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UK-based healthy ageing tech start-up recognised as potential future leader in UK/EU digital health innovation
TaraCares is on a mission to revolutionise how corporations address menopause
TaraCares has been recognised as one of the top 16 UK/EU start-ups shaping the European digital health market by Wavestone’s 2024 Digital Health Radar.
TaraCares is a UK-based health tech start-up levelling up the science for healthy ageing and building a healthier working world.
The company’s first use case is centering science in how we understand, diagnose and manage individual differences in the menopause experience across ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.
The tech start-up is on a mission to revolutionise how corporations address menopause, empowering patients through its B2B Enterprise SaaS platform MIMOSA, which provides access to science-based education and validated research.
Wavestone is a global transformation consulting firm who provide end-to-end expert advice on change to clients across various industries including life sciences.
Wavestone’s Digital Health Radar July 2024
Philip Winkworth, Senior Manager, life sciences business advisory at Wavestone, said: “It was a pleasure to talk to TaraCares’ Jyoti Sharma and hear the passion and drive behind her mission to level up healthy ageing and developing MIMOSA.
“We analysed over 500 up and coming start-ups in Europe for our Digital Health Radar with four key characteristics emerging of the most exciting companies in the space. One key characteristic was that these exciting companies look to provide patients with accurate and validated information.
“As MIMOSA is designed to provide users with insights that are rooted in validated literature and tailored to them, it really fits that characteristic.
“Coupled with being set up to improve the experience of people assigned female at birth with preventive and pro-health modality as they transition through the menopause has the potential to help more than half the global population, making the company stand out to us.
Philip Winkworth, senior manager, life sciences business advisory at Wavestone
“Brought together, these facts made MIMOSA and TaraCares one of our shortlisted companies in our Digital Health Radar and I am eager to monitor its progress in the coming years and see what new developments the team brings to market.”
Co-designed with comprehensive patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) across 15 countries, including the UK, the US and India, the initial research and development of MIMOSA was funded by Innovate UK, UK’s innovation agency, and the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research).
MIMOSA looks to avoid the traps of symptom-tracking and hormone testing to provide holistic support and information for the individual and embedded aggregate analytics for the employer.
More than just a tool, the platform represents a shift in mindset, encouraging organisations to move beyond superficial menopause policies and generic awareness and invest in science-backed, actionable strategies.
By understanding their demographic and individual pain points, MIMOSA demonstrates that companies can create a more inclusive, supportive work environment as well as integrate healthy ageing wellbeing programmes.
In doing so, they not only retain valuable talent but also foster a culture of understanding and empathy.
Research & innovation
TaraCares works in close collaboration with the Health Innovation Networks across England, specifically Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber and Wessex Health Innovation networks, as it spearheads the next wave of patient engagement research study and evidence generation to fuel the enhancement, development and growth of MIMOSA for women’s health hubs in England.
Jyoti Sharma, founder and CEO of TaraCares
“Health economics is one of the cornerstones for our product design principles and architecture decisions to not only be evidence-based with the highest standards implemented for user privacy and data governance but also accessible and affordable to our audience” said Jyoti Sharma, CEO of TaraCares.
“Through our work with the York Health Economics Consortium, we have a comprehensive understanding of the evidence standards framework (ESF) for digital health established by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
“After successfully completing pilot studies, we are now focused on evidence generation required for public sector procurement while commercialising in the private sector through an industry-specific need-based research methodology.
“Being featured on Wavestone’s Digital Health Radar is a tremendous recognition of the dedication and demonstrable passion of our brilliant team, our shareholders and our industry-recognised collaborators.”
MIMOSA, recognised as Top 5 most innovative HR Tech Start Ups at the HR and Learning Technologies UK Conference earlier
this year, is available in more than 20 countries on Android and iOS through an employer-paid subscription model.
To find out more about MIMOSA, visit TaraCares’ official website here.
Small bowel microbiome differences between women and men may help explain why some conditions are more common in women, a study suggests.
The small bowel microbiome is the community of microorganisms living in this part of the digestive tract, where they play vital roles in immune function, metabolism and hormonal regulation.
Researchers found differences between women and men in the composition and organisation of these microbial communities. One bacterial community containing Granulicatella was found only in women.
The study was conducted by investigators at Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University.
Ruchi Mathur, director of clinical research and clinical operations for the Medically Associated Science and Technology (MAST) Program at Cedars-Sinai and corresponding author of the study, said: “One intriguing finding was a bacterial community containing Granulicatella, which we found only in women.
“Bacteria in this community appear at increased levels in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome.”
The researchers also identified differences between women and men in how microbes in the small bowel produce fructans, complex carbohydrates known to trigger digestive symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
IBS is far more common in women than men.
Mathur, who is also a professor of medicine, said: “Our findings show that biological sex is a critical variable in the small bowel microbiome.
“We must consider it as we move toward more personalised approaches to understanding and treating disease.”
An experimental cancer drug reduced bone loss and body fat in mice modelling post-menopausal changes, early research suggests.
The compound, CADD522, appeared to strengthen bones and help the animals stay leaner after surgery designed to mimic hormonal changes seen after menopause.
The treatment remains at an early experimental stage and has so far only been tested in animals.
The study, led by the University of East Anglia, investigated CADD522, which was originally developed to block a protein involved in the growth and spread of several cancers.
Mice treated with the compound for eight weeks showed significant improvements in bone health. Scans found increased bone volume and better preservation of the honeycomb-like structures inside bones that are crucial for strength and resilience.
Blood tests suggested the treatment stimulated new bone growth without interfering with the body’s normal process of breaking down and rebuilding bone.
Dr Darrell Green, lead researcher from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Osteoporosis affects around one in three women over the age of 50, leaving sufferers vulnerable to painful fractures that can seriously impact quality of life.
“Current treatments exist, but many are plagued by side effects, safety concerns or inconvenient dosing schedules that make long-term use difficult.”
The researchers also found that mice receiving CADD522 weighed less than untreated mice despite eating the same amount of food.
They had less body fat and fewer fat deposits in their bone marrow, a process commonly seen after menopause and linked to declining bone health.
The team also examined brain tissue and found that the drug appeared to reverse several menopause-related changes in fatty acids.
Levels of omega-3 fats including DHA remained largely intact, while several other lipid abnormalities shifted back towards healthier patterns.
Green said: “We didn’t directly test for memory or thinking ability, but our work raises questions about whether this drug could one day help address wider menopause-related health problems.”
Safety experiments in mice, rats and dogs found that CADD522 could be taken orally and was well tolerated.
The compound also appeared to be metabolised more slowly in human tissue than in rodents, potentially improving its performance in people.
“This is still in the early stages and has so far only been tested in animals but we hope that the benefits will translate to humans to ultimately reduce fracture rates,” added Green.
The research was led by UEA in collaboration with the University of Maryland, the Scintillon Research Institute in San Diego and the University of Stirling.
Safety testing was funded by The Sir William Coxen Trust as part of the development of CADD522 as a childhood cancer treatment.
Weight loss surgery was linked to more regular periods and fewer polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) symptoms in women aged 18 to 45 living with obesity in a recent study.
The researchers recommend that women undergoing the procedure have access to preconception care and reproductive counselling to support their reproductive health.
Researchers at the University of Surrey analysed data over 24 months from 84 women who underwent bariatric surgery and 18 women living with obesity who did not have surgery.
Of those who underwent surgery, 49 had gastric bypass procedures and 35 had gastric sleeve surgery.
Women who underwent metabolic bariatric surgery lost more than 30kg on average at 12 and 24 months after the procedure.
Among women with polycystic ovaries, the condition persisted in only 10 per cent after 24 months.
Women also reported a resolution of clinical hirsutism, or excess body hair, by 12 months.
Women who had previously experienced irregular periods reported more regular menstrual cycles after surgery.
Professor Martin Whyte, co-author of the study and professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Surrey, said: “A large proportion of those undergoing bariatric surgery are women of reproductive age, who may be planning a pregnancy in the coming years.
“So much remains unknown about the impact of this type of surgery on women who are planning to have children.
“This raises the question of when the ideal time after surgery is to conceive.”
Women have a higher prevalence of obesity than men, with 57 per cent of women in the UK classified as overweight and 27 per cent living with obesity, which can affect fertility and the health of an unborn baby.
The researchers said 17 women had healthy pregnancies following surgery.
Although this was not specifically examined in the study, no difference in birth weight was observed between babies conceived within or after the first year.
Dr Kathryn Hart, co-author of the study and associate professor in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Surrey, said: “What we have found is that bariatric surgery positively affects the reproductive health of women living with obesity and can improve the likelihood of them having a healthy pregnancy after surgery.
“Dysregulated hormone levels, irregular periods and conditions such as polycystic ovaries are affected by obesity.
“By reducing this, what we have seen is that it can lead to improvements without the need for medication.
“We would suggest that clinicians consider medical intervention for obesity to treat irregularities in the menstrual cycle and issues with fertility.”
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