “At QSTP, we believe that meaningful innovation is inclusive.

“This accelerator is designed to support high-potential startups and generate measurable, scalable impact on women’s health across multiple markets.

“Leveraging Qatar’s growing innovation ecosystem alongside Merck’s global scientific leadership, we are creating pathways for FemTech solutions to be piloted, validated and adopted at regional and global scale.”

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Future Fertility raises Series A financing to scale AI tools redefining fertility care worldwide

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Future Fertility Inc. has announced the closing of a US$4.1 million Series A financing round.

The round was led by M Ventures (the corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) and Whitecap Venture Partners, with participation from new investors Sandpiper Ventures, Gaingels, and Jolt VC.

The financing will accelerate Future Fertility’s commercial expansion into Asia-Pacific and support its entry into the United States, including planned FDA 510(k) clearance for additional products as part of a broader U.S. market entry strategy.

Proceeds will also advance the development of a broader AI platform, from egg assessment through to embryo transfer, designed to support clinicians, embryologists, and patients across the full IVF journey.

M Ventures and Whitecap have supported Future Fertility’s mission to translate AI innovation into meaningful clinical outcomes since the company’s earliest stages.

Oliver Hardick, investment director, M Ventures, said: “Future Fertility is addressing a critical unmet need in reproductive medicine with a differentiated AI platform grounded in clinical data and real-world workflow integration.

“We are excited to continue supporting the company and team because we believe its technology has the potential to improve decision-making for clinicians, bring greater clarity to patients, and help advance a more personalised standard of care in fertility treatment.”

Future Fertility’s AI platform addresses a long-standing gap in fertility care: historically, there has been no objective, clinically validated method for assessing egg quality (Gardner et al., 2025), despite it being one of the most important drivers of reproductive success.

The company’s suite of deep learning tools includes VIOLET™, MAGENTA™, and ROSE™, purpose-built for egg freezing, IVF, and egg donation respectively.

The tools are based on AI models trained and validated on more than 650,000 oocyte images and are deployed in over 300 clinics across 35 countries.

Rhiannon Davies, founding and managing partner, Sandpiper Ventures, said:  “The best outcomes in fertility care globally come from better data and smarter tools. Future Fertility understands that, and they’ve built a platform that delivers on it.

“Sandpiper is proud to back a team turning rigorous science into real results for patients and clinicians alike.”

Partnerships with the world’s leading fertility networks – including IVI RMA and Eugin Group across Latin America and Europe, FertGroup Medicina Reproductiva in Brazil, and most recently announced Kato Ladies Clinic in Japan –  reflect growing demand for objective, AI-powered oocyte assessment in fertility care. In the United States, ROSE™ is newly available under an FDA 513(g) determination.

Research shows that approximately 50 per cent of IVF patients do not understand their likelihood of success, and many discontinue treatment prematurely, even though cumulative success rates improve significantly with multiple cycles (McMahon et al., 2024).

By delivering earlier clarity on egg quality, Future Fertility’s tools support more informed conversations between clinicians and patients, helping set realistic expectations and guide decisions about next steps.

Future Fertility’s growing evidence base spans seven peer-reviewed publications in Human Reproduction, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Fertility & Sterility, and Nature’s Scientific Reports, and more than 70 scientific abstracts accepted and presented with partner clinics at conferences worldwide.

Christine Prada, CEO, Future Fertility, said: “Fertility treatment is one of the most emotionally and physically demanding experiences a person can go through.

“Every patient deserves objective data, not just a best guess, to support better decisions at critical moments in their care.

“This funding means we can bring that clarity to more patients, in more countries, at a moment when it matters most.”

Find out more about Future Fertility at futurefertility.com

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Women’s HealthX confirms exceptional speaker line-up to advance fertility and reproductive care

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By Women’s HealthX

Women’s HealthX has confirmed an outstanding cohort of fertility and reproductive care leaders for its upcoming event, bringing together the senior clinicians, medical directors, and innovators shaping evidence-based practice across hospitals and healthcare systems globally.

Timed to coincide with Infertility Awareness Week, this announcement underscores the event’s commitment to accelerating the adoption of evidence-based innovations in fertility and reproductive medicine.

Find out more about Women’s HealthX

Headline Speaker

Fireside Chat: The Invisible Disease: What Endometriosis Reveals About the Future of Women’s Health

Padma Lakshmi, Co-Founder, Endometriosis Foundation of America

Confirmed Speakers from World-Leading Institutions and confirmed sessions

Training the Next Generation of Fertility HCPs

Alan Penzias, Director, Fellowship Program in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Shaping the Future of Fertility Care

Lynn Mason, Chief Executive Officer — North America, IVIRMA Global

Ovarian Aging and Reproductive Potential: What Truly Matters

Mark Trolice, Founder & Medical Director, The IVF Center

The Patient Journey Through Fertility Care: Improving Experience & Outcomes

Adam Balen, Chief Medical Officer / Professor of Reproductive Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Designing Women’s Health Around The Whole Woman: A Life-Course Model for Sustainable Outcomes

Malissa Wood, Chief Medical Officer, Women as One

Prolong Fertility Preservation by Highlighting Ovarian Insufficiency Through Genetic Variant Data Analysis

Julie Rios, Division Director, Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, UPMC

View all speakers confirmed

What Attendees Will Take Away

How to improve the fertility patient journey and outcomes

  • Ways to detect ovarian aging earlier using genetic insights
  • Strategies to deliver care across the full female life course
  • Approaches to training the next generation of fertility specialists

Women’s HealthX spans seven dedicated stages covering the full lifecycle of women’s health — from fertility and sexual health to maternity and menopause — providing attendees with actionable insights from frontline leaders across hospitals and healthcare systems.

With Chief Medical Officers and senior clinical leaders in attendance, the programme moves beyond discussion into delivery, giving attendees direct access to the latest clinical evidence, emerging digital tools, and real-world outcomes data to support integrated, high-quality care.

REGISTER NOW FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE

Complimentary passes are available for qualified healthcare professionals.

Attendees who register by 15 May will gain full access to all seven stages and a chance to receive a complimentary therapeutic massage at Encore Boston.

Register your complimentary place

For speaking opportunities, partnership enquiries, or further information, please contact the team directly at info@alpahevents.com

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Women’s Health Week USA confirms full speaker lineup and records 170 pitch applications

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By Women’s Health Week

With four weeks to go until Women’s Health Week USA, the excitement is ramping up!

The final early bird pricing closes this Friday, the full speaker lineup is confirmed, and a record number of pitch applications signals the depth of innovation now moving through the sector as we enter the Era of Scale.

Women’s Health Week USA takes place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, bringing together 600+ senior decision makers spanning investors, founders, multinationals, payers, providers and policymakers around one shared agenda: taking women’s health from growth to scale.

Early bird tickets are available until midnight on Friday, April 17.

Book by then to save up to $600 on your place

The Full Speaker Lineup is Confirmed

The full speaker lineup has finally been confirmed, with 80+ voices spanning investment, innovation, policy, medtech and pharma.

The programme reflects the event’s 2026 theme, The Era of Scale, moving beyond early validation into the harder work of institutionalising women’s health as a category.

Confirmed speakers include Kate Ryder (Maven Clinic), Mallika Mundkur (FDA), Melanie Newman (Planned Parenthood), Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Jill Angelo (OURA), David Stern (Kindbody) and Tammy Sun (Carrot Fertility), alongside representation from the NYSE, ARPA-H, the World Health Organization, Samsung Next, Novo Holdings and more.

View the full speaker lineup

170 Pitch Applications and Counting

The Women’s Health Week USA Innovation Showcase received a record 170 applications ahead of its April 10 close, the highest number in the event’s history.

The volume reflects the growing depth of innovation in the sector, but it was the quality of submissions that stood out, with companies across Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech bringing genuinely differentiated solutions to conditions that have been underserved for decades.

The selected companies will get the chance to pitch on the mainstage at the New York Academy of Medicine in front of the full audience of 600+ investors, corporates, innovators and strategic partners.

Results will be announced next week.

Register your interest to find out who makes the WHW USA Innovator Class of 2026

NYSE Partnership: A Quick Recap

For those who missed our announcement on Femtech World last week, the New York Stock Exchange is the Official Exchange Partner of Women’s Health Week USA 2026.

On the morning of May 13, WHW will feature in the NYSE Market Update, reaching approximately 200 million viewers.

Women’s Health Week will also light up the North Star Billboard in Times Square for a full week around the event, with live and taped interviews distributed across NYSE Live and Taking Stock.

It remains one of the most significant institutional endorsements the women’s health sector has seen.

Early Bird Pricing Closes This Friday

Tickets increase by up to $600 after midnight on Friday, April 17. For anyone with May 13-14 in their calendar, this week is the window to move.

Download the full programme

Register before Friday

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