Issue 133  /  July 17, 2026  /  7 min read

A record $1.55bn for women's health. Vertex paid $10bn.

The record headline hides a bottleneck at Series A. The capital moving at scale is on pharma balance sheets, not venture rounds.

Women's health companies raised a record $1.55 billion in disclosed equity in 2025, up 41%, across 85 companies. That is the highest single-year count W Group has on record. Vertex agreed this week to pay $10 billion for Crinetics. Bayer took €3 billion from Apollo against its contraceptives business. One acquisition is six times the sector's best year. The comparison is not clean, since Crinetics is an endocrine company rather than a femtech one, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia is not a women's condition. That is also the point. Capital at scale is buying late-stage pipelines and established revenue, and almost none of it lands inside the category femtech measures itself by.

— The Luteal
In Today's Brief
Deals & Funding
VIA FutureFemHealth

✉️ Menopause moves further into retail | FDA authorises hysterectomy technology | Bayer's €3bn investment

Bayer secured a €3 billion financing deal with Apollo for its contraceptives business, while Vertex acquired Crinetics in a $10 billion endocrine disease deal that includes a late-stage treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia. The FDA authorized Claria Medical's new technology to improve hysterectomy safety. McKinsey estimates improving women’s health could add £36 billion to the UK economy annually.

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— The Luteal Editorial Team
VIA FemTech World

Women’s health draws record $1.55bn in equity as capital spreads beyond the mega-rounds

Women’s health companies raised a record $1.55 billion in disclosed equity in 2025, a 41% increase year-on-year, according to W Group’s Global Women’s Health Investment Report. Eighty-five companies secured equity in 2025, the highest single-year count on record. Separately, SheMed closed a $50 million Series A round to build a women-specific GLP-1 and metabolic health platform. However, a bottleneck at Series A risks leaving seed-stage companies stuck, affecting future growth for femtech operators.

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— The Luteal Editorial Team
Industry News
VIA FemTech World

New menopause drug approved for use by NHS in Scotland

Up to 48,000 women in Scotland could benefit from fezolinetant (Veoza), which the Scottish Medicines Consortium recommended for NHS use. This new menopause drug offers a non-hormonal option for women who cannot take HRT, addressing symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats. Femtech operators and clinicians observe a new non-hormonal treatment option for menopausal symptoms.

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— The Luteal Editorial Team
VIA FemTech Insider

FDA Approves Celcuity’s REVTORPYK for HR+/HER2-, PIK3CA Wild-Type Advanced Breast Cancer

The FDA approved Celcuity's REVTORPYK (gedatolisib) for HR+/HER2- locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer without a PIK3CA mutation. This approval follows progression on or after at least one line of endocrine therapy in the metastatic setting. REVTORPYK is the first and only FDA-approved therapy to inhibit all class I PI3K isoforms (alpha) and is used in combination with fulvestrant, with or without palbociclib.

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— The Luteal Editorial Team
Clinical & Research