FemTech Focus

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Juliette McClendon, the Director of medical affairs at Big Health. Big Health has two mental health apps. The first is called Sleepio which supports people suffering from insomnia and the second is Daylight which supports people with anxiety. Both of which disproportionately affect women. Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder than men. Women are also twice as likely to have insomnia, the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep, as men. Big Health has raised over $40M in funding. Their mission is to help millions back to good mental health by providing safe and effective non-drug alternatives for the most common mental health conditions. Big Health’s digital therapeutics expand access to gold-standard care, including behavioral medicine, and are backed by industry-leading research and randomized controlled trials. They have 64 publications with more than 28,000 participants, including 13 randomized controlled trials. A fun fact about Big Health is that their apps are offered for free to all the citizens of Scotland. Go Scotland! To learn more go to www.bighealth.com Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Robynne Chutkan. She’s an Integrative Gasterointerologist, founder of the Digestive Center for Wellness, and author of three books; The Bloat Cure, The Microbiome Solution, and Gutbliss. This is a super informative and fun episode where we discuss the difference between women's and men's GI tracks. Spoiler alert - turns out we have a lot of differences! We also talk about how hormones from pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause change your stool. Yes, I’m referring to period poop. Dr. Robynne did not shy away from the topics that we all wonder about but don’t ask. Learn more about her practice and books at www.gutbliss.com. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Kim Capone the Chief Scientific Officer of Femtec Health. FemTec Health intends to integrate genetic, microbiome, and biometric data into a consumer-driven digital health experience with a focus on women’s specific health issues. This is a special episode because Femtec Health has just emerged from stealth mode and requested to tell their story on our show. Normally I like to interview people and companies that have been around and made huge strides to advance women’s health. This company is interesting because prior to their press release they raised $38M from big-name investors including Longmont Capital, Ithaca LifeSciences, Unilever Ventures, Shiseido, E Ventures, Viking Global, and Trinity Capital. They acquired Birchbox makeup subscription service, Mira Beauty, and Liquid Grids a healthcare marketing platform. At launch, the company has over 10M members, 2 clinical trials in progress, and a team of 150 people around the world. The founder Dr. Kimon Angelides has previously exited four healthcare companies with billions in exit value. Femtec Health claims to bring together products, services, and data analytics to accommodate continued care for women at every stage of their life. Their patent-pending BiomeAI engine uses AI and deep machine learning to translate consumer, genetic, microbiome, and biometric data into holistic personalized healthcare for women. One cannot deny the splash Femtec Health has created. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Cecilia Caetano, Medical Affairs Director of Bayer’s Women’s Healthcare. Over the last 6 years, Cecilia has been a key physician at Bayer in their women’s health division. She’s worked on their short-acting contraceptives as the medical lead for the birth control pill, Yaz. She then worked on long-acting contraceptives supporting the global launch of a new intrauterine contraceptive and the global lead for the IUD Mirena. Over the past year, Cecilia has led Bayer’s strategy for menopause management. Bayer has been doubling down on their women’s health strategy with collaborations with period tracking giant, Clue, an exclusive license agreement with publicly-traded company Dare Biosciences, a collaboration with Evotec to develop clinical candidates for treating PCOS, and a half a billion-dollar acquisition of KaNDy Therapeutics a UK based biotech company with a compound to treat hot flashes for women in menopause. If you’re a startup looking to partner with a Pharma giant, Bayer may just be the partner you’re looking for. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Dr. Alex Capano the Chief scientific officer of EcoFibre. Ecofibre is a leader in hemp-based products with over 20 years of growing and breeding experience. They own one of the largest collections of genetically diverse hemp plants with over 300 landraces of cannabis from over 25 countries. Industrial hemp refers to the non-psychoactive, meaning less than 1% THC, varieties of Cannabis Sativa. Over the years, hemp has been unjustly demonized due to its association with marijuana, but this good seed is shedding a bad name. As promising research and mass interest grow in what many are calling a “miracle plant,” hemp is making a comeback of global proportion. Ecofibre has several businesses it operates including a hemp-based textile company and over-the-counter health and wellness products sold at local pharmacies. This pharmacy brand is called Ananda Health and it’s the leading pharmacy brand in the United States for hemp-derived CBD products. In fact, Ecofibre was the first hemp company to receive Investigational New Drug or IND authorization from the FDA for a clinical trial on hemp-derived CBD to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. At Ecofibre, Dr. Alex Capano champions the company’s $40 million commitment to research to advance the clinical evidence of hemp extract. As the Chief Science Officer for Ananda Hemp, she acts as a principal investigator on clinical research and trials, focusing on hemp-based CBD therapy. Dr. Alex is the first person to earn a Ph.D. in cannabinoid science. She is currently researching CBD’s effects on CIPN, sleep, anxiety, addiction, endometriosis, certain cancers, and cognitive decline. She has a particular interest in women’s health and has truly spearheaded research in CBDs effectiveness for all things gynecology including intimate oils, flora balancing gels, and period pain. Check out these products at www.anandaprofessional.com.

In today’s episode, I interview Gwen Floyd, the co-founder and CEO of Wile. Wile is a holistic, plant-based wellness line for grown women 40-plus, rooted in hormonal and emotional balance. Created in partnership with endocrinologists and naturopaths, Wile is led by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs. Wile serves the 30 million mid-life women ignored by brands and the medical establishment yet overburdened with expectations. Wile believes access to effective solutions, real information and community around perimenopause and emotional wellness is a critical health and gender justice issue of our time. Wile recently launched on Grove Collaborative and may be in a retail store near you soon. Check out their lineup of drinks, supplements, and tinctures at www.wilewomen.com. Our listeners get a special discount. Just enter FEMTECH20 at checkout for 20% off your order. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Andrea Barrica the founder and CEO of O.School. O.School is a judgment-free multi-media platform for sexual wellness. Andrea is building a future with less sexual shame and judgment and more permission to build sexual wellness, whatever that means for each person. O.School believes that every human being on this planet deserves comprehensive education about sex, pleasure, and relationships. Andrea is a serial entrepreneur, investor, contributor to New York Times and Forbes.com, author of the book entitled “Sextech Revolution, the Future of Sexual Wellness”. In our interview, you’ll hear how she was raised in a religious, conservative, first-generation Filipino-American family that only taught abstinence. Struggling with her own sexuality and the shameful messages she received about sex and the importance of virginity, she couldn't find reliable resources online. She became obsessed with the question: what exists between Planned Parenthood and porn? In this interview, we also deep dive into customer acquisition in the women’s health space. If you read FemTech Focus’s report we published this summer, you would have seen that 1 of the 4 biggest challenges facing femtech startups is media censorship of our products on marketing platforms. Andrea and I deep dive into some key metrics on marketing, research, and sales in the women’s health space. Learn more at O.School. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Tracy Warren the Managing Partner of Astarte Ventures. Astarte Ventures was formed by Tracy and her business partner, Tammi Jantzen. The fund ran from 2013 to 2017 and was the first early-stage investment fund dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of women and children. Tracy and Tammi could not successfully fundraise the fund because in 2013 the bias of thinking women were a niche market and could not produce large returns was rampant. Tracy and Tammi took things into their own hands and made 8 investments themselves without raising a large fund with outside investors. Their investments include Maternal Medical which just closed a $10M series A, Madorra which has raised over $4M to date, Astarte Medical which Tracy and Tammi now operate as CEO and CFO, Alydia health which was acquired by Merck for $240M and initiated the organon spin-off, and Maven clinic which was just value at over $1B and hasn’t even exited yet. Needless to say, the returns on the fund will be very promising and the data that comes from their portfolio’s success will be extremely valuable for the 6 other femtech funds in operation today to prove to investors that funding women’s health is not only impactful but financially smart. Enjoy the episode!

In today’s episode, I interview Etta Watts-Russell the Founder and CEO of Lactamo. Lactamo is a specialized ball specifically designed and developed to facilitate and promote breastfeeding. Lactamo harnesses the power of breast massage, compression, heating, and cooling. Breast massage and temperature may be helpful in providing relief for the most common breastfeeding challenges. Lacatamo helps clear blocked ducts, relieve swelling and pain, fight off infection, stimulate milk production and flow and aid the let-down reflex. Check out the lactamo ball at www.lactamo.com

In today’s episode, I interview Lina Chan CEO and founder Parla. Parla is a digital health company revolutionizing reproductive health by providing greater access to diagnostic tests and proactive support. Parla was inspired by Lina’s own experience with fertility. She always felt on the back foot. Like many women, she found it difficult to understand what was going on with her body, get trusted support, and take care of her emotional health. Parla means to speak, and Lina believes it’s time to make women’s health an ongoing informed conversation. She is breaking taboos and making misinformation a thing of the past by creating a space that empowers women as they become the authority of their health, body, and choices. Parla supports women in 3 main ways: It empowers women with knowledge about their bodies through at-home tests, predictive data reports, and health quizzes. Second - It makes women feel supported by connecting them with a community of engaged experts and other women in similar reproductive life journeys. And third It nurtures women’s minds and emotional well-being through audio health guides and mindfulness content. The Parla app includes Free fertility health checks, Free meditation programs, Fertility experts for support, and a Community to share and learn with. The thing I was most inspired by in this interview was Lina’s attention to miscarriages and stillbirths. Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs. In the United States, a miscarriage is usually defined as the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy, and stillbirth is the loss of a baby at 20 weeks of pregnancy and later. 8 out of 10 miscarriages happen in the first 3 months. 10-20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Learn more at www.myparla.com