Coined in 2016 by Clue Co-Founder Ida Tin, the term femtech refers to products and services supporting women’s health. This area of technological innovation has seen an explosion of growth in the past nine years, with the femtech market currently worth $52bn.
With so much happening in this sector, here are the six most exciting femtech startups to watch:
- Levy Health
Founded by: Caroline Mitterdorfer and Silvia Hecher
With its automated patient triaging, Levy Health is streamlining the fertility journey for both patients and providers – reducing time to diagnose from years to weeks. The company uses Intelligence Amplification (IA) software built on the most recent medical guidelines to seamlessly analyse patient data and lab results, providing clear insights, diagnoses and treatment recommendations.
“We like to think of LEVY Health as a virtual care coordinator for fertility clinics,” says Caroline. “Our platform takes care of everything from diagnostic work-ups to patient education, allowing providers to focus on treatment planning as early as the first consultation.”
Learn more about Levy Health here.
- Allara Health
Founded by: Rachel Blank
After years of struggling with unexplained health issues, Allara Health founder Rachel Blank was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). With up to 70% of people affected by this condition remaining undiagnosed, Rachel found that her long journey to diagnosis was a common one, with many women feeling alone and frustrated. With this in mind, she decided to build Allara Health.
The collaborative care platform provides users with a personalised care plan based on lifestyle, nutrition, exercise and medical expertise – offering more efficient access to diagnosis and treatment.
“Women’s health is often misperceived as limited to pregnancy and fertility, failing to acknowledge the intricate web of health conditions that affect women’s daily lives and long-term health,” says Rachel. “At Allara, we finally take the burden off the patient to navigate a siloed care system and empower her with a whole-body, preventative approach to her health.”
Learn more about Allara Health here.
- Comanche Biopharma
Founded by: Scott Johnson, M.D. and Mike Young
Despite more than 50 years of medical research seeking a cure, preeclampsia is a public health crisis affecting over 10 million women every single year. Comanche Biopharma was founded to tackle this crisis. The pharmaceutical manufacturing startup is currently developing an investigational small interfering RNA (siRNA) medicine designed to reduce sFlt1 – a protein occurring at dangerously high levels in women with preeclampsia.
“Tragically, millions of pregnancies are affected by preeclampsia, contributing to the escalating maternal mortality crisis,” says Allison August, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Comanche Biopharma. “The only current effective intervention to initiate recovery from preeclampsia is premature delivery of the infant, a decision fraught with significant risk of short- and long-term complications for the baby.
“This stark reality, leading to over 500,000 infant fatalities annually worldwide, especially in regions with limited access to neonatal intensive care units, underscores the critical need for an effective treatment – a need our team is acutely aware of and is fully committed to addressing.”
Learn more about Comanche Biopharma here.
- Hertility Health
Founded by: Dr Helen O’Neill, Deirdre O’Neill and Dr Natalie Getreu
Hertility Health (Hertility) is on a mission to shape the future of reproductive healthcare. With women’s health conditions remaining under-researched, Hertility is setting a new standard of scientific rigour. This startup has built the largest global dataset on female reproductive health, and is using that data to provide personalised insights and treatment to patients – all from the comfort of their own homes.
“We live in a society that expects us to tolerate pain and mask our symptoms,” says Helen. “Some women spend over ten years on their contraception, never fully knowing if there might be something wrong.”
By putting reproductive health back in the hands of the people it affects, Fertility is empowering women to make more informed decisions about their health.
Learn more about Hertility Health here.
- Samphire Neuroscience
Founded by: Emilė Radytė and Alex Cook
Samphire Neuroscience’s innovative wearable tech is empowering women to make more informed decisions about their health. The startup’s most exciting product is Nettle, a neurotechnology headband that sends out targeted pulses, mimicking the brain’s activity during the follicular phase and delivering PMS relief.
This technology is now being adapted by the company to encompass a wider range of medical issues, with the introduction of clinical trials for people with PMDD and endometriosis.
“Women’s health has been notoriously under-researched and underfunded for decades,” says Emilė. “As a result, women have been expected to compromise when it comes to taking care of their minds and bodies. What we’re doing is approaching things differently – with the brain as the nexus of health.
“A number of scientific studies have highlighted the potential of brain-based therapies. Mental and physical well-being are essential components of a complex system governed by the brain, and unlocking that system’s capabilities will lead to breakthroughs beyond our current understanding, and Samphire is going to help forge that path.”
Learn more about Samphire Neuroscience here.
- Vira Health
Founded by: Andrea Berchowitz and Dr. Rebecca Love
Vira Health was founded to help women access high-quality care during the menopause. Since being founded five years ago, the healthtech startup has partnered with some of the world’s leading healthcare organisations to support over 2 million women.
Stella – the company’s menopause solution and core product – takes advantage of 90 clinical data points to provide hyper-personalised care. This ensures safe prescribing while adapting to the individual patient’s needs.
“Menopause is a time point in a woman’s life where we can fundamentally change the trajectory of lifelong health,” says Rebecca. “It is outrageous that we have not focused on menopause care more. Stella provides women the relief and support they need for symptoms such as sleep issues, incontinence, mood swings, hot flushes and many others, and helps set women up for better brain, bone and heart health in later life.”
Learn more about Vira Health here.
