Startup radar: VCs on femtech startups worth watching
Pitchbook
5 min read
Femtech has been gaining more interest from venture investors in recent years. While a broader downturn in dealmaking has slowed investments this year, 70 startups have still managed to attract $375.1 million globally, according to PitchBook data.
The sector raised a record $2.5 billion in 2021, while 2022 was the second most active year ever with $1.5 billion invested.
"We saw an explosion of interest and investment in women's health over the last couple of years, and even with the economic downturn, you can't put that genie back in the bottle," RH Capital managing director Elizabeth Bailey said. "There has been a lot of activity at the seed stage, but now there is a growing need for later-stage VCs to pick up the mantle to help advance that early progress."
We spoke to four VCs active in the space to see which startups—both in and outside of their portfolios—they think will transform women’s health.
Elizabeth Bailey Managing director, RH Capital (Boston)AOA Dx (US) "AOA Dx is an RH Capital portfolio company that is developing a non-invasive liquid biopsy test to diagnose ovarian cancer using novel ganglioside biomarkers. Ovarian cancer is known as the 'silent killer' for women because of the difficulty diagnosing at the earliest stages of the disease, and is currently lacking effective diagnostic tools. With a dramatically more accurate test—especially at Stage I/II—AOA has the potential to transform ovarian cancer diagnosis and truly be life saving." Comanche Biopharma (US) "Comanche Biopharma is developing a novel treatment for preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition for women during pregnancy for which there are currently no therapies. Because of the complexity around including pregnant women in clinical trials, there has been very little innovation in maternal health therapeutics. Comanche is using siRNA to tackle the leading cause of maternal death across the globe."
Cristina Ljungberg Investing partner, The Case For Her (Stockholm)Aquafit Intimate (Israel)
"Aquafit Intimate is a pioneering intimate wellness company providing women with self-care products and services. Aquafit's pure natural products are made of plant-based ingredients, free from vaginal irritants or toxins, and uniquely designed for the vaginal environment. Their products address the sexual wellness and intimacy needs of all women of any age and are especially relevant for the stages of menopause.
"Painful sex as the result of vaginismus, vulvodynia, menopause, chemo and radiation, etc, is a massively underserved market with a lack of appropriate products and services. The Aquafit Intimate, (an) intimate hydrogel trainer, is showing incredible results across hundreds of early customers.
"The Case for Her invested in Aquafit because we genuinely believe it is one of the few companies on the market that actually prioritizes women's sexual wellness and pleasure by addressing many of the causes of painful sex, giving long term relief. Aquafit not only provides treatment for existing conditions, but also serves as a preventative product backed by research."
Amplexd Therapeutics (US)
"Amplexd Therapeutics has developed two topical, non-invasive early cervical cancer treatments as alternatives to "watch and wait" for low-grade dysplasia and invasive surgeries for high-grade dysplasia. The team comprises a group of engineers and scientists on a mission to create affordable solutions to address the often-overlooked public health crisis of HPV and, more specifically, HPV-induced early cervical cancers.
"Amplexd Therapeutics, with its highly innovative idea, has the potential to address cervical cancer with treatments made by women for women."
Linda Greub Managing partner, Avestria Ventures (San Francisco)
Mae (US)
"Mae offers a culturally competent digital care platform that provides necessary education, resources and support to women, starting with Black women, during pregnancy, labor/delivery and postpartum. For example, Mae will allow its users to access experts, connect with doulas, have personal care/birth plans, track their health weekly and more.
"We're excited for Mae's trajectory, especially since there's been a recent focus on maternal mortality and maternal health; the maternal mortality rate in the United States is the worst in the developed world after all and is around 3x higher for Black women than for white women. Plus, Mae’s goal is to work with both regional and national medical insurance companies—like Medicaid which covers 65.9% of births for Black mothers—to ensure that the women who need its resources can access them at no cost."
Axena Health (US)
"Axena is focused on women's pelvic health treatments. 32% of adult women in the United States have at least one pelvic floor disorder, which includes urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence. Currently, the go-to first line of treatment includes pelvic floor muscle exercises, like Kegels, which are often done incorrectly or not at all.
"Axena offers an alternative first-line [medical device] - the Leva Pelvic Health System. Leva is a FDA-cleared treatment for urinary and fecal incontinence and aims to have payor and prescriber support nationwide to help women overcome ineffective pelvic floor muscle exercises and the emotional, psychological and social challenges of a pelvic floor disorder, such as incontinence."
Jessica Karr General partner, Coyote Ventures (San Francisco)
Malama Health (US)
"Malama Health is scaling resources for high-risk pregnancies, starting with gestational diabetes. I wanted to highlight this company because maternal mortality in the US is on the rise, and has the worst rate of all the developed nations in the world. Malama Health is live with over six healthcare systems, and their app is live on the app store in English and Spanish. They are currently working with GD patients to decrease their risk for preterm birth, for development of long-term diabetes, and many other important health outcomes."
Lioness (US)
"I'm a big fan of Lioness. I love their technical approach to help women understand their orgasms. This smart vibrator has a sensor that connects over Bluetooth to their smart app. Women can now see and improve their orgasms this way. Lioness features some bold marketing, including cofounder Anna Lee's comedic TikTok page. We all share the belief that women's sexual health is a critical piece to improving our everyday health and lives."
