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Women’s and men’s bodies are different. This seemingly banal insight is now also being reached in research and start-ups. From an economic perspective, the FemTech sector is a growth market.
The environment is generally becoming harsher for start-ups because investors are less willing to take risks due to economic uncertainties. But business ideas that focus on women’s health have good chances in the next round of financing.
From endometriosis to menopause
Investors have invested three times as much in the so-called FemTech sector in recent years. The number of companies has doubled. Global sales are now estimated at $25 billion, in a few years it will be around 50 billion. This is what the strategy consultant Boston Consulting Group (BCG) expects.
70 percent of digital health applications are used by women.
“The market is very diverse,” explains Heike Dorninger, BCG partner and health sector expert. “There are around 20 business segments along a woman’s life cycle that lend themselves to solutions.”
This includes, for example, the phase in which women want to become pregnant or the menopause. There are also diseases such as endometriosis for which there is hardly any treatment.
Legend: Heike Dorninger BCG expert Heike Dorninger sees opportunities for FemTech start-ups. zvg
Many of the new business ideas focus on digital solutions – such as bracelets, apps and trackers that measure health data.
This is no coincidence: women are particularly keen on digital solutions. “70 percent of digital health applications are used by women,” says Heike Dorninger. That’s why women are an interesting target group. Also for Swiss start-ups.
The market is discovering women’s health
Digitalization and social change in research are an important driver for FemTech. “Differences between women’s and men’s bodies were ignored for a long time,” says Dorninger.
Swiss FemTech start-ups: three examples
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FimmCyte, Basel: Develops treatment for certain types of endometriosis. This is a chronic gynecological disease that affects an estimated 10 to 20 percent of women in Switzerland. FimmCyte is researching a non-hormonal treatment based on immunotherapy. (Click here to go to the FimmCyte website)
Aspivix, Epalinges VD : Develops new instruments and procedures for coil changing. This is intended to reduce pain and bleeding. (Click here to go to the Aspivix website)
Onco GenomX, Allschwil BL: Develops decision-making aids for the treatment of breast cancer patients. The solution is based on AI and deep learning. (Click here to go to the Onco GenomX website)
Women were often not even taken into account in clinical trials – out of caution, as FemTech expert Lisa Falco explains.
Because clinical trials are associated with risks that researchers do not want to burden women with. That’s why women-specific insights fell by the wayside. But that could now change, says Lisa Falco.
Women’s bodies are considered more complex. That would be all the more reason to research the area even better.
Falco previously worked as a data specialist (Director of Data Science) at Ava Women, one of the best-known Swiss start-ups in the field of FemTech. The company, founded in 2014, launched a fertility tracker, was then sold to the USA, then almost went bankrupt and now has a new owner.
Legend: Lisa Falco data specialist Falco is committed to women’s issues. zvg
Lisa Falco found out about women’s health through Ava Women. She has since become an expert and advocate for FemTech. She has written a book on the subject and writes for the US magazine Forbes about news from the sector.
“There used to be little research about women’s bodies,” she notes. “The bodies are more complex. But that would be a real reason to research the area even better,” she says. This change is underway.
Experts therefore assume that a lot will change for women in the next few years. There will be further new specific health offers, medications and adapted therapies.