10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women’s Health 2021

#IndustryToday The emerging Femtech market

LEADING

COMPANIES SHAPING THE

FUTURE OF

Women’s Health 2021

Gloria Founder Elidah

#SheCare How to effectively manage PCOD/PCOS

VOL 00 ISSUE 00 2021

Addressing Womenʼs Health Needs through Technology

Rewriting Healthcare Solutions ften engrossed with caring for others, women neglect their health, not realizing that they can care for others better only if they are healthy. Add to it the gender disparity that directly or indirectly prevented women until recently from caring for themselves, sharing about their health issues, and seeking medical intervention.

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a disease of the middle-aged men. Now, doctors are taking women’s heart issues seriously. Research on women’s healthcare has increased significantly, and so has the effective delivery of healthcare services. Women’s health is the highest priority even for WHO. Several steps and healthcare programs have ensured the inclusivity of women for health-related issues.

Women experience unique healthcare challenges, yet their healthcare always took a backseat. Healthy women are critical to maintaining healthy families and resultantly healthy communities and healthy countries.

The rise of the Femtech (Feminine Technology) market has also dramatically transformed women’s healthcare. Tech companies flood the market with innovative health technologies to create products and services specifically for women.

The coronavirus pandemic has put added pressure on the woman of the family – be it ensuring nutritious meals to boost the family’s immunity or care for the positive members of the family.

Until recently, even the medical fraternity focused only on women’s reproductive or gynecological health. Apart from heart diseases, blood pressure and diabetes, autoimmune disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic pain, lung disease, gastrointestinal diseases are also prevalent in women.

Unfortunately, these were overlooked until a few years back. The healthcare providers dealt with women differently from men, like not providing detailed information about the ailment.

In addition, hormones were blamed for a woman’s health concerns or ‘it is all in her head’. Of late, it is the lifestyle factor that is blamed. While changing lifestyle is a concern for everyone’s health, what needs to be understood is, ‘Her’ health is as important as others.

The situation is changing for good, albeit slowly. For instance, since long, heart-related diseases were considered

Digital healthcare has come as a boon for women, particularly during the pandemic. Though emerging technologies gave impetus to digital healthcare, women used it optimally during the coronavirus pandemic. It proved most beneficial for pregnant women vulnerable to infections in medical establishments.

We cherish those healthcare companies empowering women through their products and services to make informed choices about their health.

Read about their illustrious journey in our latest edition of Insights Care - 10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women’s Health, 2021.

Have an enlightening read!

Sumita Sarkar

Editor’s Note

CONTENTS

08

Articles #IndustryToday The emerging Femtech market

#SheCare How to effectively manage PCOD/PCOS

Addressing Womenʼs Health Needs through Technology

Aspira Radical Transformation of Preventative Care Through Innovative Diagnostics

HRA Pharma Empowering Women by Providing Advanced Healthcare Solutions

Nuvo Providing Holistic Care from the Womb to the Crib

Pandia Health Expert Birth Control Care

By Women, For Women

Peri t Setting Benchmarks of Technological Excellencein the Femtech Space

16 24 30 36 40

Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor

Sumita Sarkar Anish Miller

Managing Editor

Abhishaj Sajeev

Assisting Editors

Trishika, Vinayak

Visualiser Art & Design Head Co-designer Art & Picture Editor Business Development Manager Marketing Manager

David King Priyanka Rajage Paul Belin Rohil Shinganapurkar Amy Jones John Smith Sarah Wilson, John Smith, Alex Vincent

Business Development Executives Sales Executives

Kelli, Bill, Anna

Technical Head Assistant Technical Head Technical Consultants

Jacob Smile Pratiksha Patil David, Robert

Digital Marketing Manager Assistant Digital Marketing Manager SME-SMO Executives

Alina Sege Amol Wadekar Atul, Gemson

Research Analyst Circulation Manager

Eric Smith Tanaji

sales@insightscare.com

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LEADING

COMPANIES SHAPING THE

FUTURE OF

Women’s Health 2021

Company Name

Featuring

Description

Aspira Women's Health aspirawh.com

Kaile A. Zagger COO

Aspira is dedicated to transforming women's health with a unique approach to ovarian cancer risk assessment and detection.

Elidah Inc elidah.com

Gloria Kolb CEO

Elidah's ELITONE, is the first non-intrusive treatment for bladder leaks. It's non-intrusive both physically and on your time, as one can get treatment wearing the device while doing other tasks.

HRA Pharma hra-pharma.com

Frederique Welgryn Chief Strategic Operations and CIO

HRA Pharma is a fast growing, innovative consumer healthcare company, empowering people throughout the world to improve their lives by developing accessible, value added, self-care solutions.

Richard C. Duke CEO

MenoGeniX is a women’s health care company focused on the clinical development of a biopharmaceutical alternative to FDA-approved hormone therapies and anti-depressants to treat hot flashes and related vasomotor symptoms of naturally occurring and surgically induced menopause.

Oren Oz CEO & Founder

Nuvo Group is committed to reinventing pregnancy care for the 21st century through new technology, tools, and practices for providers and expectant mothers, including the INVU™

by Nuvo platform, an FDA-cleared, prescription initiated remote pregnancy monitoring and management system.

MenoGeniX menogenix.com

Nuvocares nuvocares.com

Pandia Health makes women’s lives easier by providing a onestop shop for recurring medications, starting with birth control.

From affordable telehealth to prescription fulfillment and medicine delivery, Pandia Health is building the Online Health Brand Women Trust.

Perifit is a Kegel exerciser that lets you control video games with your pelvic floor. These games were designed by health professionals to bring you the perfect kegel workout. Many health professionals worldwide recommend Perifit for more effective Kegels.

Pandia Health Inc pandiahealth.com

Dr. Sophia Yen CEO & Founder

Perifit perifit.co

Cyril Haoudi Co- Founder

Veru Inc verupharma.com

Mitchell S. Steiner Chairman, President and CEO

Veru Inc. is an Oncology Biopharmaceutical Company Developing and Commercializing Novel Medicines for Prostate Cancer and Urology Specialty Pharmaceuticals.

Women's Telehealth womenstelehealth.com

Tanya Mack President

Women's Telehealth provides high risk OB, maternal fetal medicine services to rural, urban and international patients via telehealth technologies.

WUKA wuka.co.uk

Ruby Raut CEO and Co Founder

WUKA creates award-winning, sustainable and luxurious period wear to replace disposable tampons and pads. WUKA period wear was created so people can have ultra-hygienic and luxuriously comfortable periods.

Elidah “

We empower women to take control of their health.

C O V E R S T O R Y

Addressing Women’s Health Needs through Technology

Gloria Kolb CEO

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ver the last couple of years, there has been a rise in innovative technology catering to women’s health, otherwise known as the Femtech market. This segment in the women’s healthcare sector had focused on technological solutions emphasizing primarily on fertility and pregnancy, with the quickto-market mobile apps.

However, many important topics related to women’s health are expanding in innovation. These include pelvic health, menopause, disease management, and so on. Many renowned companies are providing new and exceptional healthcare services to women.

One prominent company making its mark in the industry is Elidah, Inc. Founded by Gloria and Eric Kolb in 2014, the company designs and manufactures the ELITONE® medical device. With 40+ years of combined

experience in medical device product development and commercialization, Elidah’s mission is to empower women to take control of their pelvic health.

Elidah is a woman-owned medical device company based in Connecticut, USA, funded mainly by the National Science Foundation. The company makes ELITONE®, a non-intrusive device that strengthens weakened pelvic floor muscles for the one in three women with bladder leaks.

The externally placed technology is discreet, comfortable, and worn under clothing for 20 minutes, making treatment easy. Women receive Kegel contractions, longer and more robust than they could themselves, without the work. They wear it and walk around doing other things they need to do, so it doesn’t take up their time.

ELITONE® is FDA-cleared and clinically proven to reduce incontinence and fills the enormous

gap between Kegels and surgery. The device is sold directly to consumers without a prescription. The recently received CE-Mark allows ELITONE® to be sold all over the world.

Additionally, ELITONE® will expand to the overactive bladder market in late 2021 and enter clinical evaluation on males. This device is becoming a leader in the fast-growing femtech niche and aging spaces and fills an unmet need in the large market worldwide.

The company’s goal is to design products for women’s problems and how women would use them – for women by women. “We know that one of our vaginal electrical stimulation competitors is designed by a 75-yearold man. He made the vaginal probe too big yet made it pink and purple – we can only assume because he thought that’s what women wanted,” Gloria expressed.

Molding Experience into Expertise At the helm of Elidah’s voyage towards tremendous success is Gloria Kolb, the company’s CEO. She has been in medical device development and commercialization for 25 years with both large and small companies.

Gloria has been involved in a variety of medical fields, from orthopedics to imaging to urology. But it wasn’t until after the birth of her three kids that she realized – 1) how big the problem was, 2) how little women talked about it (her mom had two surgeries and never told her about the problem), and 3) the poor treatment options.

Gloria believes that Kegel exercises are the first line of treatment, but one has to do these exercises multiple times every day to be effective. Adding to this, she says, “A quarter of all women do them incorrectly. And then on the other end of the spectrum, there is pelvic mesh surgery – which, to date, has over 100,000 lawsuits and has been banned in many countries because it is so problematic.”

“Everything in between is a vaginal device. With these vaginal devices, one must lock themselves in their bedroom

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in privacy and dedicate 20 minutes a day on their back. No busy mom has time for that! Plus, there is the ‘icky’ factor and large infection rate,” she adds.

“

Our ELITONE® device is changing how women improve pelvic floor health

The ELITONE® Advantage ELITONE® offers a variety of advantages to the users. It improves a weak bladder in weeks; this enables the patients to start living without the pad habit. This device is FDA cleared to treat incontinence and exercises the pelvic floor muscles most safely and efficiently as possible. Other Kegel trainer devices are not FDA cleared for incontinence. At the premier gynecological society, nine out of ten gynecologists recommend ELITONE®.

ELITONE®’s 100% external pelvic floor therapy allows comfortable movement and doesn’t take the user’s time. They can wear ELITONE® under their clothes while working, cooking, or pretty much anytime. The product is genuinely non-intrusive.

ELITONE® is a pelvic floor exerciser that delivers therapeutic stimulation and performs Kegel exercises for women, but longer and stronger than they can, on their own. ELITONE® ’s PMW Technology is designed to maximize comfort and efficacy for the perfect stress incontinence treatment. Activities such as dancing, hiking, exercise, etc. that have become taboo because of

We want all women to regain control and regain confidence.

leaking can be done comfortably with the assistance of this product.

Elidah holds several patents on this revolutionary device and maintains ISO 13485:2016 certification as a medical device manufacturer. Since 2014, the company has been working closely with medical professionals across the USA to deliver clinically effective solutions that help improve women’s lives. With ELITONE®, the company is proud to offer a safe, effective, wearable treatment for women.

Transforming the Pandemic Challenge into an Advantage Gloria believes that the pandemic has forced the entire health system to wake up and think about efficient care and realize what is possible with telehealth.

It has also helped fuel more acceptance of at-home treatments. The consumer makes more decisions directly (pelvic floor physical therapy requires taking time off work weekly for going into a clinician’s office). She further adds that ELITONE® fits nicely with an at-home treatment that is easy to use and doesn’t take up people’s time for pelvic floor strengthening.

Supporting Women Empowerment Elidah Inc. believes in empowering women and fighting for their freedom.

It is proud to support the A21 campaign in its mission to end human trafficking. By reducing vulnerability, identifying victims, and empowering survivors, A21 can reach, rescue, and restore lives.

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Opinions about Advanced Technology and the Future of Women’s Health Team Elidah believes that women are typically the ‘doctors’ of their household, doing the bulk of medical research and treatment decisions. The company believes that AI and ML will continue to make many treatments more customized and localized, therefore, usually more effective and user-friendly. Based on research, these innovative digital solutions have been embraced earlier by women and hopefully will help make their lives easier and save their time.

ELITONE®'s discreet and comfortable treatment allows women to get back to their active lifestyle without worrying about leaks and rushing to the bathroom.

A Collection of Awards Throughout its illustrious journey of delivering excellent healthcare, Elidah

has won several awards. However, the most important ones are the SBIR funding that it received from the National Science Foundation and Department of Defense (helped fund the male device.) The SBIR helped fund the development.

The company has also won various industry awards that are a confirmation of its dedication to achieving excellence. Elidah won the New Product of the Year (against all the new facial products for beauty) in the aesthetics industry’s MyFaceMyBody award.

Most recently, the company also won the SlingShot2020, which is an international start-up competition.

Elidah was a Top10 awardee out of 7500 entries and all industries. It was one of two life science companies that were awarded this honor.

Advice for the Emerging Entrepreneurs Gloria states that she has mixed feelings about entrepreneurs entering women’s health. “Certainly, women’s health has had less innovation and has been so long ignored that I want to encourage everyone to innovate and dive into solving problems for women’s health,” she expresses.

On the other hand, she believes that funding hasn’t caught on in this space, so she sees many of her colleagues in women’s health struggling to get the attention of investors and make a dent in the market.

Hence, Gloria believes that it is still a hard struggle. She opines that being an entrepreneur is already hard, but being in women’s health is even harder, especially in many ‘taboo’ topics.

“I’m not sure why women’s health tends to be ‘taboo’ topics:

menstruation, breasts, vaginas, sexual issues, pelvic health, and even menopause.

But it is a disservice which leads to lack of awareness and information,” adds Gloria.

“

Everything about ELITONE was designed to be EASY to use.

“For example, incontinence affects one in three women worldwide, yet women are so embarrassed to talk about it, and 2/3 don’t talk to their doctor about it, so they wait in silence as their symptoms get worse (without treatment, incontinence almost always progresses),” she adds.

Towards a Bright Future Marching ahead, Elidah Inc. plans to continue to get the word out that there

is a non-intrusive easy treatment at home for incontinence. It wishes that everyone lives completely active lives (incontinence dramatically affects the quality of life and is a major contributor to depression). The company is also excited to be on track to develop a treatment for overactive bladder soon and expand globally.

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ELITONE®'s PMW Technology is designed to maximize comfort and efficacy.

Clinician-recommended Below is the feedback from renowned physicians who have shared their opinions and experiences about ® ELITONE : ®

"ELITONE exercises the right muscles, in the right way, as we go about our normal daily activities. It gives women a great deal of personal control over their bladder and over their urinary leaks." – Barbara Levy, MD, FACOG, FACS, former VP of health policy at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) "I was impressed by the depth of stimulation that I could achieve while remaining comfortable. I think your product will be a wonderful option for our patients that do not want intravaginal stimulation." – Melanie Schlittenhardt, BoardCertified Urology Nurse Practitioner, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Pelican Health Clinic

Clients Speak "This is brilliant! It is so not invasive, so simple, and so comfortable. I've tried so many things over the last 15 years. This was the easiest yet the most productive. I truly love the product." – Lori, Indiana, Age 47 "This device worked so well for me. Amazingly, those issues with incontinence are gone. All of the reviews I've read on your website are true….. ALL OF THEM. Thanks for such a life-changing product." – Connie, CA, Age 63 "It worked very nicely for me with very little effort! I could notice a huge difference within two weeks, and I was amazed. No more bulky pads for daytime at all." – Patricia, Illinois, Age 68

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10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women’s Health, 2021

Radical Transformation of Preventative Care Through Innovative Diagnostics

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he future of women’s healthcare lies in horizontal collaboration and preventive medicine. Women make up more than half of the US population, yet their unique and specific medical needs are frequently ignored. Many women receive fragmented, inadequate care that leads to either no diagnosis or misdiagnosis. As an industry, we must evolve and progress to a horizontal care pathway, especially for women.

We should concentrate on establishing an approach that is focused on preventive and personalized care versus a decentralized approach in which her signs, symptoms and/or family history, may be lost in translation.

Kaile Zagger, Chief Operating Officer of Aspira Women’s Health Inc, has been praised by her peers and the healthcare community at large for bringing a fresh and transformative perspective to the healthcare industry over the course of the past twenty years. She has been acclaimed for her leadership style and unique abilities to bring insights to businesses and bring them to unprecedented levels of growth.

Kaile’s career began in the Global Leadership Development Program at

General Electric, where she was deeply rooted in strong process management, financial principles, leadership rigor, and Six Sigma methodology. She has been awarded for her people-centric leadership style and ability to pivot businesses while building a strong culture of collaboration and crossfunctional leadership.

Although Kaile’s career has been spent in large cap healthcare companies, she most recently joined Aspira due to a long-held personal mission. She is firmly committed to bringing about the transformation of the prevention and diagnosis paradigm for ovarian cancer, one of the most lethal of cancers. Kaile emphasizes that prevention and awareness efforts, widespread use of novel diagnostic tools to enable early diagnosis and treatment, and public advocacy for a definitive call to action are key elements for progress concerning this malignancy. Tragically, her mother died of ovarian cancer in 1999 at the young age of 46, a victim of the fragmented and unorganized state of the healthcare industry.

Kaile has dedicated her life to improving businesses and delivery systems in order to improve patient care. Her dedication extends to ensuring the preservation of lives

through improved access to healthcare and acceleration of products to market that are life-saving. Her ongoing efforts have brought the vision and practice of “the whole” business to the forefront of the minds of her peers. In her presentations of transformational principles, Kaile states that the components represent a Venn diagram that are inextricably linked. She emphasizes that in order to transform and lift the whole one must improve the parts – all of the parts.

Please brief our audience about Aspira Women’s Health, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the women's health solutions niche.

Kaile has served various Fortune 500 healthcare companies and has brought her accomplished history to Aspira Women’s Health with a mission to strongly transform and position the company for acceleration and growth.

The mission of Aspira Women’s Health is to transform women's health, starting with ovarian cancer. Kaile notes that Aspira is dedicated to discovering, developing, and utilizing novel high value diagnostic and bioanalytical solutions that help physicians diagnose, treat, and improve gynecologic health outcomes for women.

16|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

The Visionary Leader COO Kaile Zagger has always been fierce in her commitment to success and the success of other women. Kaile fought her way to survival and selfmade success after losing her mother to ovarian cancer, which gives her a deeply personal connection to eradication of late-stage cancer diagnosis.

She has experienced the devastating nature of late-stage ovarian cancer, beginning with her mother's diagnosis at age 40 and her death only six years later. Her mother’s early death from ovarian cancer has fueled her fierce commitment to the horizontal revolution that needs to transpire within the healthcare system in order that patients are better cared for, and disease is either prevented or captured at early stage.

Her first job was at GE, where she experienced significant exposure to business in four continents through her participation in the world-renowned Jack F. Welch Leadership Development Center. She Kaile excelled in rigorous financial management and process rigor – a Six Sigma Blackbelt, Kaile is a tremendous believer in strong financial management, strong strategic planning, and lean process deployment throughout an organization.

Kaile’s over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry has led to her emergence as a healthcare expert with significant knowledge across healthcare service lines, as well as a leader in white space builds who is renowned for her work in transforming and accelerating the performance of businesses.

She is also the cofounder of MAT Designation, a foundation built to

Kaile Zagger Chief Operating Officer

address the unequivocal need for early detection education regarding gynecologic malignancies for healthcare professionals. Kaile is an activist and a warrior for women, and is fiercely committed to solving the ovarian cancer early detection crisis.

At Aspira, Kaile has restructured and redeployed the operations and deployment of the company’s go-to-market. In less than one year, she lifted five new verticals within the organization and has positioned the company for great success in 2022.

“There is significant power in a strong and viable healthcare system. One that intersects the right products and services at the right time, in order to save lives. The time for transformation is now. We have learned a tremendous amount through the pandemic. The healthcare industry is ever evolving and on the verge of a radical revolution across every aspect of the healthcare sector. It’s a very exciting time for patients and the future of the system,” concludes Kaile.

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low risk, the surgery can be performed by a gynecologist; if the results show high risk, the patient should be referred to a gynecologic oncologist, according to Kaile

In 2021, amidst a pandemic, we have outperformed all previous years and have had eight record months of performance.

“Our product portfolio includes an ovarian cancer risk assessment tool for women with pelvic masses called OVA1plusTM as well as another innovative ovarian cancer risk assessment test for women with pelvic masses that we will be launching soon OVAWATCH. Our portfolio also includes GenetiXSM, genetic testing to for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Our Synergy technology transfer platform provides clinicians the ability to run Aspira’s portfolio of testing options at the point of care, such as hospitals or regional/local laboratories. This allows more healthcare providers and their patients easy access to these ground-breaking tests,” notes Kaile.

“About 10% of ovarian cancer cases are due to hereditary, so early knowledge that a woman has a genetic risk can make a tremendous difference in survival. It’s also important to note that there still is no FDA-approved screening test for ovarian cancer.

Moreover, many women and, tragically, their doctors dismiss the

subtle symptoms of this devastating disease,” explains Kaile.

Tell us more about the solutions that give Aspira Women's Health a distinctive edge to stand out from the competition?

“Aspira is completely focused on developing early detection solutions for ovarian cancer. We collaborate with key leaders in this field, including Elena Ratner, MD, associate professor obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive services and co-chief of gynecologic oncology at Yale University School of Medicine. These integral working partnerships help us to further develop the product pipeline and accelerate a solution for early detection of ovarian cancer,” says Kaile.

When a healthcare provider has identified a mass and is planning surgery – it's imperative to understand if that mass has a risk of ovarian cancer so the provider can determine the correct next step. If the results indicate

“There is a significant difference in the 5-year survival rate for ovarian cancer when it is detected early (stage I) – 93%—compared to late stage detection (stage III and IV) 30%. Unfortunately, most patients—more than 60%—are diagnosed with late-stage disease.

Kaile notes “Aspira’s OVA1®plus test is unique in that it is able to confidently detect risk in the early stage,” notes Kaile She continues “Although healthcare providers often use the blood test CA125 to assess ovarian cancer risk, it does not have FDA clearance for this use. OVA1® (a component of OVA1®plus) has been shown to perform better than CA-125 in detecting ovarian cancer risk in Black women; this is important to ensure risk is not missed, and that all women, regardless of race or ethnicity, are assessed accurately.”

“As a result of the success of our innovative tests, in 2021, amidst a pandemic, we have outperformed all previous years and have had eight record months of performance,” says Kaile.

As a seasoned business leader, what is your opinion on the effects of the pandemic on the healthcare sector, and what were the challenges that Aspira Women's Health came across?

“I would summarize these effects as follows”, explains Kaile: 1. Commercial - Commercial access within physician practices and health systems has become

18|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

increasingly challenging. This has accelerated our strategic plans around digitalization and integration within our go-to-market. We hired a cuttingedge and highly progressive chief marketing officer from the private equity and CPG space to accelerate this transformation.

2. War on Talent – Corporations must evolve and progress for success in the future post-pandemic world.

There are multiple factors that the best minds weigh when contemplating their careers. In order to secure great talent, companies must evolve. They must have great leadership who understands how to effectively lead in a hybrid work environment. Strong, open, flexible, and rigorous leadership at the highest and middle organization ranks is key to successful progression.

3. Organizational Challenges- I have a fundamental belief in the power of collaboration and what is created when people are inspired, supported, and moving towards insights together. The pandemic has presented significant challenges for everyone, including having to revisit how, when, and where we collaborate.

“We have moved to a highly structured, well-defined, limited inperson environment at Aspira,” notes Kaile. “Key performance indicators and metrics for growth have never been higher at our company. Our teams are firing on all cylinders and performing at the highest levels in the company’s history – all with our new remote work structure in place. We are midstream on a large-scale transformation of the company, which we have accomplished faster and more efficiently than expected. We attribute this success to the agility we have

deployed and the processes we have put in place to harness and capture the levels of brilliance that can come from a strong balance of work and home.”

Kaile continues “A time of crisis for women has emerged, and it is something that I take very seriously.

Here are some of the important points:” – •

In 2015, the attrition rate for companies was slightly higher for men than women.

•

The pandemic has radically changed that progression, and we are in an emergency situation for women in the workforce.

•

The potential impact of $1T to GDP by 2030 if we allow a gender regressive situation to play out compared to a $13T additive to GDP in the same time frame if we protect women in the workplace.

•

•

We must change how work is done and make significant investments in flexible work environments in order to retain employees who are most affected by the new normal. We must nurture a culture in which women have equal opportunity to achieve their potential and positively impact corporate America – the way the statistics show they do.

There is a direct correlation between profitability and employee satisfaction when women are in leadership positions in a corporation.

•

Decades of research show that women do significantly more housework and childcare than men – so much so that women who are employed full time are often said to be working a double shift.

•

With the pandemic, mothers are more than 3 times as likely as fathers to be responsible for the home. They are 1.5 times more likely than fathers to spend an additional 3 hours or more per day on housework and childcare.

The challenges are even greater for the one in five mothers who don't live with a spouse or partner.

•

1 in 3 mothers has or is considering leaving the workforce or downshifting her career because of COVID-19.

•

Companies cannot afford to lose women leaders: • Profits and shares can be close to 50% higher when women are well represented at the top.

• Senior level women have a solid and meaningful impact on company culture.

In a year marked by crisis and uncertainty, corporate America is at a crossroads. The choices companies make today will have benefits or consequences on gender equality for decades to come.

Up to 2M women are considering leaving the workforce – we are heading into a crisis, and the great downshift and action are required by leaders to ensure we continue to progress.

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THE Emerging FEMTECH Market T

he special significance given to research and development of medicine and technology for women’s health has led to the rise of the Femtech market. Femtech essentially refers to software, products and services, and diagnostics that leverage technology to improve women’s overall health. A good 50% of the market comprises women’s pregnancy, nursing, and reproductive health concerns but isn’t limited to just these categories.

FemTech Market is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 16.2 percent from 2021 to 2027, with a market value of about USD 22.5 billion in 2020. Its potential in basic research and clinical applications has increased thanks to advancements in service development technology. There are currently a variety of femtech services accessible, each with its own set of applications. The market would rise at a lucrative rate throughout the forecast period due to disease diagnosis and treatment effectiveness.

Government initiatives to raise awareness about women’s health, as well as advanced technical options for precise treatment, will drive market growth. The creation of a product pipeline employing digital technologies is a priority for major healthcare players. In addition, developing businesses are heavily spending in R&D to develop breakthrough goods that will better serve women.

The market will advance as the burden of lifestyle diseases rises, and access to remote areas for women’s

health improves COVID-19 has had a huge positive impact on the Femtech market as a result of various lifestyle disorders affecting women’s health. During the pandemic, women’s health concerns grew, including reproductive disease, mental health, and a greater risk of acquiring metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases as a result of changing lifestyle patterns. Miscarriages, stillbirths, and delivery problems are common throughout pregnancy, leading to worry, melancholy, and hormone imbalance.

As a result, industry leaders developed innovative software, services, and solutions using digital technology to reach remote locations around the world in response to growing health concerns and restricted restrictions during the pandemic. Remote healthcare services are provided to healthcare professionals in hospitals, fertility clinics, diagnostic centers, and patients via new-generation services.

The efficacy of advanced products will boost product adoption in the women’s healthcare segment In 2020, the products sector accounted for more than half of the femtech market revenue. The sector is growing because of the rising frequency of chronic and infectious diseases among women, which need precise diagnoses and treatment. Women’s health products, such as fitness trackers, wearables, workout items, and women’s hygiene products, will have an impact on the industry’s growth.

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#IndustryToday The market value is being driven by innovation in smart medical products. The firms are mostly focused on developing innovative solutions for female health and wellness. The goods use technological solutions to aid women’s health during pregnancy. Leaders in the industry that are investing in technology are developing a wide range of products for various uses.

Conclusion The recent developments in the femtech sector are rightfully serving the long overdue women’s health segment. This has led to more innovations in the sector, increasing the health span of women. Observing all the current trends, it is safe to say that the femtech market will only grow exponentially furthermore.

The market demand for reproductive health will be bolstered by rising demand The reproductive health category accounted for 24.5 percent of the femtech market share in 2020, owing to rising reproductive health awareness in the majority of economies. The services and modern software-enabled goods help with a variety of ailments, including sexual and gynecological health, infections, and a variety of disorders.

Participants in the industry are engaged in developmental activities, which is resulting in an increase of offerings and a product pipeline for female reproductive health.

Furthermore, a slew of new businesses is entering the market, offering a variety of reproductive health goods.

Along with increased access to feminine products, the female population in emerging markets is adopting products for reproductive health maintenance with greater awareness, which will help the segment grow.

Growing patient inflow prone to a variety of ailments will mirror the diagnostic center segment’s growth potential The demand for the diagnostic center for Femtech is expected to expand at a 16 percent annual pace until 2027.

For chronic and infectious disorders, diagnostic clinics provide a variety of specialty diagnosis alternatives.

The introduction of digital health, particularly telehealth systems, has sped up the patient-care process. Even during the pandemic, this has allowed for a reduction in inpatient visits. Telehealth solutions help by allowing for remote patient diagnosis and consultations.

Firms’ commercial expansion is aided through product innovations and partnerships to broaden offers HeraMED, Totohealth, Sustain Natural, iSona Health, Minvera, Athena Feminine Technologies, Sera Prognostics, Nuvo, Elvie, Univfy, and Prelude are among the worldwide femtech market’s leaders. To expand their market position, these companies are pursuing a variety of expansion and growth methods.

23|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

- Trishika Rokade

Empowering Women by Providing Advanced Healthcare Solutions

A

famous quote says, “When women take care of their health, they become their best friends.”

Women are the backbone of society. They are the key to maintaining healthy families. From birth-giver to primary caretaker, they play different roles.

However, women experience unique health care challenges.

Across their lifespan, women’s health matters not only for them but also for their families. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, women who are the primary caregivers were the most affected.

Hence, women need to keep an eye on their health, especially on their reproductive health. With the increasing awareness about self-care, women are focusing on their health more than ever. To meet their demand and provide better healthcare services, many companies launched their campaigns. Historically centered around women’s health, one such company HRA Pharma, is trying to make contraception and emergency contraception more accessible to women.

We had the opportunity to interact with Frederique Welgryn, Chief Strategic Operations and Innovation Officer of HRA Pharma, who shed light on the company, its mission, and the future aspects of women’s health solutions market. Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief our audience about your company, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the women’s health solutions niche.

We, HRA Pharma, are a pioneer in women’s reproductive health and have a strong commitment to enabling easy access to contraception since being founded in 1996. We want to challenge the norm and support women’s empower-

ment by helping them take their reproductive health into their own hands; with access, we want to allow more choice and control for women.

Tell us more about the solutions that give your company a distinctive edge to stand out from the competition?

HRA is a leader in consumer health, with a specific focus on female reproductive healthcare. HRA was founded 25 years ago with the purpose of making contraception and emergency contraception more accessible to women. We pioneered the launch of ella®, a EMA and FDA-approved emergency contraceptive, and made it available without a prescription in all European countries.

We are now on a mission to make a highly effective daily contraceptive method easily accessible to women through a first-in-class Rx-to-OTC switch. This is the next step of HRA Pharma’s history.

Whatever one may think, women currently face multiple barriers to obtain their daily contraceptive. This has been worsened by the pandemic. National survey data from 2020 shows that one in three women of reproductive age in the US had to delay or cancel a reproductive health visit or had trouble accessing family planning services and methods. As a reminder, half of the pregnancies in the US remain unintended.

By allowing easy access to effective regular contraception, HRA Pharma wishes to tangibly support women in need and give them more control, choice, and empowerment to use contraception on their terms.

Lastly, we also wish to ensure a diverse representation of women in communication and be respectful of gender topics.

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Frederique Welgryn Chief Strategic Opera ons and Innova on Officer

Bradley Meeks, President of HRA Pharma America, says, “Founded in 2016, HRA Pharma America is a rapidly growing subsidiary of HRA Pharma, with a commitment to OTC products and women’s health, with a particular focus on Rx-to-OTC switches. HRA Pharma America made remarkable strides by acquiring Compeed in 2017 and Mederma in 2019. HRA Pharma’s ultimate goal of empowering women by developing accessible solutions to contraceptive needs is gaining ground in the US, including recently through the Nurx partnership. This new collaboration is making express delivery of the emergency contraceptive pill ella® possible throughout the country.”

Frederique, please brief us about your journey and the impact you have made through your role in the organization.

I, Frederique Welgryn, started my career in the pharma industry 25 years ago, working in many areas, including oncology, holding leadership roles in big organizations. I decided to join HRA Pharma precisely because of its values and purpose. I’ve tried ever since to humbly serve it and make sure that more women around the world would benefit from our innovations and our fights for access. I’m particularly proud to say that, thanks to our work and success at HRA, millions of women in Europe now have easy access to emergency contraception in Europe.

I’m particularly proud to have built educational campaigns to bust myths around the morning after pill and have been bold enough to advertise its use. I am now proud to lead teams that are so passionate about challenging the norm and change perceptions around women’s rights to access regular contraception. Lastly, I’m surrounded by women of great talent in this organization – our sense of purpose, respect, and sisterhood is incredibly powerful in our day-to-day work and helps us perform above the norm. I feel I have a responsibility to help them grow and become tomorrow’s leaders!

,,

David Wright, CEO, HRA Pharma, says: “I am incredibly proud of the ground-breaking changes our teams have worked to deliver for women in Europe, the UK, and most recently in the US by securing the first-in-class switch of regular contraception during 2021 through to 2022, to meet women’s needs better. More broadly, the hard work and dedication of HRA have positioned the brand as the leading provider of over-the-counter healthcare products in Europe, and rare diseases drugs, with both divisions having seen continuous double-digit growth over the last four years.”

,,

We, HRA Pharma, are a pioneer in women’s reproductive health and have a strong commitment to enabling easy access to contraception since being founded in 1996

As a seasoned business leader what is your opinion on the effects of the pandemic on the healthcare sector, and what were the challenges that your company came across?

The last 18 months have been incredibly challenging for all of us. The healthcare sector has seen less impact of this pandemic than others, but patients have struggled to consult doctors and have postponed visits, exams, and treatments.

At HRA, priority has been put on making sure that there would be no disruption in our supply chain and operations and that all the patients and consumers would be served adequately. We’ve been very concentrated on maintaining the fundamentals of our business and not interrupting our innovation projects.

But, as always, with challenges come opportunities. With consumers connecting more and more digitally and buying more and more online, we have taken steps to upskill our organization and be at the forefront of digital transformation. Women in the UK have been able to order emergency contraception online in UK. We’ve been partnering with women’s health telemedicine platforms to serve women more quickly and anticipate their needs in the US. We’ve also been able to enroll women in clinical trials in a fully digitalized process.

With continuous development in technologies such as AI and ML, what is your prediction about the future of the women’s health solutions niche?

I believe that there are big opportunities and very talented

26|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

people in this area. Women will use a whole set of solutions to manage their health and needs, and AI/ML tools can be of great help for diagnostic, education and can certainly become treatment options at some point. Not all will be reliable, but some will undoubtedly be extremely helpful for women and should be considered in their set of options – with the necessary set of scientific evidence backing their use.

From our perspective, AI/ML certainly can reinvent the way we carry out our tasks in this sector, with learning algorithms making predictions based on certain data types. We are already seeing several apps in the sector available for women, using this approach and assisting them with a wide range of topics.

An area where AI has already been seen to have potential is assisting with staying healthy with the proactive management of a healthy lifestyle empowering the user to control their health and wellbeing. Moving forward clearly, working at scale will improve the overall usage of the technologies, mainly down to resources needed for development and cost-efficiency.

What would be your advice to the entrepreneurs and healthcare enthusiasts aspiring to venture into women’s health solutions market?

Go for it! There is a need; there are talents; there is technology – all ingredients for success. And take a bet on a woman CEO; they seem to be a good ingredient for success - A Mckinsey study showed that organizations with women holding at least 30% of leadership roles were 40% more likely to have sustained, profitable growth.

How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?

David Wright, CEO, HRA Pharma, says, “Since the announcement on September 8, 2021, that Astorg and Goldman Sachs Asset Management had received a binding offer and entered into exclusive negotiations with Perrigo Company plc for the sale of HRA, our growth potential is more exciting than ever. The proposed acquisition by Perrigo is expected to facilitate accelerated innovation. It will enable HRA to continue to provide high-quality products to patients worldwide and build on HRA’s recent successful expansion in the US and draw on its strength in Europe.”

Provide us details regarding the awards and recognition

that your company has achieved thus far since its inception.

HRA is a multi-award-winning organization. Most recently, HRA won the OTCToolbox award in 2021 for ‘Regulatory Achievement of The Year’ in recognition of ellaOne, becoming the first emergency contraceptive pill in Italy to be made available without a prescription to women under 18 years of age. In partnership with Dirt & Glory Media, Havas London and UM Media, the UK team won two other awards for ellaOne’s ‘My Morning after campaign’: the Best Brand Building Campaign and Best Healthcare/Pharmaceutical Campaign at the 2021 CIM Marketing Excellence Awards.

Further awards include - The Talent Management Award at the Personnel Today Awards 2021, European Marketing Campaign of The Year 2019 for ellaOne’s ‘My Morning After’ campaign, Best Product Launch Award, and Best Education and Training Award. at the Smart Awards in 2016, for the prescription-only medicines (Poms) to Pharmacy Medicines P switch for ellaOne and associated training materials.

27|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

‫יּףּכֿ צ לּסּﭏ תּﭏ יּ רּתּ שּׂ לּסּﭏ רּתּכֿמּ ل לּכֿטּ צ ךּףּﭏפֿףּקּתּ װ נּשּףּ כּףּ ‍תּכֿ‬

P

regnancy is one of the most beautiful experiences in a woman’s life. As serene as it is, it is also one of the most complicated and inconvenient processes that women go through. Other than the emotional highs and lows, there are physical complexities that trouble expecting mothers.

Oren Oz ‫ר צ כּשּטּ כֿ לּ כּשּ‌תּש‬

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the expecting mothers even more worried for the life that was growing inside them. Making trips to the hospital for prenatal care was an added concern for the expecting mothers due to the fear of the virus, because they had to visit hospitals for prenatal care that made them more susceptible to the virus.

Studies suggested that pregnant women were at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, and it also increased chances of them giving preterm birth.

This problem had to be addressed with an effective solution and Nuvo Cares had just the right one – providing its clients with virtual healthcare for the tender processes of pregnancy and childbirth.

Nuvo Cares has been recognized with several awards and recognitions viz., Digital Health Awards – GOLD – Connected Digital Health/Telehealth/Remote Patient Monitoring (2021), MedTech

30|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women's Health 2021

In the following interview, Founder and CEO, Oren Oz shares the story of how, through Nuvo Cares, he and his team commenced on the journey of making pregnancy more manageable for women.

Following are the highlights of the interview: Please brief our audience about Nuvo Cares, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the women’s health solutions niche.

Nuvo is an innovative medtech company committed to advancing pregnancy care with new technology, tools, and practices that better serve expectant mothers and their healthcare providers. Our goal is to ultimately improve maternal-fetal health outcomes through our comprehensive care system, INVU™ by Nuvo, an FDA-cleared, patentprotected, and prescription-initiated remote pregnancy monitoring platform.

INVU is FDA-cleared to remotely obtain accurate maternal and fetal heart rates (2020) and maternal uterine activity (2021). It combines proprietary hardware for data collection, innovative cloud-based software for computational power, and AI tools to optimize the pregnancy care experience on a global scale.

Tell us more about the solutions that give your company a distinctive edge to stand out from the competition?

A few key points separate INVU from the competitive set.

First, INVU by Nuvo Cares was designed through a consumer-centric lens, in that it embraces mom as the point of care and has data travel across her home, the hospital and the workplace. Second, INVU provides a unique combination of the highest medical grade data accuracy in a self-applied form factor, enabling high quality virtual visits.

Last, through the eyes of a founder who is a data scientist, Nuvo has a unique perspective that the ability to capture, compute and leverage the power of big data/AI tools will create an “X” factor in truly revolutionizing pregnancy care delivery.

We see the opportunity to pioneer a new discipline in pregnancy population health management through the power of our proprietary data platform.

“

‫טּ פֿףּ לּכֿטּךּסּﭏקּטּ לּ װ‬

‫ כּשּטּ ׃פֿפֿ לּשּףּפֿ‌ יּ‬،‫‌תּ‬

‫קּ לּﭏטּ רּףּﭏשּףּ תּﭏ כּ לּ לּשּ‬، ‌‫ כּשּטּﭏפֿכֿ לּ כּשּ‬،‫כֿ‌תּ‬ ‫תּסּ כּשּטּ פֿכֿ לּ רּתּﭏפֿ‌ךּ‬‎

“

Innovator Showcase (Participant; 2021), and CB Insights Digital Health 150 (2020).

‫כֿףּ לּסּﭏ לּ ‍כֿ לּפֿ ﭏפֿ לּ יּ תּﭏ‬ ‫בפֿ כּ לּ לּשּ‬

Oren, please brief us about your professional journey, and the impact that you have made through your role at Nuvo Cares.

I founded Nuvo Group after my wife’s third pregnancy became high-risk, causing us to experience outdated pregnancy care practices such as in-office tests, multiple times a week. During this time, an inaccurate CTG reading nearly resulted in an emergency C-section. The pregnancy ultimately ended with an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, but the frequent trips to the hospital and scare of the false positive stayed with me.

Our experience also made me realize the burden that women were faced with—they had to constantly travel to medical appointments just because they needed to be hooked up to a machine that plugged into a wall. I knew there had to be a way to free them from the wall and the worry, and from there, Nuvo was born.

These are all reasons why Nuvo embraces the emotional component of pregnancy, focusing on a mom-centric model while also ensuring that the clinical goals of prenatal care remain a priority.

As a seasoned business leader what is your opinion on the effects of the pandemic on the healthcare sector, and what were the challenges that your company came across?

31|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

Broadly, COVID-19 changed the trajectory of telehealth, taking it from an unmet need to an acute global need overnight. The more people were restricted by the pandemic, the more empowered they became to take control of their own health—and more than ever before, they wanted digital solutions that enabled them to do so.

We received our first FDA 510(k) clearance for INVU in March 2020, right around the time that the world seemed to come to a screeching halt and the demand for remote solutions began to soar. As a result, we were challenged to swiftly scale our business to fulfill our promise, support our clients and execute our production remotely.

As we quickly mobilized to try to meet the new demand, we wanted to ensure we were giving expectant moms the tools they needed and wanted to get through this unprecedented time, so we conducted a survey of 500 new and expectant moms. What we found was that they were eager for versatility and solutions that would allow them to seek care outside of the doctor’s office.

Specifically, 71% reported being ‘really worried’ about exposure to COVID-19 as a direct result of in-person prenatal visits, and 77% said they would prefer to do some of their prenatal visits remotely as long as their doctor could provide the same level of care as in-person visits.

Knowing this, throughout the pandemic, we worked harder than ever to take our company to the next level, including our supplemental FDA 510(k) clearance in 2021, the expansion of our board of directors, and our growing ledger of commercial partnerships. The pandemic challenged our team in a way we had never been challenged before, and I am so proud of everything that we did to rise to the occasion.

With continuous development in technologies such as AI and ML, what is your prediction about the future of the women’s health solutions niche?

I would have to argue that women’s health solution is actually a pretty broad term, so I’m going to focus on Nuvo’s niche, which we call ‘life creation’—the 1,000-day journey from fertility to 12 months post-partum. In this area, I see technologies like AI and ML helping us improve outcomes. By fully optimizing these technologies, we can create better access to better care, and we can do so more efficiently.

In other words, there is less cost to the healthcare system and better results. These technologies also help us increase access and provide better care to the underserved. Data is a great equalizer. As long as we continue to build the right AI to pre-asses/capture preconditions, we can continue to work to eliminate some of the social determinants/factors of health through more fact-based decision-making.

What would be your advice to the entrepreneurs and healthcare enthusiasts aspiring to venture into women’s health solutions market?

Healthcare is a business, and you need to intimately understand your customers and how to best serve their needs. What’s unique about healthcare is that there are multiple stakeholders to consider and address. Patients want ease of use, access, solutions that fit their lifestyle, etc. In this era of consumerization, it’s critical to have a patientcentric approach. At the same time, payers and healthcare systems want solutions that provide quality care but are also cost-effective.

To truly create impact and succeed, you need to constantly ask yourself how you can provide better care while also being more efficient and delighting your patients with a better experience.

How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?

Nuvo has pioneered the development of a unique platform for remote pregnancy monitoring and management, as made evident by the many patents/patents pending that protect our full system of sensors, wearables, and data processing tools/algorithms. During 2021 and beyond, we plan to continue to advance this platform by using data and AI to develop more personalized and predictive care pathways.

The INVU platform is imminently scalable through its ability to provide ‘standard of care anywhere’ or location agnostically. We plan to scale our commercial footprint by continuing to add provider sites and add payers who can extend the benefits of INVU to their members and employer populations.

32|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

How to

Effectively Manage

PCOD/

PCOS T

he disorder polycystic ovarian syndrome or polycystic ovarian disease (PCOS/PCOD) alters a woman’s hormone levels. PCOS/PCOD causes women to create more male hormones than they should.

This hormonal imbalance causes them to miss menstrual periods, making it difficult for them to conceive. Excessive hair growth on the body and face, as well as baldness, are all symptoms of PCOS/PCOD. It can also lead to chronic health issues such as diabetes and heart disease.

Birth control pills and diabetes medications (which treat insulin resistance, which is a sign of PCOS) can help correct the hormone imbalance and alleviate symptoms.

Although it is essential to have a doctor monitor your treatment and symptoms to reduce the intensity of the disorder, it is also important that you make some major lifestyle changes that will support your treatment.

In the following extract, we will explore the diagnosis, treatment, lifestyle changes, and home remedies for PCOS/PCOD:

Diagnosis There is no definite test to diagnose PCOS/PCOD. Your doctor will most likely begin by overviewing your medical history, which includes your menstrual cycles and weight fluctuations. Excess hair growth, insulin resistance, and acne will all be checked during a physical checkup.

A pelvic exam.

A pelvic exam may be suggested by your doctor. The doctor examines your reproductive organs visually and manually for growths, lumps, or other abnormalities.

Blood Tests.

Hormone levels may be measured by analyzing your blood.

This test can rule out the probability of PCOS/PCOD-like menstrual irregularities or androgen excess. Additional blood tests may be taken to assess glucose tolerance as well as fasting cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

An ultrasound.

34|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

#SheCare An ultrasound is a type of diagnostic imaging. Your doctor examines the appearance of your ovaries and the thickness of the uterine lining. In your vaginal canal, a wand-like instrument (transducer) is inserted (transvaginal ultrasound). Sound waves are emitted by the transducer that is translated into visuals on a computer screen.

Your doctor may suggest the following to help you ovulate: Clomiphene. During the first half of your menstrual cycle, you'll take this anti-estrogen pill.

Letrozole is a drug that is used to treat cancer (Femara).

The ovaries may be stimulated by this breast cancer medication.

If you’ve been diagnosed with PCOS, your doctor may suggest additional tests to rule out issues. Among the tests that can be performed are: • Blood pressure, glucose tolerance, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels should all be checked on a regular basis.

• Depression and anxiety screening • Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) testing

Metformin. This type 2 diabetes medicine decreases insulin levels and improves insulin resistance. If you don't get pregnant while taking clomiphene, your doctor may recommend that you consume metformin as well.

Metformin can help you shed weight and slow the growth of type 2 diabetes if you have prediabetes.

Treatment PCOS treatment is tailored to your specific needs, such as infertility, hirsutism, acne, or obesity. Lifestyle changes or medication may be used as part of a specific treatment plan.

Lifestyle changes A low-calorie diet mixed with moderate exercise activities may be recommended by your doctor. Even a small weight loss — say, 5% of your body weight — can help improve your health. Shedding weight can help with infertility and may improve the effectiveness of PCOS drugs prescribed by your doctor.

Medications Your doctor may suggest the following to help you control your menstrual cycle: Combination of birth control pills.

Estrogen and progestin-containing pills reduce androgen production while also regulating estrogen. Hormone regulation can reduce your chance of endometrial cancer, as well as abnormal bleeding, excessive hair growth, and acne.

You could use a skin patch or vaginal ring that includes a combination of estrogen and progestin instead of pills.

Progestin therapy.

Progestin therapy is a type of hormone replacement therapy.

Progestin can help regulate your periods and prevent you from endometrial cancer if you take it for 10 to 14 days every one to two months. Progesterone medication does not lower androgen levels or prevent pregnancy. If you also want to avoid pregnancy, a progestin-only minipill or a progestin-containing intrauterine device is a preferable option.

Gonadotropins. Injections are used to provide these hormone medicines.

Lifestyle and Home Remedies To help reduce the effects of PCOS, try the following: Keep a healthy weight. Weight loss can lower insulin and androgen levels, potentially restoring ovulation. Consult your doctor about a weight-control program, and meet with a dietitian on a regular basis to help you reach your weightloss goals.

Limit your carbohydrate intake. Diets high in carbohydrates and low in fat may raise insulin levels. If you have PCOS, consult your doctor about a low-carbohydrate diet. Choose complex carbohydrates to slowly raise your blood sugar levels.

Take part in activities. Exercise helps in the reduction of blood sugar levels. If you have PCOS/PCOD, increasing your daily activity and participating in a regular exercise program may help you treat or even prevent insulin resistance, keep your weight under control, and avoid diabetes.

Bottom Line: While managing PCOS/PCOD, it is important that you seek the right health information from trusted sources that will help you make effective decisions regarding your health.

Give special attention to changing your unhealthy daily patterns that become an obstruction in your treatment, and regularly discuss your improvements with your doctor for a speedy recovery.

- Trishika Rokade

35|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

About the Leader Sophia Yen, M.D. MPH is the CEO and Co-Founder of Pandia Health. She graduated from MIT, UCSF Medical School, and UC Berkeley’s MPH program.

Sophia’s latest health campaign is to educate the public about #periodsOptional. Anyone with a uterus does not have to bleed each month. This will decrease cancer, decrease landfills, and increase women’s participation in school and work.

Dr. Sophia Yen CEO & Co-Founder

36|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women's Health 2021

Pandia Health Expert Birth Control Care By Women, For Women Birth control is used as an effective means of preventing unwanted pregnancy. However, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and one needs to be mindful of the side effects specific to each individual. Both patients and doctors alike need to consider these side effects and risks before deciding about their consistent usage.

Recent research shows that the benefits of birth control may come at a price, as many women report feeling depressed or anxious after starting their birth control regimen. These adverse mental health outcomes can have lasting implications on personal relationships and emotional wellbeing.

This is where Pandia Health comes in. Led by Dr. Sophia Yen, the Co-founder and CEO, the company’s mission is to make women’s lives easier by bringing birth control to women wherever they have internet and a mailbox.

The expert birth control doctors who work with Pandia specialize in women’s health and have a passion for providing affordable and convenient birth control services to its patients.

In the following interview, Dr. Sophia shares insights into the company’s journey, how she and her team of experts are changing the women’s health space for the better, and her vision for the company’s future.

Would you please brief our audience about your company, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the women’s health solutions niche?

Pandia Health was founded by women, for women. We’re here to make women’s lives better by bringing expert, evidence-based healthcare and prescription medications to women wherever you have internet and a mailbox.

As the ONLY Women-Founded, Women-Led, Doctor-Led company in birth control delivery, we are building the Online Health Brand Women Trust, starting with birth control but soon adding acne, menopause, and more.

Tell us more about the solutions that give your company a distinctive edge to stand out from the competition?

We’re here to make women’s lives better by bringing expert, evidence-based healthcare and prescription medications to women.

As the ONLY Academic Doctor-Led company in the field, we provide treatment backed by evidence and science. Our doctors are focused on women’s health. Our CEO has written 2000 birth control prescriptions in 2 years, looking at the side effects by ethnicity and BMI (body mass index) and tailoring our recommendations to result in the least amount of side effects for each customer. It’s personal for us, and we founded this to make women’s lives better.

As a seasoned business leader, what is your opinion on the effects of the pandemic on the healthcare sector, and what were the challenges that your company came across?

COVID has been a tailwind for Pandia Health. It has speeded up the adoption and acceptance of telemedicine and increased the demand for medication delivery. #SkipTheTrip to the pharmacy, where there are long lines and the risk of infection!

With continuous development in technologies such as AI and ML, what is your prediction about the future of the women’s health solutions niche?

Women’s Health is not a niche. Women’s Health is 51% of the population. It’s not going away. It’s here to stay. With ML, there is a lot we can do to personalize healthcare.

However, we need to make sure we train it by race/ethnicity or at least make sure our samples are diverse.

37|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

Exhibiting True Excellence

What would be your advice to the entrepreneurs and healthcare enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the women’s health solutions market?

1) Make sure you have a doctor involved.

2) Do no harm. Don’t push a product that is not backed by science or else that could harm you.

How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?

• • •

• • • •

Pandia Health is excited to launch acne in August and Menopause by the end of the year. We will provide prescription-strength acne treatment and evidence-based medication treatment of menopause. We will expand our Menopause offerings to include nutrition, support groups, and more in 2022.

• • • • • •

SheEO USA Venture 2020 TEDxBerkeley 2020 - Making #PeriodsOptional Forbes, CNNBusiness, Gizmodo, MIT Technology Review, Inc.com, NBC.com, KCBS radio, Ms.Magazine blog, 7x7, KGO radio, theWhat, HerCampus, Bustle, + more.

Social Venture Circle Final 10 Beyond The Pitch 2019 Most Qualified Team at the Palo Alto Impact Center’s Impact Investing Demo Day 2019.

Won #UCEntrepreneurs Alumni Pitch at GCVI Summit 2018 Goldman Sachs Builders & Innovators – Top 100 Entrepreneurs for 2017 StartX – Stanford’s Accelerator, Summer 2017 Silicon Valley Business Journal – Startup CEO of the Year, 2017 Forbes - New Optimism for FemTech in 2017 Bustle - Top 9 women entrepreneurs to watch in 2017 Women’s Startup Lab 2017 Won Girls In Tech’s Amplify Pitch Night 2016

SpringBoard Enterprise’s Tech Innovation Hub 2016

38|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

10 Leading Companies Shaping the Future of Women's Health 2021

PERIFIT

Se ng Benchmarks of Technological Excellence in the Femtech Space

P

elvic floor rehabilitation is an important aspect of female health and wellness and should not be overlooked. It helps resolving issues such as incontinence, sexual discomfort, and other postnatal problems.

The most pressing concern with pelvic floor rehabilitation—or the women’s health niche—is that there hasn’t been enough technological development that address these problems.

However, Perifit, a femtech startup from Paris, France is breaking all the barriers and finding solutions to pelvic floor and vaginal health issues so that women can live their lives, a little less worried.

In the following interview, Cyril Haoudi, the Co-founder of Perifit takes us through the company’s journey so far, its most celebrated product, and his future vision for the company.

Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief our audience about Perifit, its mission, and the key aspects of its stronghold within the women’s health solutions niche.

Just three years after the product

launch, Perifit has already helped coach over 150,000 vaginas worldwide. The company was founded

by Cyril Haoudi and Artem Rodionov in Paris, France in 2017 and has had great international success (+500% increase in sales during last year alone!). Since the end of 2020, Perifit’s team has more than tripled in size and gets closer to its goal of tripling its turnover this year.

Perifit’s mission is to not only help users successfully strengthen and heal their pelvic floor autonomously from the comfort of their own home but to also start a conversation surrounding vaginal health and pelvic floor disorders. More than 1 billion women suffer from pelvic floor disorders such as incontinence or prolapse and doing Kegel exercises can strengthen the pelvic floor to combat these issues.

The topic of vaginal and pelvic floor health is still considered taboo and therefore there’s a lack of information on the topic. It seems that people are not being educated properly on the pelvic floor, its function, or how to take care of it, and why this is important.

Young girls may know what a Kegel is from a young age, but the information doesn’t extend much further than, “they make your vagina strong”. This lack of education and conversation leads to suffering from disorders and not knowing how to treat them.

No matter what stage of life, Perifit helps users bid adieu to the painful effects of incontinence, prolapse, and weakened pelvic function (while also increasing their sexual well-being and preventing future disorders!).

Tell us more about your product ‘Perifit’ that gives your company a distinctive edge to stand out from the competition?

Developed with the help of top pelvic floor experts, the Perifit solution consists of a connected probe and a smartphone app that users use to successfully strengthen and heal their pelvic floor autonomously and from the comfort of their home. Perifit is the only connected device that uses a unique patented double pressure-sensor biofeedback technology to identify faulty contractions so that each step of the training is efficient and safe.

The user’s training journey is adapted to one of our seven programs depending on their specific symptoms and needs and the app then tracks and monitors their progress. With a unique gamification approach, Perifit challenges the user to level up and stay motivated by offering 10 different games.

As a seasoned business leader what is your opinion on the effects of the

40|October 2021|www.insightscare.com

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‫פֿףּ שּתּףּפֿפֿףּ רּ פֿﻠﭏ ףּכֿ לּ‬ ‫וֹקּ לּסּ ‪،‬קּשּתּ ﭏתּשּ תּﭏ‬ ‫פֿכֿ לּפֿ‌‬ ‫‪،‬קּקּ‌מּפֿפֿ לּךּךּ‌פֿ‬

‫‪About the leader‬‬

‫כּשּטּ שּ לּסּﭏ נּשּ לּכֿﭏפֿ‬

‫‪،‬קּוֹ לּ לּ כּ פֿףּ ‪Cyril Haoudi‬‬ ‫לּסּﭏ כּשּטּ כּ לּףּכֿכֿטּ רּ ׃ﭏפֿףּשּףּ רּ לּמּ‬ ‫כֿ לּﭏמּפ בפֿכֿ לּﭏסּ נּ‌טּ כּמּתּ כֿ לּסּﭏטּמּ‬ ‫וֹתּﭏ לּסּﭏמּתּ לּשּתּ רּתּכֿמּ נּשּףּﭏטּ‌ כּטּכֿ נּ‬ ‫׃פֿקּתּתּסּךּפֿ נּשּףּכֿ לּ לּשּףּ נּשּ לּ סּךּשּ לּכֿש‬ ‫ﭏשּ לּ רּ לּ נּטּשּטּ רּ שּףּ כּ לּצּכֿתּ‪ ‎‬לּסּ‬ ‫לּﭏטּכֿתּוֹכֿתּךּ לּסּﭏ כּשּטּ נּשּףּﭏקּ‌פֿשּתּךּ‬ ‫מּקּ לּפֿ רּףּסּ כּשּ‌תּמּ לּסּ ﭏ‌ יּ ׃ כּקּכֿתּ‪‎‬‬ ‫לּ ‍טּסּ תּﭏ נּשּףּﭏשּטּ שּׂ ב כּ לּ פֿףּﭏטּפֿשּ‌‬ ‫טּ לּצּטּ רּ כּשּטּ ﭏךּטּוֹ רּףּ שּטּ‬ ‫׃צּכֿתּ‪ ‎‬פֿףּסּ סּ נּ‌תּכֿסּﭏ לּךּשּ לּכֿ לּמּמּףּ כּ‬ ‫בﭏ ףּכֿ לּ םוֹ‌ﭏכֿטּﭏפֿ טּ כּ לּסּךּשּ‌טּקּ לּסּ‬ ‫שּתּףּפֿפֿףּ רּ שּףּטּ רּ פֿףּסּ פֿכֿ לּ כּףּפֿשּתּךּ לּ װ‬ ‫לּסּﭏמּתּ ﭏשּ לּ רּ לּ ‍תּכֿוֹ רּףּ לּסּﭏ לּ יּ תּﭏ‬ ‫מּתּ נּשּףּ לּ יּקּקּ לּ‪ ‎‬כּשּטּ סּﭏקּטּ לּסּ‬ ‫ב לּ כּףּ‪ ‎‬כּקּכֿתּ‪ ‎‬שּ לּ רּתּ‪‎‬‬

‫ךּףּ ‍קּ לּוֹ כֿףּ לּסּﭏקּטּ לּסּ‬ ‫כֿתּתּ‬ ‫‪،‬קּפֿ‌תּ רּתּשּתּﭏ‌טּ‬ ‫ﭏכֿתּמּ רּתּךּ לּסּﭏ רּתּכֿמּ‬ ‫לּ רּתּסּ שּ‪‎‬תּ כֿףּ לּסּﭏמּתּ‬ ‫טּ ﭏכֿטּﭏפֿ תּפֿקּטּ תּﭏ ﭏ‌ יּ‬ ‫שּתּףּﭏטּפֿכֿ לּ ‍שּתּךּ‬ ‫נּשּףּ כּשּ‌תּכֿכֿ‌פֿ‬ ‫סּﭏקּטּ לּסּקּטּשּףּ נּטּ ‍‬

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‫כֿתּתּ ךּףּ ‍קּ לּוֹ כּשּטּ‬ ‫בפֿכֿ לּ כּכֿתּפֿףּ כּ‬

‫‪Cyril Haoudi | Co-founder‬‬ ‫‪41|October 2021|www.insightscare.com‬‬

pandemic on the healthcare sector, and what were the challenges that your company came across?

The pandemic increased the pace of digitalization, which was (and remains today) a huge growth factor for us. On the other hand, our factories and logistics were slowing down for 2 months, but this ended up being an easy challenge to come across.

With continuous development in technologies such as AI and ML, what is your prediction about the future of the women’s health solutions niche?

Still to this day many of the pains that women experienced remain underserved (endometriosis, vulvodynia, menopause…). AI and ML could help boost the way we diagnose and treat these issues, especially to reduce therapeutic wandering.

What would be your advice to the entrepreneurs and healthcare enthusiasts aspiring to venture into the women’s health solutions market?

Be passionate about women’s health! It is extremely rewarding to see the impact that your work has on others’ lives. This is the best because, your work truly becomes a pleasure.

How do you envision scaling your company’s operations and offerings in 2021?

We will keep recruiting and creating the most talented team in the world!

And with the help from this team, we will continue to push the boundaries of how efficient, amazing, and fun Perifit can be.