Recap: Trends in Femtech

This summary was provided by Kimia Sorouri.

🚀 The Emerging FemTech virtual event series has officially launched!

Thank you so much to Candace Nagaraja from L.E.K. Consulting for kicking off the series with a brilliant overview of ‘Trends in FemTech’. Candace drew from her extensive experience in commercialization and marketing strategy as the US Women’s Health Lead for L.E.K. Consulting.

💡 Key takeaways from a very comprehensive and insightful hour:

📌 Women’s clinical needs in the women’s health industry can be grouped into 9 core areas that can be mapped across different stages of a woman’s life: (1) menstrual care, (2) reproductive health and fertility, (3) pregnancy, (4) nursing and post-partum care, (5) pelvic- and uterine-health care, (6) longevity and health concerns unique for women, (7) sexual health, (8) well and mental health, and (9) menopausal care.

📌 Within each of these areas are solutions that can be categorized as falling into 3 broader categories: (a) clinical services and care connectors, (b) care enablement and engagement, and (c) clinical and consumer products.

Consumers of women’s health solutions are faced with substantial challenges, including but not limited to:

🔴 Male bias in health-related research

🔴 Underdiagnosis of common conditions affecting women

🔴 Disproportionate and unaddressed burden of distress

🔴 Inadequate access to care, from PCP to OB/GYNs

Trends in the FemTech space in 2023 will be impacted by:

💼 Digital health interventions supplementing affirmative clinical care

📄 Increased focus on expansion of reimbursement for digital solutions (e.g., for Medicaid)

💰 Evolving investor priorities supporting consolidated service network and development of end-to-end services

📊 Demand for data strategy for fundraising and consumer privacy

⚖ Changes in access and ongoing data privacy concerns post-Roe

Examples of quickly growing areas for solutions in FemTech:

🤰 Targeting underlying causes of maternal mortality

🧪 Home DTC diagnostics/ trend towards consumer-driven healthcare

🩸 Applications of AI in breast imaging & diagnostics / precision medicine

📱 Broad range of digital health solutions focused on fertility

For more insight into the rapidly growing industry of FemTech, visit www.emergingfemtech.org and stay tuned for upcoming events!

Thank you to the Harvard GSAS Business Club, Mignone Center for Career Success, and MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund Program for supporting this event.