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Holland & Barrett acquires femtech start-up Parla

The wellness retailer has announced the acquisition of Parla, as part of its strategy to extend its reach beyond retail

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Holland & Barrett has made public the acquisition of the femtech start-up Parla, aiming to offer personalised wellness solutions and services across a range of underserved healthcare topics.

Parla is the first-ever virtual support system to improve women’s mental wellness after pregnancy loss and beyond. It provides a safe space supporting ongoing informed conversation and scientific insights around women’s health and fertility experiences. 

Co-founded by Lina Chan with her husband Tyler Christie and Rose Acton in 2018, Parla’s mission is to break down the taboo surrounding women’s health issues and enable access to trusted and holistic support. 

The company offers holistic, personalised care for a range of challenges including endometriosis, PCOS and pregnancy loss. Through its online programmes, participants join cohort-based learning programmes, which help bring together women who may have been through similar experiences and connect them with experts in fertility, psychology, nutrition and wellbeing. 

“Our vision is to transform the wellness of 100m people by 2025, helping them achieve their personal wellness goals,” says Tamara Rajah, Holland & Barrett chief business and science officer. “This ambition takes us beyond our current retail business to offer a suite of different personalised diagnostics, services and solutions.  

Parla aims to tackle major underserved wellness needs that impact tens of millions of women around the world. What stood out for Holland & Barrett is their focus on making these taboo topics more socialised, and their novel cohort-based model to address mental wellness through conversation, community and expert support. Holland & Barrett has been offering women advice on menopause and women’s health for over 50 years, so this is a natural extension of our business.”

Lina Chan, founder of Parla, explains that: “Parla was inspired by my own experience with pregnancy loss and trouble conceiving. I always felt on the back foot.

“One in ten women in the UK currently suffer with endometriosis and PCOS, and one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage. I wanted to build something that helps women feel in control of their journey through these challenging experiences. Parla’s research found that cohort based learning is a particularly powerful support method when it comes to tackling taboo health areas as it combines access to expert coaching with peer support.

“We also offer at-home hormone testing, health quizzes and the opportunity to access personalised health insights,” Chan continues. “Our programmes are also supported by an app designed to help customers adopt the lifestyle interventions taught in each programme.”

Parla is officially launching the start of its next endometriosis programme by supporting the UK premiere of Below the Belt, a new US documentary about the injustices impacting women’s health. Directed by Shannon Cohn and Executive Produced by Hillary Clinton, the film reveals how millions of people with endometriosis are sidelined and silenced.

The screening in London on June 8 will be followed by a live panel discussion with some of the biggest names in UK medicine and media – Candice Brathwaite, Pippa Vosper, Dr Anita Mitra aka Gynae Geek, Dr Nighat Arif, Lina Chan from Parla and Shannon Cohn will be exploring how storytelling, femtech innovation and community can help break the silence and improve healthcare outcomes for all.

Menopause

Medichecks acquires My Menopause Centre to expand specialist hormone health services

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Digital diagnostics company Medichecks has acquired specialist menopause health platform and clinic My Menopause Centre.

The deal is part of Medichecks’ move into clinical services and follows its earlier purchase of Leger Clinic, creating what the company describes as a hormone health offering for women and men across the UK.

Medichecks and My Menopause Centre will combine digital services with clinical governance. The acquisition aims to enhance Medichecks’ ability to deliver integrated testing, diagnosis and ongoing clinical support.

The combined group plans to grow its specialist hormone health services, supporting patients across the UK with clinical care throughout different stages of their hormone health journey.

Helen Marsden, co-founder of Medichecks, said: “At Medichecks, our mission is to make healthcare more accessible, evidence-based and patient-centred.

“Helen and Clare have built an outstanding, clinically credible platform that is transforming menopause care for women across the UK.

“Medichecks now owns two CQC Outstanding-rated clinics, the only clinics in their respective sectors to achieve this rating, and we are deeply committed to delivering safe, compassionate and patient-centric care.

“We’re proud to continue the founders’ legacy while supporting the next stage of growth, ensuring more women can access high-quality menopause care when they need it most.”

The CQC, or Care Quality Commission, is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

The acquisition supports Medichecks’ plans to make hormone healthcare more accessible by delivering integrated testing, diagnosis and ongoing clinical support for patients across the UK.

Helen Normoyle, co-founder and chief executive of My Menopause Centre, said: “We set out to build something resilient, clinically credible and scalable, not just fast.

“Our mission has always been to make menopause care compassionate, accessible and grounded in evidence. Medichecks shares that vision.

“Their digital platform, commitment to clinical excellence and patient-centred care make them the ideal partner to take My Menopause Centre into its next chapter.

“This milestone reflects not only a strong product, but a remarkable team and community.

“I’m deeply proud of what we’ve built and excited to see My Menopause Centre grow further under Medichecks’ leadership.”

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Menopause

Menopause specialist Haver joins Midi Health

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Menopause specialist Dr Mary Claire Haver has been appointed as the first chief agewell officer at virtual care clinic Midi Health.

In the role, Dr Haver will work with Midi’s clinical team to develop the AgeWell platform, described as a proactive health model that integrates perimenopause and menopausal care with metabolic health, bone density, brain health and cardiovascular risk assessment.

The platform aims to provide preventative care targeting what the company describes as the primary drivers of female mortality and disability: heart disease, bone loss and cognitive decline.

Joanna Strober, chief executive and co-founder of Midi Health, said: “Longevity care has historically ignored women’s biology, especially during the critical windows of midlife and menopause.

“At Midi Health, we are committed to extending healthspan, not just lifespan, and making that care accessible to millions of women as a core pillar of their health.

“By collaborating with Dr Haver, we are ensuring women continue to have access to care designed for their bodies, their hormones, and their real lives.”

Dr Haver is board-certified in obstetrics and gynaecology, a Menopause Society certified practitioner, a certified culinary medicine specialist and an adjunct associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at The University of Texas Medical Branch.

After a career in academic medicine, Dr Haver founded The Pause Life, described as a science and education-based resource for women navigating perimenopause and the menopause transition.

Through her books, unPaused podcast and digital platform, she has provided education on midlife health.

Dr Mary Claire Haver said: “I have spent my career advocating for women to receive the science-backed, no-nonsense guidance they deserve.

“I chose to partner with Midi Health because they are the only platform with the scale and medical rigour to deliver the kind of care women deserve, regardless of their zip codes.

“Together, we are setting a new standard for proactive, preventative care that meaningfully extends both lifespan and healthspan for women.”

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Events

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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