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Round up: First wearable detects symptoms of perimenopause, and more
Femtech World explores the latest business developments in the world of women’s health.
First wearable detects and decodes the symptoms of perimenopause
AI-driven women’s health company, IdentifyHer, has launched Peri, the world’s first wearable designed to detect and decode symptoms of perimenopause.
“75 per cent of perimenopausal women experience life-disrupting symptoms, yet perimenopause is treated like a mystery or an inevitability that women simply have to power through,” said Heidi Davis, co-founder of IdentifyHer.
“We reject this. Women deserve real data, validation, and support during this profoundly overlooked stage of life
“With Peri, we are pioneering a new era of women’s healthcare; one where women are in control of their health and equipped to manage the symptoms that shape how we feel – physically, mentally and emotionally.”
For most women perimenopause begins in the early to mid-40’s and brings wide-ranging symptoms that are often dismissed by healthcare providers.
Using biosensing technology and AI-driven analytics, Peri is a wearable device that passively tracks physiological signals to identify perimenopause symptoms and delivers personalised insights.
It helps women address perimenopausal challenges like anxiety, hot flashes, sleep disruption, nights sweats and more – issues that could have long-term health implications.
The device profiles these symptoms across the menstrual cycle, examining their interrelationships, and tracking changes over time.
“Heidi and I first launched IdentifyHer with the mission to support women’s long-term health, and immediately recognised that to do this, we need to address the gap in perimenopause symptom data,” said Donal O’Gorman, COO and co-founder of IdentifyHer.
“Our goal with Peri is to demystify perimenopause, but more importantly, to empower and reassure women they are not alone in what they’re feeling and it is possible to take proactive action towards their health.”
Emm raises £6.8m to launch world’s first smart menstrual solution
UK-based biowearable tech company, Emm, has raised £6.8m in an oversubscribed seed funding round, to bring the world’s first smart menstrual cup and connected app to market.
Creating a new category of “smart menstrual care”, Emm will equip users to understand their individual menstrual baseline and track key metrics for personalised insights into their menstrual health.
The funding will support Emm in bringing the product to market and accelerating the pathway to further clinical product development, as the business moves to transform the research, diagnosis and treatment of reproductive and menstrual health conditions.
Results published on potential endometriosis treatment
Biotech company Hope Medicine has announced that the results of a proof-of-concept Phase II clinical trial evaluating HMI-115 (a human monoclonal antibody targeting the prolactin receptor) for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain have been published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health.
The research, carried out in collaboration with Peking University, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shandong University, and other institutions, aimed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of HMI-115 in premenopausal women with moderate to severe endometriosis-related pain.
Results showed that at the end of the 12-week treatment period, dysmenorrhea NRS scores decreased by 41 per cent, 34 per cent, and 27 per cent in the 240 mg, 120 mg, and 60 mg HMI-115 groups, respectively, compared to the 18 per cent reduction in the placebo group.
Non-menstrual pelvic pain NRS scores also decreased across all HMI-115 dosage groups, with sustained efficacy observed at Week 25.
The company says that percentage reductions of dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic pain in the 240 mg group was statistically significant compared to placebo.
Additionally, HMI-115 groups showed improvements in the Endometriosis Daily Impact Pain (EDIP) scores and reduced use of NSAID rescue medications.
In terms of safety, the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was 56 per cent, 59 per cent, 75 per cent, and 37 per cent in the 60 mg, 120 mg, 240 mg HMI-115 groups, and placebo group, respectively.
The most common adverse events included injection site itching and rash, dizziness, nausea, nasopharyngitis, and headaches.
No treatment-related deaths or serious adverse events were reported. Unlike existing hormonal therapies, HMI-115 did not cause hypoestrogenic side effects such as hot flashes or depression, and bone mineral density and key sex hormone levels remained stable during treatment.
This study is the first to clinically validate the potential of blocking prolactin receptor signaling to alleviate endometriosis-related pain.
Its non-hormonal mechanism of action avoids interference with ovulation and menstrual cycles, offering a promising new option for patients with fertility intentions.
The research team stated that these findings provide a strong foundation for initiating longer-duration Phase III trials to further evaluate the clinical benefits and risks of HMI-115.
A month of milestones in breast imaging innovation
Koning Health has said that October marked a substantial month for Koning in its mission to expand access to non-compression breast imaging.
The last several weeks saw the continued expansion of Koning’s technology to new and diverse settings across the country, including the official launch of Gnosis Dx, which introduced a mobile breast imaging and diagnostics platform powered by the Koning Vera Breast CT (KBCT) on the West Coast.
Designed to travel directly into communities, the Gnosis trailer is meant to reduce barriers to early detection and address disparities in access in the state of California.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Pink Medical celebrated its grand opening this month with a ribbon-cutting event led by fashion icon Nicole Miller. This New York City location aims to redefine the breast imaging scene in the Big Apple.
Koning’s installation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami brought the Vera system to one of Florida’s most respected medical institutions.
The device will be used both clinically and for research, advancing the understanding of breast CT’s role in precision detection and patient-centered imaging.
Koning continues to expand its international reach as the only breast CT manufacturing company that has received global critical regulatory and quality achievements including Koning’s 3D breast imaging system remains the only FDA-approved breast CT device commercially available for diagnostic use in the US.
The company is also seeing progress advancing in Australia (TGA) and through Europe’s GMED for CE Mark.
Resistance training improves hip strength, balance and flexibility during menopause and may also improve lean body mass, research suggests.
A study of 72 active women aged 46 to 57 found those who completed a 12-week supervised programme saw greater gains than those who kept to their usual exercise routines.
None of the participants were taking hormone replacement therapy.
The supervised, low-impact resistance exercise programme focused on strength at the hip and shoulder, dynamic balance and flexibility.
Participants used Pvolve equipment, including resistance bands and weights around the hips, wrists and ankles, and also lifted dumbbells of varying loads.
Women in the resistance training group showed a 19 per cent increase in hip function and lower-body strength, a 21 per cent increase in full-body flexibility and a 10 per cent increase in dynamic balance, meaning the ability to stay stable while moving.
Those in the usual activity group did not show any significant improvements.
Previous studies have assessed the decline in lower limb strength and flexibility during menopause, but this is said to be the first study to compare the effect of resistance training on muscle strength and mass before, during and after menopause.
This was done by including participants in different phases of menopause rather than following the same participants over a long timeframe.
Francis Stephens, a researcher at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK, said: “These results are important because women appear to be more susceptible to loss of leg strength as they age, particularly after menopause, which can lead to increased risk of falls and hip fractures.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that a low-impact bodyweight and resistance band exercise training programme with a focus on the lower limbs, can increase hip strength, balance, and flexibility.
“Importantly, these improvements were the same in peri- and post-menopausal females when compared to pre-menopausal females, suggesting that changes associated with menopause do not mitigate the benefits of exercise.”
Although one of the researchers sits on Pvolve’s clinical advisory board, the researchers said the company did not sponsor the study or influence its results.
Stephens added that any progressive resistance exercise training focused on lower-body strength is likely to yield the same results.
He said: “The important point is for an individual to find a type of exercise, modality, location, time of day etc., that is enjoyable, sustainable, and improves everyday life.
“The participants in the present study reported an improvement in ‘enjoyment of exercise,’ and some are still using the programme since the study finished.”
Kylie Larson, a women’s health and fitness coach and founder of Elemental Coaching, who was not involved in the study, said the results were compelling.
She said: “This is particularly exciting for those that tend to think of menopause as ‘the end’. The study proves that if you incorporate strength training you can still make improvements to your muscle mass and strength, which will also have a positive ripple effect to your ability to manage your body composition.
“In addition, staying flexible and being able to balance are both keys to a healthy and functional second half of life.”
Participants in the study did four classes a week for 30 minutes each session, but Larson said even half that amount of strength training can go a long way, particularly if you emphasise progressive overload, which means gradually increasing muscle challenge through more weight.
Larson said: “Gradually increasing the challenge is what drives real change.
“Lifting heavier over time is what builds strength, protects your bones, and keeps your body resilient through menopause and beyond.”
France will reimburse reusable period products for women under 26 and those on low incomes, in a move aimed at tackling period poverty.
The measure is expected to help 6.7m people, almost a tenth of France’s population of 69m, from the start of the next academic year in the autumn.
Women under 26 with a state health insurance card, as well as women of all ages who receive special healthcare support because of limited income, will be able to claim reimbursement after buying the products from a pharmacy. The cost will be covered through the country’s social security system.
Parliament approved the measure as part of the country’s social security budget for 2024. However, no decree was issued to bring it into force, prompting anger among feminist groups and companies making the sustainable sanitary items.
A survey of 4,000 women in France in November found that one in ten had used alternatives to mainstream period products, such as ripped-up clothes, because of tight budgets, according to French charity Dons Solidaires.
France cut sales tax on period products from 20 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2016. In 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to sign into law free universal access to period products in public buildings.
Condé Nast will close its women’s health publication Self after 47 years, with unprofitable editions of Glamour and Wired also set to shut.
In a memo published on the magazine giant’s website on Thursday, the media company’s chief executive, Roger Lynch, said: “As audience behaviours shift, we have not seen a path for Self to continue in its current form as a digital publication.”
“Going forward, health and wellness content will be integrated into our other brands, including Allure and Glamour,” Lynch said, referring to Condé Nast’s other beauty and wellness titles.
Self, which moved to an online-only format in 2017, still reaches more than 20m people each month.
The publication has also earned significant recognition over the years, including a National Magazine award and a Webby’s People’s Voice award.
The closure is part of a wider set of operational changes across the company. Lynch also announced the end of Wired’s Italy edition, noting that while the brand “remains a strong global brand, the Italian edition has not kept pace with growth in our other markets”.
Condé Nast will also wind down Glamour’s publishing operations in Germany, Spain and Mexico.
Lynch said: “Taken together, Wired in Italy, Self and the affected Glamour markets represent a little over 1 per cent of our overall revenue.
“They also remain unprofitable, and continuing to operate them in their current form limits our ability to invest in the ideas and areas that will drive future growth.”
Beyond editorial changes, the company is also restructuring internally to adapt to technological shifts.
Lynch said Condé Nast would make “changes within our technology organisation, reflecting the rapid advancement of AI and its impact on our ability to innovate and build products faster”, adding: “Teams will be restructured to be more agile and to work more closely with our brands and customers, reducing barriers to execution.”
The latest moves follow a series of transformations at Condé Nast in recent years.
Glamour ended its print edition in 2018, followed by Allure moving to a digital-only format in 2022.
In 2024, music publication Pitchfork was folded into GQ, the company’s men’s style magazine.
More recently, last November, Vogue, one of Condé Nast’s key revenue drivers, announced it would absorb Teen Vogue to create a more “unified reader experience across titles”.
The media industry has been shrinking steadily over the years.
From 2010 to 2017, the industry lost an average of 7,305 jobs annually, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas published in December 2025.
Since 2018, the average number of job cuts in the industry has risen to 14,298 a year.
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