News
Roundup: first-of-its-kind partnership with NHS and period tracking app
Femtech World explores the latest business developments in the world of women’s health.
NHS platform Evaro partners with period tracking app Clue in UK-first integration
Evaro, the NHS-licensed embedded healthcare platform, has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with the period tracking app Clue.
The partnership will provide seamless access to NHS-funded contraception directly through Clue’s app.
This marks the first time a major cycle-tracking platform has integrated prescription healthcare services in the UK, creating a critical solution as the country grapples with an emergency contraception crisis.
2023 data shows the UK had the highest global search volume for emergency contraception and nearly half of UK women face contraception access barriers, with one in 20 patients having to wait at least four weeks to see a GP.
The partnership launches as women’s health takes center stage in the government’s NHS modernisation agenda, with digital medicine transformation identified as a key priority.
The integration brings together Clue’s UK user base with Evaro’s healthcare delivery platform.
Users can transition directly from tracking their cycle in Clue to ordering contraception through Evaro’s embedded pharmacy infrastructure – accessing free NHS-funded contraception with free delivery nationwide.
The service demonstrates how asynchronous healthcare – where consultations happen online at the patient’s convenience rather than requiring real-time appointments – can solve the UK’s healthcare accessibility challenge.
The partnership pioneers embedded healthcare – where consumer brands become healthcare access points by integrating Evaro’s full-stack solution with a single line of code.
The service is available immediately to Clue users in the UK.
US$5m to transform and scale menopause education and training worldwide
A US$5m grant from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, led by philanthropist and New York Mets Owner Alex Cohen, will support the digital-innovation phase of the Menopause Society’s NextGen Now initiative.
The grant will create a comprehensive digital ecosystem to leverage cutting-edge digital technologies, ensuring seamless access and consistent updates of educational content.
The initiative supports comprehensive training programmes for current and next generation healthcare professionals to improve the care of midlife women.
Through the NextGen Now initiative, The Menopause Society has said it is committed to reaching 25,000 healthcare professionals within the next three years and ultimately improving the lives of millions of women navigating the complexities of menopause.
The donation will further support The Menopause Society’s vision for a digital strategy for NextGen Now, through an integrated digital-learning platform, advanced virtual- and augmented-reality modules, and a dynamic mobile app.
NextGen Now is a multiphase initiative spanning several years and many projects and programmes.
To continue its success, additional support is still needed. This includes funding for research and data collection.
Progyny expands to include pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause
Women’s health company Progyny has launched its pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause programmes for global employers, available starting January 1, 2026.
The company says that the offerings complement the availability of the company’s existing and marketing-leading global fertility and family building offering, providing multi-national employers with a continuum of integrated services.
The platform is purpose-built for global markets, supporting members in their country-specific environment, helping them with expert support through stages of pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and midlife to optimise health, productivity, and retention.
Employees uniquely have access to personalised consultations and guided programmes with Global Care Advocates, with maternal health, menopause, and mental health expertise; a curated knowledge centre for evidence-based education on symptoms and more; a country-specific navigator support for local care, regulations, policies, and protections; and, a GDPR-compliant platform.
FDA approves first medical device for women with Asherman Syndrome
Uterine health company Womed has announced that the Food and Drug Administration approved the PreMarket Approval (PMA) application of the Womed Leaf for adult women undergoing hysteroscopic surgery for symptomatic moderate to severe intrauterine adhesions, also referred to as Asherman syndrome.
Womed Leaf is the first medical device to be approved for sale in the United States for that indication.
“This is the first FDA approved barrier for these patients and marks a significant improvement for their ultimate desired outcome.”
Intrauterine Adhesions (IUAs), which refer to the pathological binding of the uterine walls, are caused by scarring of the uterus after procedures such as dilation and curettage or fibroid removal, and can occur in 20 per cent to 45 per cent of those procedures.
IUAs are a major cause of infertility, recurrent miscarriages and pain. IUA treatment is plagued with a very high recurrence rate, leaving women unsure and very anxious about their chance to conceive.
Womed Leaf is intended to reduce the reoccurrence and severity of post-surgical adhesion formation inside the uterus. It consists of a soft thin film made from Womed’s innovative polymer, which is inserted like an IUD at the end of an adhesiolysis procedure.
It expands within the cavity, preventing contact between the uterine walls, and is then naturally and painlessly discharged.
The pivotal PREG2 randomised clinical study that enrolled 160 patients with severe or moderate IUA demonstrated that Womed Leaf significantly reduced the severity of intrauterine adhesion after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis compared with no prevention method and that Womed Leaf has an acceptable safety profile.
Prototype production begins on AI-enabled device for Vulvo-Vaginal Candidiasis
Femtech medical device company Zero Candida Technologies has commenced prototype production of ZC-001.
ZC-001 the first AI-enabled therapeutic device integrating blue light therapy, targeted drug delivery, and wireless diagnostics for the personalised treatment of Vulvo-Vaginal Candidiasis (VVC).
The company has initiated production of 50 prototype units, with completion expected by Q1 2026.
The ZC-001 device is designed to offer meaningful advantages for both physicians and patients by providing personalised, at-home treatment with real-time data transmission, reducing the need for frequent doctor visits while enabling individualised care protocols.
“Every design decision was made with patient comfort and usability in mind,” said Dr Asher Holzer, CTO of Zero Candida.
“It’s the foundation for our next phase of validation and defines the technical standards for how ZC-001 will be built and tested.”
Entrepreneur
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 opens pitch applications for mainstage showcase at The Emirates Stadium
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 has opened applications for its flagship start-up Pitches, giving women’s health innovators the chance to present on the mainstage at The Emirates Stadium in London on 7-8 October.
16 finalists will be selected across two categories: Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech, with the shortlisted companies receiving the opportunity to pitch in front of 700+ investors, corporates, other innovators and strategic partners actively seeking solutions that can scale.
Two categories, one stage
The Medical Devices & Therapeutics category is open to companies working across medical devices, therapeutics and pharma innovation, regulated digital health, and deep-tech or science-led platforms.
The Consumer & Tech category covers consumer health and wellness brands, digital health platforms, wearables and connected data, employer and payor-led solutions, and commerce and marketplace businesses.
Any company treating a condition that affects women exclusively, differently, or disproportionately is eligible to apply.
Applications are completely free, so what do you have to lose?
Apply to pitch at WHW Europe 2026 now.
What’s in it for you?
Unmatched exposure
Present in front of 700+ investors, corporates, clinicians, and strategic partners actively seeking solutions that can scale.
With WHW Europe 2026 relocating to The Emirates Stadium and expanding to 700+ attendees across two stages, the 2026 edition represents the largest platform the series has offered to date.
A proven platform
The WHW Pitch Sessions have become one of the most commercially significant showcases in women’s health, with previous cohorts including companies that have gone on to raise investment and secure major strategic partnerships. 2024 alumni BoobyBiome, closed a £2.5M seed round in the year following their pitch at WHW Europe.
The Watchlist
All registered applicants will have the opportunity to be featured in The Watchlist, WHW Europe’s official directory of women’s health innovators to know, giving companies visibility beyond the pitch stage itself.
Applications close 28 August 2026.
Find out more about WHW Europe.
A vaccine trial will test whether an mRNA jab can help stop precancerous cells developing into bowel and ovarian cancer in people with Lynch syndrome.
The first stage is due to launch this summer and will assess whether the jab can train the immune system to recognise and eliminate precancerous cells before cancer develops.
Around 175,000 people in England have Lynch syndrome, but only five per cent, or around 10,000 people, know they have it.
The inherited condition increases the risk of developing bowel cancer by 80 per cent and is linked to around 1,100 bowel cancer cases each year.
Lynch syndrome is also linked to a far higher risk of bowel, womb and ovarian cancer, alongside other types including stomach, pancreatic, kidney and skin cancer.
While the syndrome does not directly cause cancer, the genetic changes can lead to more abnormal cells developing, which then multiply and increase the risk of cancers such as bowel, prostate and endometrial cancer.
It is caused by an alteration in a mismatch repair gene. Carriers do not have any symptoms.
The new Intercept-Lynch trial is part of a scientific collaboration between the University of Oxford and Moderna, while Cancer Research UK has backed the vaccine’s development.
Once patients receive the new mRNA-4194 jab, experts will analyse their immune responses, assess the best dose and check whether the jab is safe.
The second phase of the study will include multiple centres across the UK, including Oxford, and is expected to begin in 2027.
The aim of the trial is to train the immune system with a vaccine to recognise abnormalities and stop them developing into cancer.
Professor David Church, Cancer Research UK senior cancer research fellow in the University of Oxford’s centre for human genetics and lead investigator of the trial, said: “People with Lynch syndrome are at risk of cancers over their entire lives.
“So, it’s very common, for instance, a woman to have a first cancer of her womb, and then some years later have a bowel cancer, or vice versa.
“The targets we’ve chosen for the vaccine were chosen based on their sharedness across multiple cancer types in Lynch syndrome, so we think they should provide broad protection, if the vaccine works.”
In people with Lynch syndrome, mutations can build up, making the cells containing them more likely to turn into cancerous cells.
However, those mutations can be made visible to the immune system and, with enough stimulation, the immune system can attack the abnormal cells and stop cancer from forming.
Professor Church said the mRNA jab acts as “an instruction manual” for the body to attack precancerous cells.
He added that, as with many vaccines, patients may need a booster jab at some stage.
On whether similar approaches could help prevent cancers not caused by Lynch syndrome, Professor Church said: “In terms of proof of principle that we can train the immune system to recognise these cancer-associated alterations and enhance the immune response against them to prevent these pre-cancers or prevent the progression of pre-cancer to cancer, that proof of principle should give us insights that are generalisable.”
David Berman, chief development officer at Moderna, said: “By applying mRNA technology earlier in the patient journey, we aim to harness the immune system when it can have the greatest impact.
“We are proud to bring this innovation to the UK, building on our long-standing collaboration with leading UK institutions to advance mRNA research and development.”
Apple announced menopause and perimenopause tracking for its Health app at WWDC 2026, with symptom logging and cycle alerts for some users.
The update expands the app’s cycle tracking beyond fertility and menstrual periods.
If logged cycle patterns suggest a user may be experiencing perimenopause, the app will send a notification prompting a conversation with a doctor.
However, this perimenopause-specific cycle deviation notification is only for users aged 40 and over and is not intended to replace a doctor’s diagnosis or treatment.
Stacey Ford, Apple’s vice-president of OS management, said users will also be able to log menopause and perimenopause symptoms in the Health app.
Educational content will also be available to help users learn more about these life stages and understand changes in their bodies.
Every year, about 2 million women enter perimenopause, the stage before menopause when levels of the hormone oestrogen decline.
According to a February 2025 survey involving 4,432 participants aged over 30, more than half of women aged 30 to 35 experienced moderate or severe perimenopause symptoms.
The findings suggest perimenopause does not affect only older adults.
About 6,000 women in the US enter menopause every day, according to the Society for Women’s Health Research.
Given the number of women affected by perimenopause and menopause, the update broadens the Health app’s scope.
The app launched in 2019, meaning it has gone seven years without these women’s health tracking features, which could help users better understand their bodies and prepare for informed conversations with doctors.
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