- il y a 2 mois
What’s Driving Femtech’s Growth
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00:00Excellent. It is so great to see you all. I am so excited to be here today.
00:06Let's kick it off with a little Slido question. Let's warm up your brains, okay?
00:10Let's get that Slido question up there.
00:13Have you been doing your Slidos yet today, everybody?
00:17There it is. I want to ask you a question.
00:20Here's the question. Bonafide Health, the menopause supplements company,
00:23was acquired in 2023 by PharmaVitae for $425 million.
00:28What was the return on investment for Bonafide investors?
00:33So what did the investors of that company get back?
00:35All right. I want you to answer that while we do introductions.
00:38After we do introductions, we're going to reveal the answer.
00:43Get your Slidos out. All right. Let's go down and have some introductions.
00:47Kick us off.
00:48Thank you, Brittany. Hi. My name is Deepta Khanna.
00:51I'm the chief business leader for the Philips personal health business.
00:54Philips, as many of you might know, is a major medtech player,
00:58and we participate in femtech both in the hospital side
01:02with our businesses in ultrasound and OBGYN services,
01:05but also on the consumer side, which I lead with a wonderful app
01:09and Philips Arvin products.
01:10It's a pleasure to be here with you.
01:12Great.
01:13Hello. I'm Audrey Sang.
01:15I'm CEO of Clue.
01:16Clue is a menstrual and reproductive health app.
01:19We're trusted by 10 million people all over the world
01:23to help them make informed decisions about some pretty key life changes
01:28that they might navigate from menopause through conception
01:32to pregnancy all the way to menopause.
01:35Hi. I'm Maria Toler.
01:37I'm the founding and managing partner of SteelSky Ventures.
01:40We invest in companies that create better access, care,
01:44and outcomes in women's health.
01:47Hi. I'm Yahya Houri.
01:49I'm the chief programs officer at Flat6 Labs.
01:51Flat6 Labs is a startup support organization
01:55and a venture capital fund
01:57that invests in ventures across the Middle East and Africa,
02:01and we run the first femtech accelerator in the MENA region.
02:06All right.
02:07Let's look at the answer.
02:08What was the return on investment for Bonafide Health?
02:12The answer is...
02:1717X.
02:18That's right.
02:18Bonafide Health had only raised $25 million
02:21and exited for $425 million.
02:25What is the moral of the story?
02:27Femtech is a great investment.
02:29Let's talk about what's driving it today.
02:31So we know that in the U.S. and the EU,
02:34femtech, i.e. innovation in women's health and wellness,
02:37is booming.
02:38But what about emerging markets?
02:40Yahya, why don't you tell us about emerging markets?
02:43What is women's health innovation looking like there?
02:46So startup innovation generally has become more and more prevalent
02:51in the Middle East and in Africa,
02:53maybe in the last decade, I would say.
02:55There's a slight uptick in healthcare technology investments
03:01and healthcare technology innovations over the last five years.
03:04But when it actually comes to femtech,
03:06we have several barriers to growth that are coming in.
03:11So the first one is a cultural barrier.
03:14It's particularly in the Middle East,
03:16but also in many parts of Africa,
03:17it's very complicated to talk about female health issues openly.
03:22And so a lot of these things kind of happen more among the close family circles,
03:27maybe close friends,
03:28but definitely not in public and not on digital platforms yet.
03:33The second thing is there's very little investment
03:35that actually goes not only in health tech,
03:37but definitely in femtech.
03:41Because investors do not yet see the potential for this
03:43because people don't talk about it.
03:45And the last one,
03:46and this is I think something that we're finding extremely interesting
03:50when it comes to female-led ventures.
03:53So for example,
03:54our portfolios have about 30% of the startups in our portfolios are woman-led.
04:00But when it actually comes to the femtech sector,
04:0280% of the startups in our femtech accelerator are woman-led.
04:08And that actually creates this kind of repercussion
04:11and this kind of amplification effect
04:13that really greatly drives the usage for these applications.
04:19And so I guess one of the things that we really need to focus on together,
04:23and I'm very glad to be here today,
04:25is how we can actually bring in lessons learned
04:27and best practices from other regions
04:29where femtech is booming
04:30and apply them to regions which are a little bit more conservative.
04:35Thank you so much for saying that.
04:37The 80% is actually across the full femtech industry.
04:41There is no other tech industry out there
04:42where over 80% of the founders are female.
04:46This is truly an industry being built and led by women.
04:49Maria, what were you going to add there?
04:51I was just going to say from a global perspective
04:53that while investment is leading the way for femtech in the U.S.,
04:58its runner-up is the U.K.
05:00and then also there's a lot of opportunity coming up in Germany as well.
05:07Well, Maria, actually, I was going to ask you next.
05:10The Biden administration of the United States
05:12announced a task force focused on women's health
05:15and they've dedicated $100 million,
05:17which that's awesome, but it's just a start.
05:21$100 million.
05:21We all know an AI company that's probably raised that overnight, right?
05:24So we're grateful for $100 million for all of women's health.
05:27We hope we get more,
05:28but what does this really mean for women's health
05:30when you have the U.S. government making task forces
05:33and, you know, nine-digit investments?
05:37It's very powerful
05:38because now we're talking about women's health
05:41not only just on the national stage
05:42but because the U.S. is so expansive on the global stage as well.
05:47And that $100 million,
05:49we all understood that that had to be stretched very far.
05:52So now they've asked the government to approve $12 billion
05:56for women's health innovation and research.
05:59And we are really hoping that the U.S. is going to set the stage
06:02for the rest of the countries to follow on
06:04because we definitely need more investment in this space.
06:07Collectively, women's health funds
06:10only manage less than $400 million.
06:13$400 million.
06:15You're asking for us to solve the problems
06:17of 50% of the world's population
06:20with less than $300 million.
06:23That's not going to happen.
06:24And we can't do that on our own.
06:25So we need government sponsorship.
06:27We need collaboration.
06:28And we need all the people on this stage
06:31to help be a part of the ecosystem's growth.
06:33And I think that governments are finally figuring out
06:37that this isn't just a nice thing to do
06:39for their female population.
06:40But women's health is having a detrimental effect
06:44on the economic development and economies of countries.
06:47When women are not well, communities are not well.
06:50And so with the government finally waking up to this,
06:53Deepta, I know Philips has partnered
06:55with the government as well.
06:56What kind of activities have y'all done
06:58and how has their impression of the impact
07:01of women's health accelerated these partnerships?
07:03It's a great question.
07:05Let me first say how powerful this discussion
07:07is we're having today.
07:08And to plus one, some of the investment statistics
07:10that you mentioned, I read somewhere
07:13that from CB Insights actually,
07:15that investment in femtech was $200 million in 2010
07:18and $1.6 billion by 2020.
07:21So we're on the trajectory, but there's so much to do.
07:24Because the average research that's done
07:26in the medical industry,
07:28the average focus is on white men that are 70 kgs.
07:32And that's bad news for someone like me.
07:34I'm not white, I'm not male,
07:35and unfortunately, I'm not 70 kgs.
07:38But here's the thing.
07:39So I think when we think about the need that's there,
07:43there's such a huge underserved opportunity
07:45that it's absolutely crucial
07:47that there is indeed a partnership
07:48between governments and corporations
07:50to try and further the work.
07:52And I'm very pleased that we're seeing some success in this.
07:55One of our portfolio is a wonderful women's health app.
07:59It's called Pregnancy Plus.
08:01It supports women through their pregnancy journey
08:03with over 70 million downloads.
08:06And that app, we have a partnership
08:08with the government of Michigan,
08:10with the state of Michigan,
08:11where we're able to give them customized information,
08:15prods for better prenatal care,
08:16supported by Medicaid.
08:18And this really helps to improve outcomes,
08:20particularly by getting women
08:22to attend some of those key appointments
08:24that are big markers
08:26in the milestones of their health.
08:27So we see outcomes improve,
08:29and it's just one of many partnerships
08:30that we have between the government and corporate.
08:33Very cool.
08:33Love to hear that.
08:35I don't know if y'all looked at the agenda
08:37for this conference,
08:38but I'm pretty sure it's an AI conference, right?
08:40Like every panel's about AI.
08:42Well, what is AI based on?
08:44It's based on data sets.
08:45And women and females have not been researched enough.
08:48We don't have enough data sets on women's health.
08:51And so Audrey and Clue,
08:53y'all have done an amazing job
08:55of collecting enormous amounts of data.
08:57What were the gaps in data that we had before?
09:01Where is Clue filling them in?
09:04So let's first talk about where we're coming from, right?
09:07So when Clue started as a period tracker
09:09about over a decade ago,
09:11honestly, nobody was saying the word period.
09:15They definitely weren't talking about
09:17cervical fluid or menopause.
09:19That has changed.
09:20But a lot of that was because,
09:22well, when we don't talk about it
09:24and we don't actually have any data about it,
09:26we don't know what that experience is like
09:28or whether it's being served well.
09:31And the truth is,
09:32and we still have a problem with this,
09:34there is an immense gender health gap.
09:36And behind that gender health gap
09:38is a gender data gap.
09:40So the gender health gap,
09:41like this is seen in multiple ways.
09:44Like, first of all,
09:45we were talking about how governments
09:46are actually finally waking up to the fact
09:49that there's actually data behind the fact
09:51that if we were to improve women's health,
09:54we would overall lift the economy.
09:56I mean, a McKinsey report just found
09:58that because women spend 25% more of their life
10:02in poor health than men do,
10:04largely because either it's underdiagnosed,
10:09undiagnosed, misdiagnosed,
10:10and then mistreated and miscared for.
10:13If we were to close that gap,
10:15we would add a trillion dollars
10:16to the global economy by 2030.
10:19I mean, this is where, you know,
10:21investment in the space
10:22can really make a difference.
10:24Investment and data.
10:26And so this comes back to,
10:28you know, the question of,
10:29well, what can we do with data
10:31aside from power,
10:32all kinds of AI algorithms,
10:34which I'm sure we will do.
10:35But first, like,
10:36data is empowering at an individual level.
10:39Like, when you have data about your health,
10:41you can see,
10:42you can see, well, how am I doing?
10:44Is this normal?
10:45You can ask those questions
10:46that you really,
10:47that our user community
10:48really wants to know about.
10:50And you can choose to do something about it
10:52if that were a health concern
10:55that you need to see somebody about
10:56or make a lifestyle change about.
10:58The second and very important impact
11:02of having data
11:02is on a collective level.
11:04So at a collective level,
11:06when you see,
11:07okay, it's not just one person
11:08like reporting period pain,
11:10for example.
11:11When you see this happen
11:13across a population of people,
11:15you cannot just simply go,
11:17oh, you're just having a bad period
11:19or, oh, that's just PMS.
11:21You cannot ignore data
11:23across a population,
11:25especially structured data,
11:26both clinical data
11:27and self-reported real-world data.
11:31So, and what this allows us to do
11:33is like looking back 10 years ago,
11:35okay, there was huge taboo and stigma.
11:37Now there's much less taboo and stigma
11:39and we have measurable ways
11:41to understand the impact
11:43of this gender health gap.
11:44One of the things
11:45that I'm really proud of at Clue
11:47is that we can now take this data
11:50and apply it towards research
11:51and innovation
11:52and actually serve people
11:55that have so far been underserved.
11:58And so, actually,
11:59I brought a slide,
12:01or actually two slides,
12:02because data is always more fun
12:03in visuals.
12:04Let's look at data.
12:05If we can take a look.
12:07So, last year,
12:09not that long ago,
12:10we launched a feature
12:10called My Health Records.
12:12And by the way,
12:13this frustration
12:14with the lack of support
12:16and services for women's health,
12:18we see it across our user community.
12:19They're always telling us,
12:20I just want to be taken seriously
12:21and my doctor isn't listening to me
12:24when I tell them,
12:25you know,
12:25I have these symptoms.
12:26Well, so,
12:2785% of our user community,
12:30by the way,
12:31willingly wants their de-identified data
12:33used towards research.
12:35When we launched
12:36our health records feature,
12:37we asked people,
12:38contribute your diagnostic data
12:40to research
12:45about women's health conditions.
12:47I see everyone's grinning around.
12:48Tech team,
12:49we need the slides on the stage,
12:50please.
12:54So,
12:55they could voluntarily input
12:56their confirmed diagnoses.
12:59And in just a few months,
13:01we already have
13:02400,000 diagnoses recorded.
13:04In fact,
13:05I looked again
13:05at our dashboard this morning,
13:07and it's almost 450,000
13:09diagnoses reported
13:10across 200,000 people.
13:12What really,
13:13I think,
13:14just inspires me
13:15is this kind of groundswell
13:19of support and interest.
13:23It's women and people
13:24with cycles saying,
13:25like,
13:25hey,
13:25we've had enough.
13:26Like,
13:27come on,
13:27give us some solutions.
13:29And then when we look
13:31at this data,
13:32pair it up against
13:33the next slide.
13:45Ah,
13:45we have tracked
13:46over 650 million cycles
13:49in Clue,
13:50and that's 15 billion
13:51health data points.
13:52When you pair
13:53diagnostic data
13:55against longitudinal
13:57cycle health symptoms,
13:59you can really see
14:00how something like AI
14:01could be applied
14:01to better understand,
14:03well,
14:04what does,
14:05you know,
14:06this experience
14:06of the symptom mean
14:07for my overall health?
14:09What can I do
14:10to manage that?
14:11And again,
14:12you know,
14:12I think,
14:13I think we are at such
14:15a powerful
14:16and exciting time
14:17where technology,
14:19data,
14:19that previously
14:20was not available,
14:21and the consumer,
14:23the customer,
14:24the patient,
14:24whatever you want
14:25to call it,
14:25is all at a point
14:27of awareness
14:28and measurability
14:30that,
14:31I see this,
14:33industry completely
14:35changing in the next
14:36very short amount
14:37of time,
14:38and hopefully
14:40investment in this space
14:41will continue to increase.
14:42I just want to give
14:43Brittany a quick shout out.
14:45Speaking of data,
14:46when I started my fund
14:47in 2020,
14:49I was trying to do
14:50the data and gather
14:51research in 2019,
14:52and I found,
14:53like,
14:54two articles.
14:54I didn't even have
14:55enough data
14:56to put together
14:57a pitch presentation
14:58about investing
14:59in something
14:59that was underfunded
15:00because I couldn't find
15:02any information.
15:03So that's why
15:03it's really important
15:04to get this data,
15:05and Brittany was
15:06one of the pioneers
15:07in creating research
15:09focused on women's health.
15:10That gave me
15:11the ammunition I needed
15:12to go sell my fund,
15:14and so that's
15:15what's really important
15:16is data is a really
15:17important part
15:17of all of this.
15:18So thank you, Brittany,
15:19for starting
15:20and leading the charge.
15:21Thank you.
15:22I totally forgot
15:22to introduce myself.
15:23I was like,
15:24I'll do that
15:24somewhere in the middle,
15:25but I'm Dr. Brittany Barreto,
15:27and I'm the host
15:28of the Femtech Focus podcast.
15:30My consulting firm
15:31is called
15:31FemHealth Insights,
15:32and we quantify
15:33the women's health market
15:34in order to activate
15:35investments in this space,
15:37and I am publishing
15:38the first book
15:39on Femtech this summer
15:40coming out
15:40called Unlocking Women's Health.
15:42So give me a follow,
15:43Dr. Brittany Barreto,
15:44on LinkedIn,
15:45TikTok,
15:46all the things.
15:46I was just at
15:47the Eiffel Tower yesterday
15:48with my 3D-printed uterus,
15:50so it's a fun channel
15:52to follow.
15:53So speaking of data,
15:55and just to summarize
15:55what you said, Audrey,
15:57what I heard you say
15:58is that what is driving
16:00Femtech or what's driving
16:01women's health
16:02is the participation
16:03of women
16:04in their own health care.
16:05You had hundreds
16:06of thousands of women
16:08on an app saying,
16:09I will opt in
16:10and give you my data
16:11because I know
16:12I need help
16:13and the rest of women
16:14do too.
16:15And so we see
16:16this awesome,
16:17awesome participation
16:18from the patient.
16:19So if you want to work
16:20in a health care sector
16:21where you actually
16:22have a patient
16:23driving your own sales,
16:25this is a great industry
16:26to be in.
16:27Well, speaking of data,
16:28can we talk about
16:30emerging markets?
16:30So we know that
16:32even when there is data,
16:34it's oftentimes
16:35on healthy
16:36white individuals, right?
16:37And so
16:38what are we doing
16:39in terms of women
16:40in emerging markets
16:41that may not be represented
16:42in these data sets?
16:44Look, it's a great question
16:46because especially
16:47in the Middle East
16:48and in Africa,
16:49there's very, very little data
16:50on almost anything,
16:52let alone on Femtech.
16:54And honestly,
16:55I really admire
16:55the same thing
16:56when I was actually
16:57Googling the...
16:57Sorry, it's okay,
16:58I don't need them.
16:59Don't worry about it.
16:59When I was actually
17:00looking into the topic,
17:03your name really came up
17:04very often.
17:05Good SEO.
17:07And so
17:07I think it would be great
17:09to be able
17:10to create collaborations
17:12across continents
17:14where we can have
17:14people like you
17:16coming in,
17:17maybe funded
17:17either by the private sector,
17:19so we have a partnership
17:20with Organon,
17:21for example,
17:21I'm sure to be very interested
17:22in actually working
17:23on these kind of matters,
17:24or by governments,
17:26especially the governments
17:27in the Gulf region
17:28are very interested
17:29in maybe putting
17:30a bit more money
17:31into this
17:31to shed more light
17:32on the issues,
17:33and actually trying
17:34to see how
17:35we can collaborate
17:36with expertise
17:37and funding put together.
17:39The reality is
17:40without data,
17:41you're not actually able
17:42to come up
17:43with actionable plans
17:45because what happens
17:46a lot of times,
17:46especially in innovation,
17:48is that a lot of times
17:49emerging markets,
17:50we always think,
17:51okay, since there's no data,
17:52we'll just get data,
17:53for example,
17:54from North America.
17:54But that could actually
17:56be very detrimental
17:57because a lot of times
17:58they don't at all
17:59have the same issues,
18:00the same challenges.
18:01Maybe regulation
18:02actually goes completely
18:03against what entrepreneurs
18:04are trying to achieve,
18:06and so you're actually
18:06not able to really
18:08advance the mission
18:10of improving
18:12female healthcare
18:13just by looking at data
18:15that comes,
18:15either it's outdated
18:16or that comes
18:17from other regions,
18:19or that unfortunately
18:21is also wrong
18:22because a lot of times
18:23people are not able
18:25to actually
18:25be as upfront
18:27about their issues
18:29as in other regions.
18:32And so I'll give you
18:33one example.
18:35One of the startups
18:35in our portfolio
18:38of the Femtech program
18:38is called OM-Gyno,
18:41and they do private
18:44testing,
18:45like health test
18:46at home kits
18:47that they send
18:48to the house
18:49in a wrapper
18:51that is a bit discreet.
18:52And so far,
18:54this has actually
18:55improved the health
18:57of more than 2,000 women,
18:58which is really amazing
18:59for the startup,
19:00but when you actually
19:00compare it to
19:01the 150 million women
19:03in our region,
19:04it's a really,
19:05really small drop
19:06in the ocean.
19:06And so how can we
19:07actually normalize
19:08either home testing
19:10or clinical testing
19:11issues without having
19:14a medical staff
19:15judging women
19:16for coming up
19:18with problems
19:19that they're not
19:19supposed to be having.
19:21And so there's
19:21a lot of things
19:22that I think
19:22by cross-pollinating
19:24between continents,
19:25we're able to have
19:26more reliable data
19:27and actually be able
19:28to have more actionable
19:30items for us
19:31to actually continue
19:32and work on.
19:33What I'm hearing you say
19:35is cultural competency,
19:36right?
19:37That so much
19:38of women's health
19:39actually has to do
19:39with culture.
19:40It actually has to do
19:41with societal norms
19:43within that specific
19:44community.
19:46And so we can't
19:47create the same messaging
19:48or product
19:49or access to a solution
19:50for the woman
19:52across the world
19:52because of the cultural
19:53norms.
19:54Did you want to add to that?
19:55Absolutely.
19:55I wanted to say
19:56it's really important
19:57that when anyone
19:58wants to do business
19:59in these regions
19:59that you approach it
20:00with empathy
20:01and humility.
20:02And I can share
20:03a true story
20:03from our side.
20:04The Pregnancy Plus app
20:05was developed
20:06out of the UK
20:07and became very
20:08prominent in the
20:09developed markets
20:10and it does a beautiful
20:11job of visualizing
20:12how your baby grows.
20:14Now we just recently
20:15launched this in India
20:16and discovered
20:17to no surprise
20:18that when you say
20:19that the baby
20:20is now the size
20:20of an avocado,
20:22actually nobody knows
20:23what that is.
20:24What?
20:25Exactly.
20:25So we had to,
20:27it's a simple example
20:28but of course
20:28it's a quick fix
20:30and in this case
20:30it's a little mango
20:31that you could talk about.
20:32But it's a small example
20:34of that cultural sensitivity
20:35that's really important
20:36when you want
20:36to make those connections.
20:37I love that
20:38and you know
20:39we do know
20:40we have some
20:41preliminary data
20:42about how women's health
20:43is different
20:44between races.
20:45We know that
20:45Hispanic women
20:46enter menarche
20:47or starting their period
20:48much younger
20:49than any other race.
20:50We know that
20:51Asian women
20:51enter menopause earlier.
20:53We know that
20:53black women
20:54have more hot flashes
20:55than white women.
20:56And so we can actually
20:57start to tease apart
20:59what is right
21:00for this woman.
21:01What is normal
21:02for this woman
21:03is maybe not normal
21:04for this woman.
21:05And so this woman
21:07we should maybe
21:08go into a C-section
21:09because she really
21:10is not dilating well.
21:11But maybe this woman
21:12who is a black
21:13or indigenous
21:15or Asian
21:16like or older
21:17or already had kids
21:18or there's so many
21:19other variables
21:20maybe her not dilating yet
21:22is actually normal
21:22for her race
21:24or her culture.
21:25Right?
21:25So super interesting there.
21:28I want to segue
21:30over into
21:32talking about
21:33how women
21:34younger women
21:35are consuming
21:36health care differently.
21:37So we know that
21:38and these are kind
21:39of crazy statistics
21:4051% of the population
21:42are female
21:43responsible for 100%.
21:45Take that note down.
21:47Right?
21:47That's a good number.
21:48But they control
21:5090% of over-the-counter
21:52medication purchases.
21:5390
21:5490% of over-the-counter
21:55medication purchases
21:56are done by women.
21:58We also have
21:5980% of health care
22:00decisions for the
22:01entire family
22:02are orchestrated
22:03by women.
22:03So this is kind
22:04of historical.
22:05What are we seeing
22:06Gen Z do
22:07with TikTok
22:08and dismantling
22:10gender
22:11and sexuality norms?
22:13What are we seeing
22:14happen there?
22:14I think it's a very
22:15exciting time
22:16for the world
22:17because there's
22:17a few things
22:18that are very true
22:19for Gen Z
22:20as a whole.
22:20They are the generation
22:22that's born with
22:22a mobile phone
22:23in their hands.
22:24They have as a generation
22:25gone through
22:26a profound experience
22:27of the COVID pandemic
22:28which means
22:29this is a generation
22:30that's very acutely
22:31invested in health
22:33and well-being
22:33and very much
22:34dependent and fluent
22:36in how to use
22:36technology to get
22:37to their needs.
22:38Now at Philips
22:39we actually recently
22:40ran a global survey
22:41across many markets
22:42to understand
22:43where they get
22:43that information
22:44and we found
22:45that more than
22:4650% of young women
22:48are more likely
22:49to get their medical
22:50information on
22:51social media
22:52than they are
22:53through a health
22:54care practitioner.
22:55In markets like
22:55China that's as high
22:56as 75%
22:57and that makes
22:59it really profoundly
23:00important for those
23:01that want to
23:02serve them
23:03to make sure
23:04that you're present
23:05in the language
23:06that they speak
23:07and you know
23:08it's the audiences
23:09there
23:10the content creators
23:11need to find a way
23:12there
23:12and I can remember
23:13a time when
23:14YouTube was somewhat
23:15new
23:16and it took a while
23:17to sort it out
23:18but now my kids
23:18learn math
23:19on that channel
23:21so I think
23:22it's a great channel
23:23and TikTok
23:23and others
23:24are great channels
23:25of communication
23:26but there is a lot
23:27to be done
23:27by content creators
23:28to make sure
23:29that they can go
23:30with you know
23:30credentialed
23:31strong information
23:32to this audience
23:33there.
23:34My mission
23:35in my life
23:36is to uplift
23:37the femtech industry
23:38so that these solutions
23:39can actually go
23:40and improve
23:40women's health
23:41and so I love
23:42finding out
23:42different unique ways
23:43to do that
23:44and I did a TikTok
23:46last year
23:47and I was at a conference
23:48and I was demonstrating
23:49a medical device
23:50for IUD insertion
23:52so it's replacing
23:53the tenaculum
23:55to actually make
23:56IUD insertion
23:57much less painful
23:58and I took this
24:00little demo video
24:00and posted it
24:02on TikTok
24:02and within a week
24:04it has over
24:043.5 million views
24:06and it's still
24:07to this day
24:07you know
24:08has likes
24:09and comments
24:10and one
24:11I couldn't believe
24:12how many women
24:13were actually looking up
24:14IUD insertion
24:15procedure
24:16pain
24:17and that's how
24:17they were finding
24:18that video
24:18but what we did
24:20was that medical device
24:21FDA approved
24:22healthcare billing code
24:24approved
24:25they were having
24:26difficulties getting
24:27gynecologists
24:27to change their methodology
24:29to actually use
24:30a new tool
24:31because in gynecology
24:32innovation is the exception
24:34unfortunately
24:35and what happened
24:36was the founder
24:37of this medical device
24:38went through the
24:395,000 comments
24:40that post had
24:41and said
24:41tell us who your doctor is
24:43we'll tell them
24:44that you're going to
24:45switch physicians
24:46if they don't use
24:47this medical device
24:48couldn't you
24:49no
24:50thousands of medical devices
24:51were sold
24:52through the use
24:53of TikTok
24:54in a video
24:55because doctors
24:56didn't believe
24:57that women cared
24:57that much
24:58also they're using
24:59it for investors
25:00to prove
25:00women care
25:02patients want
25:02this to be
25:03less painful
25:04this is how painful
25:05it is
25:05that millions
25:06of women
25:06are commenting
25:06on this thing
25:08Maria
25:08you have an amazing
25:10portfolio of companies
25:11if I
25:12if and when
25:13I'm an LP
25:13my money
25:14over here
25:16what have you seen
25:17in your
25:19portfolio
25:19in terms of
25:20companies
25:21using the patient
25:22to actually
25:22create the sales
25:24because of their advocacy
25:25yeah
25:26I think it's
25:27really strong
25:28especially in
25:28women's health
25:29as opposed to
25:30other genres
25:32especially in
25:33menopause now
25:34that's another area
25:35that has not
25:36been discussed
25:37and now we're
25:38starting to talk
25:38about it
25:39starting to get
25:39on national
25:40and global stages
25:40and we invested
25:41in the leading
25:42menopause
25:43virtual platform
25:44is called Midi
25:45and they were
25:46able to use
25:47a lot
25:47of user generated
25:49content
25:49to help sell
25:50the products
25:51and that company
25:52has exploded
25:53we invested
25:54in them
25:55two years ago
25:56you know
25:57they were raising
25:5710 million dollars
25:58they just raised
25:59a series B
26:0060 million dollar
26:01round
26:02in a downturn
26:03in a depression
26:03like in a
26:04in a really hard
26:05time to raise money
26:06they were over
26:06subscribed
26:07at 60 million
26:08that is how much
26:09pent up demand
26:10there is
26:11for women's health
26:12products and services
26:13and so
26:13when you're
26:14investing
26:14in these
26:15companies
26:15they have
26:16an outsized
26:17return potential
26:18because look
26:19at all the
26:19women in this
26:20room
26:20and there's
26:21a billion
26:21women who
26:22are going
26:22to turn
26:22to start
26:24to undergo
26:24menopause
26:25next year
26:25a billion
26:26women
26:26there's literally
26:27nothing on the
26:28shelves for them
26:29so if there's
26:29any innovators
26:30in this room
26:30today
26:31and you want
26:31a product
26:32to market
26:33go to
26:34menopause
26:34there's
26:3565,000
26:37Americans
26:38turning 50
26:40every day
26:41we are going
26:42to be a very
26:42old country
26:43in America
26:44and so
26:44we're gearing
26:45up for a lot
26:45of aging
26:46innovation
26:47so just
26:48look to us
26:48if you're
26:49in a younger
26:49country
26:50like in Africa
26:50with a very
26:51young demographic
26:52that's really
26:53what Americans
26:54are going to be
26:55focusing on
26:55in healthcare
26:56because most
26:56of our population
26:57is older
26:58but yeah
26:59so I think
26:59menopause
27:00is going to be
27:00a really
27:01big topic
27:02for you know
27:03the next
27:04foreseeable future
27:05but for now
27:06it's really hot
27:07right now
27:08if anybody
27:08wants to get
27:09into that space
27:09and these women
27:11have the money
27:11to buy it
27:12and they're used
27:12to paying out
27:13of pocket
27:13anyways
27:14I mean we should
27:15definitely change
27:15that but
27:16if you're again
27:17if we're just
27:17focused on
27:18forget all like
27:19the good vibes
27:21you get from
27:21this industry
27:21if you're just
27:22looking at the
27:23business model
27:23this is a consumer
27:24that's normally
27:25paying out of pocket
27:26anyways
27:27yeah and it's
27:28actually a shame
27:29in the US
27:30women yearly
27:32pay 18%
27:33more than men
27:35so this is
27:35in the US
27:36you really only
27:37have insurance
27:38if you are
27:39employed
27:39and so
27:40employed
27:40women on
27:41average
27:42are spending
27:4215 billion
27:44dollars more
27:45than an
27:46employed man
27:47on healthcare
27:48that's not
27:49fair
27:49and so that's
27:50what we're
27:51doing on this
27:51stage
27:52we're making
27:52innovations
27:53we're doing
27:53research
27:54we're putting
27:54products in
27:55the market
27:55to solve
27:56these problems
27:57but it also
27:57is going to
27:58take government
27:58and policy
27:59to change
28:00that as well
28:00and so that's
28:01why it's great
28:01to have everyone's
28:02support in this
28:03room
28:03I'm so excited
28:04to see menopause
28:06products that are
28:06no longer
28:07like stale
28:08and white
28:09and medical
28:09and like a
28:10little old
28:10lady on there
28:12I remember I
28:12would google
28:13image menopausal
28:14woman a few
28:14years ago
28:15and it was
28:15like the
28:16oldest little
28:17ladies
28:17and like god
28:18bless them
28:18but I was
28:19like menopause
28:20starts in your
28:2050s
28:21like what are
28:21these really
28:22old little
28:23ladies doing
28:23well actually
28:24so what we
28:25see now
28:26like so
28:27there's
28:27menopause
28:28which is
28:28technically
28:28one year
28:29after your
28:30periods have
28:30stopped
28:31and there's
28:32perimenopause
28:33which is
28:33perimenopause
28:34tell me
28:34it's up to
28:35a decade
28:36transition
28:37like perimenopause
28:38is a transition
28:39to menopause
28:40and that's
28:40when you hear
28:41about hot
28:41flashes
28:42when you hear
28:42about all
28:43the symptoms
28:43that come
28:44with menopause
28:45it's actually
28:46during this
28:46transitional
28:47period
28:47and after
28:48that you
28:48begin to
28:49experience it
28:50and I think
28:51we have a
28:51couple of
28:51things happening
28:52right now
28:52well one
28:53women are
28:54actually
28:54advocating
28:55their employers
28:55for let's
28:56say menopause
28:58coverage
28:58and menopause
28:59benefits
29:00two as you
29:01were mentioning
29:02like the
29:02younger generations
29:03are learning
29:04about their
29:05health
29:05in a completely
29:06different way
29:07and so we're
29:07seeing a shift
29:08in how let's
29:10say women in
29:11your 30s
29:11which is when
29:12perimenopause
29:13can begin
29:13and how women
29:15in your 30s
29:15are finding out
29:16about perimenopause
29:17before it's like
29:18no one knew
29:19what it was
29:19and it kind of
29:20caught everyone
29:21by surprise
29:22but now
29:23people are
29:23actually asking
29:24for solutions
29:25which is I
29:26think really
29:27exciting
29:29and just to
29:30your point
29:30Brittany you
29:31were talking
29:31about when
29:31you google
29:32menopausal
29:32women it
29:33was coming
29:33up with
29:34all these
29:34older women
29:34now if
29:35you google
29:36menopausal
29:36women Halle
29:37Berry is going
29:38to show up
29:38Drew Barrymore
29:39is going to
29:40show up
29:40Gwyneth Paltrow
29:41is going to
29:41show up
29:42so we are
29:42really starting
29:43to change
29:43the social
29:44conversation
29:44yeah I
29:46love the
29:47mainstreamness
29:47of women's
29:48health now
29:48it's really
29:49propelling the
29:49entire industry
29:50well the
29:51other thing
29:51that propels
29:52the industry
29:52is money
29:53and we
29:54kicked off
29:54this panel
29:55with a
29:56slido
29:56about how
29:57great returns
29:58are in
29:58femtech
29:59Audrey could you
30:00tell us a little
30:00bit more about
30:01exits in women's
30:02health
30:03well I'd love to
30:04also hear the
30:05investor perspective
30:06from but from
30:07our side of the
30:08table and thank
30:09you to to
30:09Brittany actually
30:10for data again
30:12you know there's
30:13been there's been
30:14a dramatic increase
30:16as we've heard of
30:17investment in women's
30:18health and I
30:18think what we
30:19see then is that
30:20there's also a
30:21dramatic increase
30:22in exits so
30:24there have been
30:2415 over the
30:25last couple of
30:26decades and
30:26granted you have
30:27to kind of keep
30:28in mind that the
30:29idea of femtech
30:31really only came to
30:32be our co-founder
30:34Edithin actually
30:35coined the term
30:36in 2016 that's
30:37when we began
30:37talking about this
30:38as a category
30:39even worth
30:40investing in
30:40we're not even
30:4110 years old
30:42here
30:42not even
30:43exactly and so
30:45there even in
30:46the last couple
30:46of decades if you
30:47loop everything in
30:48that could be
30:48considered femtech
30:49there have been
30:5015 IPOs and
30:51149 M&A exits
30:53five of those
30:55IPOs were
30:56unicorns and
30:58that's and there
30:59are more unicorns
31:01in the femtech
31:01space they just
31:03aren't exited yet
31:04and so there has
31:05been not just
31:06increase in
31:07innovation but
31:07also we're
31:09beginning to see
31:09now that
31:10valuation actually
31:12reflects the
31:13increase in
31:14demand and
31:15increase in
31:15awareness in
31:16this whole
31:16space I
31:18also think
31:18that we're
31:19beginning to
31:20see more
31:20M&A activity
31:21happening like
31:22big companies
31:23are beginning
31:24bigger femtech
31:25companies are
31:25acquiring smaller
31:26femtech companies
31:27with the goal of
31:28expanding their
31:29offering and
31:30again I think
31:31this is evidence
31:31that people are
31:34more aware of
31:36because of data
31:37people are more
31:38aware that hey
31:39I might need
31:40something you know
31:41if you're going
31:41through perimenopause
31:42and you don't
31:43realize you're going
31:44through perimenopause
31:44you're not going
31:45to go and find
31:46a product or
31:46service that's
31:47going to serve
31:48you but now
31:49people are actually
31:50aware that there's
31:51this need and so
31:52the market is
31:53expanding the pie is
31:54expanding as well
31:56and we're seeing
31:58this acquisition
31:58activity M&A
32:00activity happen
32:01because there is
32:03evidence that oh
32:03this market is huge
32:04and it's growing
32:05and we have to
32:06better serve people
32:08I remember when I
32:09started working in
32:10femtech in 2019
32:12first of all
32:13everyone thought
32:13I was saying
32:14fintech and I'd
32:15say no femtech
32:16and they're like
32:16female founders
32:17and I'm like well
32:17mostly but that's
32:18also not what I'm
32:19talking about
32:19talking about
32:20women's health
32:21I feel so grateful
32:22that we don't
32:23we didn't even like
32:24spend 10 minutes
32:25defining it
32:25we just jumped
32:26right in
32:26I'm like they
32:27can google it
32:27it's like you
32:28can actually just
32:29figure out the
32:29definition of
32:30femtech now
32:30but I remember
32:332019 2020
32:34people would tell
32:35me like very
32:36educated high up
32:37connected people
32:38would say well
32:39once femtech has
32:40an exit then it'll
32:41get its recognition
32:42and I'm like I'm
32:43pretty sure I know
32:44of several exits
32:45and I realized that
32:46no one was tracking
32:46that and so that's
32:48what we have done
32:48at Fem Health
32:49Insights we started
32:49to track this data
32:50and then report on
32:51it and it's like oh
32:52my gosh not only do
32:53we have exits we've
32:54had five exited
32:55unicorns y'all like
32:56this isn't even with
32:58amazing returns and
33:00they're exiting faster
33:01than the average tech
33:03company and that's
33:04because corporations
33:05specifically
33:06pharmaceutical companies
33:07have cut all their
33:08R&D budget for
33:10women's health R&D
33:11so if you look at
33:12pharmaceutical companies
33:13their budget for
33:14R&D 4% is
33:16dedicated to
33:16women's health
33:17if you remove
33:18cancer you're down
33:19to 1%
33:20to put this in
33:21perspective 2%
33:23is dedicated to
33:25the prostate alone
33:26I hope that
33:27translates for any
33:28of you bilingual
33:28folks okay
33:29prostates 2%
33:31and so what
33:32pharma is doing
33:33that sounds like a
33:34bad thing right
33:35but it's awesome
33:36for startups because
33:37what is happening
33:38is that they are
33:39literally just waiting
33:40for you to create a
33:41product and prove
33:41that it works even
33:42just a little bit and
33:43they're going to
33:43acquire you and so
33:45femtech companies
33:46medical devices
33:47diagnostics you know
33:48even assays and
33:50drugs they just have
33:51to prove it out a
33:52little bit and
33:52they're getting
33:53acquired way
33:54earlier than you
33:55know most health
33:56tech companies can
33:57you talk to us at
33:57philips from the
33:59corporate perspective
34:00how y'all are seeing
34:01internal development
34:02versus external
34:03partnership
34:05absolutely so you
34:06know for philips
34:07women's health is a
34:08major priority and
34:10we look at it across
34:11both the consumer
34:12and the medtech side
34:14and I think that's
34:14important because as
34:16you said you know
34:16women are decision
34:17makers otc space is
34:19one where women make
34:20the predominant
34:21decisions and
34:23preventative care is
34:24increasingly where you
34:25want attention to be
34:26focused now at
34:27philips we do a lot
34:29that is in partnership
34:30both internally and
34:31externally what I've
34:32been talking about on
34:33the philips pregnancy
34:35plus is actually an
34:37acquisition this is a
34:38start-up one of the
34:39early exits in the
34:40space which was a
34:42start-up based out of
34:43the UK in the early
34:442010s and we went
34:46into the space and
34:47acquired them and have
34:48helped them scale from
34:49less than 5 million
34:50users to now 70
34:52million downloads
34:53because we believe that
34:55it's a great part of
34:56the journey of getting
34:58into a better care
35:00through pregnancy and
35:01of course there is a
35:01business value as well
35:02because we have a
35:03business portfolio on
35:04maternal and baby
35:05products with the
35:06philips oven brand
35:07right so to your
35:08point for us it's
35:08great business to have
35:09a relationship with
35:10consumers from that
35:12very early stage and
35:13then see them through
35:14to maternity and
35:15beyond well we have
35:17five minutes left I
35:18would love us to go
35:19down the line because
35:19maybe there are
35:20aspiring femtech
35:22founders here right
35:23now researchers
35:25policymakers etc so
35:27what is an area in
35:28women's health and
35:29wellness that you
35:30think still needs
35:31innovating let's start
35:32at the end and bring
35:33you home sure if you
35:34don't mind I'm just
35:35going to ask for one
35:36quick hands from the
35:37audience I'm just
35:38curious who's an
35:40investor in the room
35:42investors never put
35:43their hands up they're
35:44going to want to be
35:44swarmed after I'm not
35:47sure I mean I think in
35:48an AI panel if you ask
35:50who's an investor in the
35:50room I'm pretty sure you
35:51actually have several
35:52hands up I mean I
35:53think the fact that
35:53nobody put their hands
35:55up is a bit of a
35:56telling indicator that
35:57there's still a lot of
35:59I mean investors are
36:00have to calculate risk
36:02all the time and you
36:03know especially in this
36:04day and age they're
36:05particularly risk averse
36:07the thing is investors
36:08don't you know invest in
36:10in something just because
36:11it's a hype they invest
36:12in it because enough
36:13people are talking about
36:14it that they believe that
36:15somebody else will come
36:16after them and invest or
36:17acquire the company
36:18popularity contest
36:19but it's I mean it's
36:20true so actually the work
36:21that you guys have been
36:22doing on kind of just
36:23aggregating the data on
36:24particular investments and
36:26exits in the femtech sector
36:27is extremely useful
36:28because then that's what
36:29investors can can refer
36:31to and to make sure that
36:33you know it becomes a
36:34more economically viable
36:36you know venture to
36:37actually invest in and
36:38this is honestly this is
36:39a huge problem that
36:41investors are not all are
36:43not yet interested enough
36:44in the femtech sector to
36:46make it happen and the
36:47reality is especially as
36:48you're saying so budgets
36:49are being cut from
36:50research but it's because
36:52it costs a lot of money to
36:52actually do R&D and so
36:54startups need a lot of
36:55money to be able to do
36:55their own R&D and so
36:57unless we're actually
36:57able to change that
36:58narrative and to say it
37:00is not only safe but it's
37:02actually lucrative to
37:03invest in femtech assuming
37:05we're talking about non
37:06impact driven investors
37:08then that's when you know
37:10we can start having this
37:11conversation and I believe
37:12that it's already starting
37:14now because as far as I
37:15know I've been to Viva
37:16Tech several times it's
37:17it's the first session that
37:19I can think of that is
37:20actually tackling the
37:21femtech the femtech topic
37:23and so it starts like this
37:24and then hopefully it will
37:26actually grow into into more
37:27things for us in the in the
37:30Middle East and in Africa I
37:31think the the menopause issue
37:33hasn't yet been kind of on the
37:35on the radar but a lot of the
37:39menstrual female health issues
37:41are definitely something that's
37:43starting to be talked about and
37:44I think that if we're to name
37:45one one particular subset that
37:47could be interesting that would be
37:48it for our region and I will have
37:51run rebuttal to what you said
37:53about later stage investors not
37:55being interested people are
37:56looking at our portfolio and
37:57picking out the winners that's
37:58why we have so much we have
38:00Google Ventures coming after us
38:01we have deal fear deal
38:02Deerfields coming after us we
38:04have a lot of very big health
38:06tech companies that are coming
38:08out and they're looking to us to
38:10show them who the winners are
38:11because 92 percent of the VCs are
38:14male that's why they don't even
38:15understand women's health or how
38:17to invest in it they don't know
38:19what PCOS means they have no clue
38:20about endometriosis fibroids they
38:22were like what is that so we
38:23can't expect them to want to
38:25invest in something that they
38:26really don't understand and are
38:28kind of grossed out about right
38:29so that's why there's funds like
38:30mine and there's other funds that
38:32are founder friendly to these types
38:34of women and hopefully it will
38:36start to translate over to the
38:38MENA and other regions but in the
38:40U.S. where we are starting to
38:41see momentum and so that's really
38:43great I would love for people to
38:46innovate on culturally competent care
38:48we mentioned that a couple of
38:49times it's a area that's completely
38:51overlooked even when we have people
38:53investing in women's health a lot of
38:55times they're investing in it for the
38:56top percent people who can afford you
38:59know these you know amazing like
39:01expensive treatments or birthing
39:02centers and things like that I'm
39:04trying to innovate for the girl on
39:05medicare who just had a kid and now
39:08she's you know has to have figure out
39:10a way to support her right I'm trying
39:11to come up with solutions for those
39:13people who are scared of the health
39:15care system because it's damaged their
39:16families it's done clinical trials with
39:19horrible result I'm innovating for
39:22those people and trying to make sure
39:24that their care is safe I have to say I
39:28wish I was pitching more investors like
39:31you as opposed to the majority of
39:32investors I've pitched in the in the
39:34past where sometimes it feels like sex
39:37ed 101 as opposed to a business pitch
39:40just to educate people about like the
39:42predominance of something like
39:44endometriosis which affects one in ten
39:46women PCOS which affects one in ten
39:48women well perimenopause and menopause
39:50which affect literally every single
39:52person with a cycle and so specifically
39:55actually on you know big open areas I
39:58would look at these hormone related
40:00conditions not just for the diagnosis
40:03but for also for helping people better
40:06treat or manage the symptoms and
40:08conditions around it the future of this
40:10is definitely going to be personalized and
40:12it's definitely going to have to engage
40:14the person that maybe they're not all
40:17like diagnosed conditions maybe their
40:19concerns or just severe symptoms but
40:22what we can do to better help people
40:25recognize what might be the underlying
40:27root cause and then help people figure
40:30out well what is what is my right
40:33treatment and that could involve you
40:34know stuff like lifestyle changes that
40:37you make might make on your own as well as
40:40let's say drugs or other kinds of therapy so
40:42there's a huge space there and and and
40:45actually one thing to add what we found
40:47when we asked people to put in their
40:49confirmed diagnoses is that we had a in
40:51order in an amount of people put anxiety
40:53and depression so the mental health
40:55related ones but my big question is like
40:58well what's the underlying root cause many
41:00of the hormone related conditions also have a
41:03mental health related impact or or symptoms
41:07and so I really want to know like are we
41:10treating the symptom or are we treating the
41:12underlying cause I love it bring us home
41:14real quick what what should we innovate I'm
41:16going to do a shout out to cardiac health and
41:19both in terms of the diagnosis but also in
41:21the public awareness of it this is a quick
41:24note very often we're all trained when you
41:26have a heart attack you're going to feel a
41:27pain in your arm or clutch at your chest
41:29thank you Hollywood but in fact for most
41:32women that's not the case a lot of women
41:34will in fact have a first symptom around a
41:36pain in the back I wish more people knew
41:38that I wish more consumers knew that and
41:40more doctors were able to spot that
41:42quickly thank you all so much please
41:44check out the femtech focus podcast we
41:46want more conversations like this thank
41:48you
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