Discover how long-time StartUp Health community member Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical is revolutionizing healthcare through groundbreaking anti-inflammatory solutions that could bridge the critical gap between lifespan and healthspan. In this StartUp Health NOW episode, co-founders Jim and Jackie Iversen share their journey in developing innovative medications targeting inflammation – the hidden culprit behind numerous age-related diseases and conditions

The episode highlights their impressive progress, including: – Phase two clinical trials at Duke University – Positive outcomes in COVID patient studies – 60+ patents in their portfolio – Novel approach to alcohol-related inflammation – Promising collaboration with the National Institute of Drug Abuse

Intriguingly, their research extends beyond traditional applications, showing potential in enhancing GLP-1 medications and addressing substance use disorders through neuroinflammation reduction. The team’s vision shifts healthcare from reactive “sick care” to proactive health solutions, promising more affordable and accessible medications for long-term use.

Ready to explore the future of preventative healthcare? Tune in to hear how Sen-Jam’s innovations could transform the way we approach aging and chronic illness management.

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

 

For the first time in decades, a major innovation in reproductive health is on the horizon.

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, StartUp Health community member Dr. Darlene Walley, CEO of NEXT Life Sciences, joins Unity Stoakes to discuss Plan A™, a long-acting, non-hormonal, fully reversible male contraceptive that could reshape how couples share family planning.

Dr. Walley explains how Plan A works as a medical device, the company’s global license for Vasalgel®, and the breakthrough results from 100% successful delivery device trials across two continents. With FDA-approved development plans and growing clinical momentum, the company is on track to submit for approval by 2027.

Beyond science, this conversation explores a cultural shift: how men are stepping up to share responsibility for contraception and how this innovation could expand access, improve preventive care, and strengthen relationships worldwide.

Listen in for a look at the future of men’s health, reproductive equity, and one of the most anticipated breakthroughs in medical innovation.

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

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Discover how Suggestic is transforming healthcare by turning food into a powerful therapeutic tool. In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, Unity Stoakes sits down with new StartUp Health community members Shai Rosen and Carver Anderson to unpack their company’s innovative approach to personalized nutrition and wellness technology.

From their unique journeys – Carver’s roots in medical equipment and Shai’s transition from aspiring doctor to tech innovator – the duo shares how they’re bridging the gap between food and medicine through AI-powered solutions. Their pivot to a B2B model reveals a shrewd understanding of how to scale impact in healthcare technology.

Key highlights:

Ready to explore the future of personalized nutrition and how technology is making it more accessible than ever? Tune in to this episode for insights into how Suggestic is revolutionizing the way we think about food and health.

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Bridging Home, Family, and Health Plans: Avanlee Christine on Caregiver-First Health Innovation

StartUp Health community member Avanlee Christine, CEO & Co-founder of Avanlee Care, joins Unity Stoakes on StartUp Health NOW to share how a pivot from fundraising to customer development unlocked product traction, investor interest, and partnerships with innovative health plans. From Billings, Montana, Avanlee explains why integrating unpaid family caregivers into care workflows improves outcomes, raises satisfaction, and helps Medicare Advantage plans do more with less.

In this episode:

Listen for:

 

 

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

In this special episode of StartUp Health NOW, recorded in front of a live virtual audience of StartUp Health community members, Unity Stoakes sits down with Vishal Vasishth, Co-founder & Managing Director of Obvious Ventures. Listeners get to hear not only Vishal’s insights on purpose-driven investing but also questions from community members who joined the conversation in real time.

Vishal shares how Obvious Ventures backs founders building companies that align human, planetary, and economic health. From pioneering startups reversing Type 2 diabetes to biotech companies harnessing AI to decode biology, he explains why the most valuable businesses of tomorrow will be those solving humanity’s biggest challenges.

This conversation goes beyond capital, digging into the role of optimism, authenticity, and creativity in fueling sustainable innovation. If you want to understand how values-based investing is reshaping healthcare and the economy, this is a must-listen.

Tune in to learn:

Whether you’re an investor, founder, or changemaker working to improve health, you’ll come away with fresh insights on building with purpose. And if you join the StartUp Health community, you can attend Fireside Chats like this one in real time and ask your own questions directly.

 

Do you want to participate in live conversations with industry luminaries? When you join the StartUp Health Network – a new private community for investors, buyers, and industry leaders to connect year-round with top health entrepreneurs – you are invited to a full calendar of interactive Fireside Chats with the most influential leaders shaping health innovation. Come with questions, learn what is working right now, and connect with industry icons. » Learn more and join today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

 

An insider interview with StartUp Health co-founder Unity Stoakes on our new membership that invites the world’s leading investors, buyers, industry experts, and policymakers to our exclusive member community dedicated to health innovation and achieving health moonshots.

We flipped the script. In this special episode of StartUp Health NOW, our regular host Unity Stoakes sits in the guest chair while Logan Plaster leads the interview. Unity shares why StartUp Health is opening the StartUp Health Network to a broader community of investors, buyers, and industry leaders, and how a curated, 24/7 platform helps builders connect with the people who can help them scale.

The conversation gets personal and practical. Unity explains his “5 to 80 rule” for communicating ideas that resonate across ages, plus a story about bringing kids into professional spaces to remind us who we serve. You will hear how our online community ties together Health Moonshot groups like brain health, women’s health, diabetes, access to care, and longevity, and why a vetted, niche network can cut through the noise of generic platforms.

Unity also breaks down how the membership model removes friction for both founders and the wider ecosystem. For industry and ecosystem members, the StartUp Health Network is a vetted, paid membership that acts as a smart filter, with simple, inexpensive monthly or annual dues. Members get 24/7 access to the online community, curated intros to founders across Health Moonshots, private roundtables and fireside chats with industry leaders, real-time trend discussions, and VIP access to meetups at major gatherings like JP Morgan, HLTH, and ViVE. Investors can compare notes and share deal flow in a trusted forum. Buyers and operators can scout solutions faster, pressure test needs with peers, and shorten the path from first meeting to pilot. Founders continue to have dedicated membership plans with peer circles, weekly office hours, and a robust perks platform that can deliver meaningful savings on tools and services. Unity explains why the membership model removes friction by eliminating equity and complex legal lift, making it simple to participate whether you are pre-seed or scaling globally.

What is the StartUp Health Network? A private global community for visionary decision makers, thought leaders, funders, and innovators transforming the future of health. If you are a healthcare executive, operator, investor, or industry stakeholder who wants to stay connected to the people and ideas driving what is next, this is your place to collaborate with:

Stay to the end for a VIP thank you that unlocks a special rate on Network membership. You can use the code LOGAN at checkout for a VIP rate on an annual StartUp Health Network membership.

 

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Unlocking Innovation: The Alzheimer’s Insights AI Prize and Its Impact on Healthcare

There are currently more than 55 million people worldwide living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Recent breakthroughs in new treatments and diagnostics provide hope, but there is potential to accelerate the pace of discovery and development.

Last year, StartUp Health, in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) Diagnostics Accelerator (DxA) and Gates Ventures, the private office of Bill Gates, launched the Alzheimer’s Moonshot. This initiative breaks down silos and fosters meaningful collaboration between mission-aligned founders, funders, and partners, accelerating progress in preventing, managing, and curing Alzheimer’s and related dementias through the support of entrepreneurial innovation.

Now, the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative (AD Data Initiative) is backing visionary AI solutions to accelerate Alzheimer’s research with the launch of a new million-dollar prize competition. The goal is to leverage agentic AI – AI that can plan, reason, and act autonomously – to help drive breakthroughs in  Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.

Gregory Moore, MD, PhD, senior advisor to Gates Ventures and the Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative, sat down with us to share how you can join the competition to harness AI to radically accelerate Alzheimer’s disease research. The Alzheimer’s Insights AI Prize offers $1M to the winner for the agentic AI solution that can generate a powerful leap in the pace, scale, and reach of ADRD research.

Drawing from his unique background in both engineering and medicine, Dr. Moore discusses how AI could dramatically accelerate drug discovery and clinical trials by up to 50%. The initiative aims to break down traditional research barriers by harmonizing diverse data sets, from genomics to neuroimaging, making breakthroughs more accessible to the global scientific community.

The Alzheimer’s Insights AI Prize competition semi-finalist teams will be selected to present at a pitch event alongside the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) Conference in San Diego this December, where innovators worldwide will present their ideas to a distinguished panel of judges from tech, academia, and venture capital. From there, up to three finalist teams will be invited to a final event at the AD/PD International Conference next March in Copenhagen, Denmark. With travel support available for participants, this initiative ensures global accessibility and collaboration.

Ready to learn how AI could revolutionize brain health research to potentially detect Alzheimer’s earlier, improve treatments, and work toward prevention and cures? Listen to this inspiring episode that bridges technology and medicine in the fight against dementia. Then visit Alzheimer’s Insights AI Prize to learn more and apply by September 12, 2025.

 

 

Do you want to participate in live conversations with industry luminaries? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Fireside Chats, Expert Office Hours, and Peer Circles are benefits of our Health Moonshot Community Membership. To get involved, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Transforming Healthcare Fundraising: A Revolutionary Approach

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, discover how Rafael Rodeiro, CEO & Founder of Ribon Health, is revolutionizing nonprofit healthcare fundraising through an innovative platform that’s changing the game. From a modest start in Brasilia to developing a groundbreaking “reverse matching gifts” system, Rafael’s journey showcases the power of reimagining traditional giving methods.

The episode explores how Ribon’s unique approach provides free donation tickets to individuals, removing financial barriers and fostering a natural sense of generosity. This innovative system not only transforms how people give but also creates lasting engagement within healthcare communities.

Rafael also shares his personal growth story and his experience as a member of the StartUp Health community, including how he improved his pitch from a 6.5 NPS score to an impressive 9.5 through persistence and continuous refinement. His StartUp Health membership evolved from initial skepticism to valuable partnerships, demonstrating the importance of community support in healthcare innovation.

Key Highlights Include:

Ready to be inspired by a fresh perspective on healthcare fundraising and entrepreneurial resilience? Tune in to hear how one founder’s vision is reshaping the future of giving in healthcare.

 

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

In this episode of StartUp Health NOW, Unity Stoakes, President & Co-founder of StartUp Health, speaks with Christopher Jue, CEO & Co-founder of CAREgivers Insight, a leading member of our Caregiving Health Moonshot Community. Christopher, a serial entrepreneur with a personal connection to caregiving, shares the story behind his company’s mission to transform how family caregivers manage care and track their loved ones’ health.

Key highlights of the conversation include:

Tune in to this insightful conversation to discover how technology can transform caregiving and support the millions of families facing the challenges of chronic illness, aging, and Alzheimer’s care.

 

 

Are you ready to tell YOUR story? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Exposure in StartUp Health Media to our global audience of investors and partners – including our podcast, newsletters, magazine, and YouTube channel – is a benefit of our Health Moonshot PRO Membership. To schedule a call and see if you qualify to join and increase brand awareness through our multi-media storytelling efforts, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.

Healthcare Investment Landscape: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities

On this episode of StartUp Health NOW, dive into a compelling conversation with Lee Shapiro, managing partner of 7wire Ventures, as he unravels the complexities of digital health investment in today’s challenging market. Discover how successful healthcare startups are adapting to a landscape marked by IPO stagnation and reduced funding streams.

In this interactive Fireside Chat with members of the StartUp Health community, Shapiro generously shares his wisdom and answers real-world questions from participants. 

Key highlights include:

The discussion offers valuable insights into how entrepreneurs can thrive despite economic uncertainties and regulatory challenges. From leveraging strategic investors to building sustainable business models, learn how innovative companies are reshaping healthcare delivery.

Want to understand how to navigate the evolving healthcare investment landscape and build successful partnerships in digital health? Listen to this interactive episode for actionable insights from industry veterans.

Do you want to participate in live conversations with industry luminaries? Members of our Health Moonshot Communities are leading startups with breakthrough technology-driven solutions for the world’s biggest health challenges. Fireside Chats, Expert Office Hours, and Peer Circles are benefits of our Health Moonshot Community Membership. To get involved, submit our three-minute application. If you’re mission-driven, collaborative, and ready to contribute as much as you gain, you might be the perfect fit. » Learn more and apply today.

Want more content like this? Sign up for StartUp Health Insider™ to get funding insights, news, and special updates delivered to your inbox.