Startups & SMEs

Medtech Insight sat down with Anja Streicher, chief marketing officer at Women of Wearables, a global community offering events and education resources to support the femtech industry, to discuss trends in the women's wearables tech market, challenges and innovators pushing the boundaries.

Wearable technology must address women’s unique needs, said Anja Streicher, Women of Wearables chief marketing officer. Samphire Neuroscience and Amira Health demo wearable solutions for PMS and hot flashes at Wired Health.

The US FDA's clearance of QP-Prostate CAD positions the company to support US health care providers and growing markets for fusion biopsy and focal therapy, said Quibim CEO and founder Angel Alberich-Bayarri.

Careology and Entia are partnering to “alleviate the burden of routine patient assessments” on people with cancer. The two early-stage London-based health tech startups already provide services to UK National Health Service (NHS) patients.

In this first of a two-part series highlighting digital and healthtech innovation in Barcelona, Medtech Insight visits the Barcelona Health Hub, a nonprofit that seeks to advance digital health innovation by bringing together start-ups, investors, health care institutions and corporations.

The digital health market includes thousands of app-based solutions targeting single health conditions, but the cost, complexity and number of options “gives too many opportunities to health care systems to say no,” said Mike Trenell, Daiser CEO. The second generation of digital health might have the answers, he said.

Researchers from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Center are testing Digostics’ GTT@home test in children to assess if it offers a better alternative to the clinical gold-standard oral glucose tolerance test.

France-based Germitec aims to double its yearly revenue by expanding its UV-C disinfection technology for endocavitary ultrasound probes into the US market.

PathAI, a Boston-based AI-pathology startup backed by $355m, partners with Brazil’s largest integrated healthcare network to support diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients using its AISight image management system.

Glucotrack is a step closer to marketing its implantable continuous blood glucose monitor, which met primary safety endpoints in its first human trial and is pitched as a potential alternative to existing CGM systems.

The revival in funding of healthtech and pharma startups was significantly influenced by PharmEasy's $216m funding round, led by the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), albeit at a reduced valuation of $710m—a sharp decline from its previous $5.6bn valuation in 2021.

Precision medicine startup LinusBio launches its breakthrough diagnostic aid across 44 US states. The laboratory test aims to support earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and can be ordered by health care providers.

Indian startups hold significant potential to address the gap created by the ban on import of refurbished medical products, but they face challenges on several fronts and call for more government support.

During CES 2025, Medtech Insight accompanied Deloitte analysts Neal Batra and Andrew Davis to identify the biggest trends in digital health and solutions poised to transform the future of health care. Key trends included empowering consumers with actionable health data, the rising investment in specialized areas such as women’s health, and more companies pursuing regulatory clearance for health products.

Quibim announces $50m in an oversubscribed series A funding round. Quibim CEO Ángel Alberich-Bayarri discusses his plans for the new financing and the company’s competitive edge in training AI with multimodal data.

While the UK’s new plan to unlock public health data is a good start, complete, accessible data and regional computational infrastructure are needed to properly train AI for healthcare innovation, AI expert Muhammad Bilal tells Medtech Insight.

The UK market has become tougher for smaller innovators, says Andy Mears, CEO of Deltex Medical, which plans to launch a new iteration of its minimally invasive ultrasound-based technology, the oesophageal Doppler monitor. He explained how market access challenges have steepened.

AI diagnostic biotech startup Owkin says AI adoption in digital pathology is slower than in radiology. In a new report, it identifies reimbursement structures and lack of funding and operational resources as barriers to faster adoption.

In this week’s Digital Health Roundup, Medtech Insight’s Marion Webb brings highlights from Deloitte’s 2025 Life Sciences Outlook Report with medtech leaders’ forecasting significant investments in AI/GenAI. Brian Bossetta talks about the US FDA’s newly formed Digital Health Advisory Committee. Elizabeth Orr highlights the pros and cons of penetration testing for cybersecurity and talks about the US FDA’s final guidance on pre-determined change control plans. Natasha Barrow highlights UK MHRA's AI Airlock Pilot program and MANIFEST.

Scotland has a strong foundation of medtech research, but to reach the ‘tipping point’ where it has gained critical startup mass, it must overcome funding challenges and foster corporate startup partnerships.