Entrepreneur
Applications open for Propel’s final 2026 healthtech cohort

Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire has opened applications for its final 2026 healthtech cohort, offering innovators support to scale solutions for the NHS and wider healthcare system.
The accelerator is inviting healthtech innovators with ambitious solutions to join its last cohort of the year.
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire supports small and medium-sized businesses at start-up and scale-up stages as they develop, progress and scale healthcare innovations.
The fully funded programme is delivered by Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber in partnership with West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
It provides tailored business support, NHS engagement and access to a nationally recognised innovation network.
Successful applicants will join a six-month programme designed to accelerate commercial growth and NHS adoption.
Support includes business development, regulatory guidance, one-to-one mentoring, masterclasses and direct access to NHS organisations, investors and industry partners.
Regulatory guidance helps companies understand the rules they must follow before healthcare products can be safely adopted.
Dr Neville Young, director of enterprise and innovation at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, said: “It’s always incredibly exciting to open another round of applications for Propel.
“So far, we’ve seen outstanding examples of how this collaborative, innovation-led programme supports companies to start, scale and embed their products and solutions within our local healthcare system.
“As we launch our final cohort of 2026, we’re looking forward to welcoming another group of ambitious innovators who share our vision of improving health and care through innovation.
“The value we can offer participating SMEs continues to grow year on year, and we’re proud to deliver Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire alongside partners who help shape a programme that is truly world-leading in its ambition, quality and impact.”
The programme launched in November 2025 following £4.5m through the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Investment Zone, part of a wider £160m Investment Zone.
It aims to accelerate innovation, attract investment and strengthen the region’s health and life sciences sector.
Over four years, the programme plans to support hundreds of innovators, helping businesses grow in West Yorkshire while developing technologies intended to improve patient care, tackle healthcare challenges and create high-value jobs across the region.
The programme is delivered with a network of regional, national and international partners, giving innovators access to expertise, markets and organisations familiar with developing and scaling healthcare innovations.
Applications are open to early-stage innovators and organisations that can show evidence of NHS traction.
Applicants must already have a presence in West Yorkshire or be willing to establish one.
Each successful organisation will receive support tailored to its stage of development and growth ambitions, reflecting its individual commercial and clinical priorities.
Applications opened at 9am on Monday 20 July and close at 4pm on Friday 25 September.
Successful innovators are due to be notified on Friday 2 October, ahead of the cohort launch event on Thursday 15 October.
Programme offboarding is scheduled for March 2027.
Tim East, workstream lead for start-ups at Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire, said: “Every cohort brings together founders tackling some of healthcare’s biggest challenges with innovative ideas, technologies and solutions. What makes Propel unique is the breadth of expertise available to innovators, from NHS partners and academics to investors, experienced founders and international organisations.
“Whether you’re at the beginning of your commercial journey or preparing to scale, Propel is designed to give innovators the knowledge, connections and confidence needed to successfully navigate the healthcare system and accelerate growth.”
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, spoke in November 2025 during the launch of the £4.5m investment as part of the Local Growth Plan.
She said: “The first priority of our Local Growth Plan is to boost our region’s fastest growing business sectors, because we know that’s how we’re going to drive investment, create jobs and put more money in people’s pockets.”
She added: “This will help with access to finance, skills and workspace to bolster collaboration with hospitals and universities, boosting growth and helping us build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire.”
Propel Healthtech West Yorkshire says it is committed to building an inclusive innovation ecosystem and is encouraging applications from underrepresented founders, including female founders, innovators from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Entrepreneur
Zero Candida market set to reach over US$2 billion by 2030 – report

A market analysis made by Moore Financial Consulting estimates the global market for Zero Candida Technologies, Inc. (TSXV: ZCT) (OTCQB: ZCTFF) (FSE: 9L2) (the “Company” or “ZCT”), a FemTech medical device company advancing next-generation solutions for women’s health, will reach over USD 2 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.25 per cent globally and 3.9 per cent in North America and 4.2 per cent in Europe.
The analysis emphasis that up to 75 per cent of women will have at least one vaginal yeast infection in their life.
Moreover, recurrent VVC (Vulvovaginal Candidiasis) affects nearly 8 per cent of women globally (for women above the ages of 15-60).
According to the data, 100 per cent of women with Recurrent VVC will purchase a combination of over-the-counter and prescription antifungal treatments, usually with the common use of oral agents.
Compared to women with non-recurrent VCC, 55.2 per cent will purchase prescription antifungal treatment, 37 per cent over-the-counter antifungal, 5.6 per cent will purchase a combination of both treatments, and the rest will not purchase any treatment.
Eli Ben Haroosh, founder & CEO, Zero Candida Technologies, said: “Moore’s market analysis matches our estimations, Zero Candida is a groundbreaking and game-changing company in the world of women’s medicine, and we look forward to be one of the leading companies offering AI-driven, tampon-like device, helping women suffering from VVC .
Zero Candida announced recently that its shares are now successfully listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE).
This listing marks a significant milestone for the Company as it expands its global presence, now cross-listed on both the TSX Venture Exchange and the FSE, providing increased visibility and access to a broader pool of international investors.
News
What “women’s healthmaxxing” means for patient trust and the femtech industry

Women’s health has become one of the most searched and shared topics online, from cycle syncing and cortisol management to menopause hacks, supplements, hormone testing and clinician-creator content.
That surge in attention, sometimes dubbed “healthmaxxing,” is changing how women find, evaluate and act on health information, and it is starting to reshape the relationship between patients, clinicians and the companies building products for this market.
For providers, the shift means patients are arriving better informed but also more exposed to unverified claims, putting pressure on clinicians to engage with online narratives rather than dismiss them.
For femtech and pharma companies, it opens a route to reach and educate consumers at scale, but also raises the stakes on credibility: products and messaging that ride the trend without clinical grounding risk eroding the trust the industry has spent years building.
Investors are watching the same dynamic from a different angle.
Attention-driven demand can be a signal of where the next wave of femtech growth will come from, but distinguishing genuine clinical need from viral momentum is increasingly part of due diligence.
The net effect is a widening gap between companies that treat cultural attention as a distribution channel for credible, evidence-based care, and those that risk being swept up in trends with little clinical substance behind them.
How that gap plays out will shape patient trust, clinical relationships and commercial opportunity across the women’s health industry for years to come.
These themes will be explored in more depth in an upcoming webinar, “Women’s Healthmaxxing: The Opportunity & Risks of Cultural Attention for the Women’s Health Industry,” hosted by the Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS), featuring Ellen Wilcox (Listen Ventures), Jessica Bell van der Wal (Frame Fertility), Dr. Tosin Sotubo-Ajayi (NHS, BBC and more) and Nora Lansen (Elektra Health).
Register free for the webinar on 23 July 2026 at https://events.virtualpro.com/womens-health-series-webinar-july-2026/registration
Entrepreneur
Juno Bio secures US$3.8m for precision diagnostics

Juno Bio has secured US$3.8m to expand its diagnostics platform for vaginal health and reproductive care.
The funding round was led by Ada Ventures, with participation from Artesian, Entrepreneur First and Illumina Accelerator.
The women’s health startup said the seed funding will support the launch of its first CLIA-certified sequencing laboratory in Oakland, California, and a new clinical vaginal microbiome and STI test for healthcare providers.
CLIA certification refers to US laboratory standards for testing human samples used in diagnosis, prevention or treatment decisions.
Dr Leighton Turner, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Juno Bio, said: “The vaginal microbiome is still one of the least understood systems in the body at a clinical scale.
“With our lab, we’re starting to build a measurement standard that clinicians can actually use.
“We believe the level of detail from this kind of testing can meaningfully improve how vaginal healthcare is provided.”
The company is developing precision diagnostics for vaginal health, where patients can experience recurring symptoms, inconsistent diagnoses and treatments based on trial and error.
Juno Bio said bringing testing in-house gives it greater control over the process, from sample handling to results, while allowing it to refine its technology and build what it says is one of the largest datasets focused on the vaginal microbiome.
The vaginal microbiome is the community of bacteria and fungi that naturally live in the vagina. Changes in this balance can be linked to infections, symptoms and wider reproductive health issues.
Juno Bio’s newly launched clinical test examines the wider vaginal microbiome and screens for four common sexually transmitted infections, or STIs.
Rather than looking for a single cause, the test is intended to give clinicians a broader picture of what may be contributing to symptoms.
Juno Bio says this matters because multiple infections can occur at the same time and microbiome changes may be linked to fertility, menopause or recurrent infections.
Dr Anna Powell of Johns Hopkins said: “Vaginal microbiome testing has the potential to significantly reshape how we understand and manage vaginal health, particularly for patients with recurrent or unexplained symptoms.
“While the field is still evolving, advances in sequencing and data interpretation are moving us closer to a future where more personalised, microbiome-informed care can complement existing diagnostic approaches.”
Check Warner, co-founding partner at Ada Ventures, added: “Juno Bio is setting a new standard for how vaginal health is understood and managed.
“What they’ve built at this stage, with this level of capital efficiency, is exceptional.
“We’re proud to support the team as they scale their clinical infrastructure and continue leading innovation in this critically underserved category.”
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