Dr. Tarul Kode

Betting On Systems: The Leadership Moment In Women’s Health

Recently, I wrote about betting on myself. It was a reflection on leaving a long career in managed care to step into healthcare venture and company building. I chose alignment over comfort. Conviction over predictability. That decision reshaped my path.

Today, I am thinking about a different kind of bet. On systems.

As a member of the 2026 Women’s Health Council at Springboard Enterprises, I have the privilege of advising and learning from founders and investors who are reshaping the future of healthcare. Springboard has played a catalytic role in expanding access to capital and elevating women innovators across the ecosystem.

The visibility we are seeing in women’s health today matters. But visibility is not infrastructure.

Reflecting on JPM 2026, one of the most consequential conversations centered on a data-driven reframing of women’s health as an investment category. In Follow the Exits: Why Women’s Health is a Smart Bet in Healthcare, Anna Jeter and Emma Giancarlo of AOA Dx analyzed 276 women’s health exits over a 25-year period. Their findings are unequivocal.

More than $100 billion in realized exit value has been generated in women’s health since 2000.

Of the 159 transactions with disclosed values, $91.5 billion occurred between 2000 and 2024.

Nearly half of all exits happened in the past five years.

Twenty-three companies surpassed $1 billion in exit value.

Diagnostics delivered median exits exceeding broader healthcare benchmarks by more than 2×, with capital efficiency ratios above 12×.

Strategic acquirers drove 91 percent of transactions.

This is not a nascent category. It is a scaled, durable market that has been historically misclassified and under-measured. That distinction matters. When performance is mismeasured, capital follows flawed assumptions.

The Gap Isn’t Returns. It’s Infrastructure.

Across my career, I have worked at the intersection of clinical care, venture capital, strategic partnerships, and philanthropy. I have seen innovation succeed and stall for reasons that have little to do with science and everything to do with capital design, governance discipline, and ecosystem coordination.

The women’s health capital gap is often framed as a question of opportunity. The evidence suggests it is a question of architecture.

If more than $100 billion in exit value has already been realized, the issue is not whether women’s health generates returns. It is whether our capital frameworks are calibrated to recognize its full scope.

Historically, women’s health was narrowly defined as reproductive care. Yet only a small percentage of women’s disease burden is exclusive to female biology. The vast majority arises from conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently, including oncology, cardiometabolic disease, autoimmune disorders, neurodegeneration, and chronic conditions

When those exits were categorized under broader healthcare verticals, the performance of women’s health as a cohesive investment segment was obscured.

Infrastructure requires us to widen the lens. Women’s health is not a thematic investment lane. It is a primary determinant of economic productivity, multigenerational stability, and population health.

Capital Allocation Is a Leadership Decision

Capital allocation is not neutral. It signals what we value. It shapes which companies scale. It determines which innovations survive long enough to mature.

The Follow the Exits data demonstrate that women’s health companies have not only exited at scale, but done so efficiently.

Yet prevention, early detection, menopause, neurodegeneration, and cardiometabolic health in women remain undercapitalized relative to disease burden.

That mismatch is not about viability. It is about conviction. Curiosity enters markets when headlines shift. Conviction builds systems that endure beyond cycles.

The capital gap in women’s health is not about returns. It is about resolve.

Reclaiming Agency Through Investment

For me, betting on systems became deeply personal during a period of profound transition. After my divorce, I made a conscious decision to reclaim my agency — not only professionally, but financially. Around the same time, my daughter was healing from a pancreatic tumor. That experience reshaped my understanding of what innovation truly means for families navigating uncertainty.

I chose to become an investor not simply to participate, but to help shape the system itself. I became one of the earliest investors in Persephoni Bio, and ultimately a builder within it — a woman-led biotech venture studio redrawing the map for how oncology, rare disease, and immunology companies are built and scaled to reach patients with greater rigor and speed.

I did not invest because it was easy. I invested because it aligned with my values.

We are living through a period that feels heavy across healthcare and society. Trust in institutions is fragile. Patients are navigating increasing complexity. Scientific advancement is accelerating, yet translation remains uneven.

In that environment, governance is not bureaucracy. It is protection. Regulatory fluency is not friction. It is strategy. Philanthropic alignment is not ancillary. It is upstream risk mitigation.

As a mother of two teenagers,  I think often about the systems they will inherit. The healthcare infrastructure we design today will shape the care they receive decades from now.

That perspective changes how I evaluate opportunity. It changes what I am willing to bet on.

From Momentum to Infrastructure

The data confirm what many of us working in this field have long believed: women’s health is not emerging. It is evolving. Nearly half of all exits have occurred in the past five years. Billion-dollar transactions are no longer anomalies. Strategic acquirers are repeat buyers.

Momentum is real. The leadership question now is whether we translate that momentum into infrastructure. Betting on systems in women’s health means: 

• Deploying capital with conviction, not opportunism.
• Integrating regulatory and clinical expertise early.
• Designing diagnostics and therapeutics with sex-specific data from the start.
• Bridging venture and philanthropy so prevention and early detection do not stall.
• Building cross-sector partnerships so innovation is not siloed.

Springboard has demonstrated what ecosystem building looks like when leaders are supported early and surrounded by community and access. That work is foundational.

Now we have an opportunity to deepen it.

To align capital allocation with disease burden. To correct legacy misclassification that obscured value. To treat women’s health as infrastructure, not adjacency.

Betting on disruption can feel bold. Betting on systems is quieter. But systems are what endure.

In women’s health, endurance will determine whether this moment becomes a legacy — or another missed inflection point.

About Dr. Tarul Kode

Tarul Kode, PharmD is Vice President of Partnerships & Alliance Management at Persephoni Bio, where she shapes how biotech and philanthropy work together to deliver enduring impact for patients and communities. Persephoni is a hybrid venture studio and private equity platform advancing breakthrough therapies across oncology, immunology, and rare disease. In her role, Tarul leads Persephoni’s highest-priority strategic partnerships across industry, academia, philanthropy, and the broader innovation ecosystem, working to build durable, values-aligned collaborations and long-term value creation. She also plays a leadership role in Persephoni’s philanthropic and public-benefit efforts, focused on advancing early biomedical research, prevention, and early detection.

A healthcare and life sciences executive, board member, advisor, and angel investor, Tarul brings more than two decades of experience across clinical care, venture partnerships, investing, and advising healthcare organizations and startups. Her work centers on supporting purpose-driven leaders and building ecosystems where innovation, accountability, and real-world impact reinforce one another.

Tarul also serves on boards or advises several mission-aligned organizations, including Executive Women in Bio, Women Leaders of the World / How Women Lead, CSweetener by HLTH Foundation, and Springboard Enterprises. She was named one of the 2025 BLOC100 Most Impactful Women of Color and Allies in biopharma, healthcare, and life sciences. She holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy (cum laude), completed Harvard Medical School’s Executive Global Health Care Leaders Program (Cohort 1), and is an alumna of VC University through Berkeley Law, NVCA, and Venture Forward.

Based in the greater Seattle area, Tarul is also a mother of two teenagers, grounding her leadership in service, accountability, and responsibility to the next generation.

Alexandra Hirzel

MedTech Investor Perspectives: The Tracks We’re Laying for 2025 and Beyond  

Picture two trains, both bound for the future of healthcare. 

One’s in the United States — a high-speed bullet train powered by deep private capital  and an appetite for risk. The other’s in Europe — an elegantly engineered express,  running on a blend of venture capital and public funding, methodical in its progress and  meticulous about the track it’s on. 

Both are heading toward innovation. But the ride, the rules, and the risks are worlds  apart. 

1. The US vs. Europe Playbook: How the Money Moves  

In the US, speed wins. If you’ve got traction, a credible path to revenue, and a bold  enough vision, there’s capital ready to back you — often in big, late-stage rounds. It’s  the land of the $100M growth raise, the rapid scale, the “let’s get to IPO before the  window closes again.” 

Europe? Think different. The EU just dropped €403 million into medical device  innovation — public money designed to unlock another €826 million in private  investment. Here, you don’t get the cheque for trying. You get it for proving. Clear your  regulatory hurdles, validate your outcomes, and then the capital starts flowing. 

For founders, the question is simple: do you want to be funded to run the race, or  funded once you’ve crossed the qualifying line? 

2. FemTech: The Promise, the Bias, the Opportunity  

If you want to see the funding gap in living color, look at FemTech. 

The market’s barreling toward $75 billion globally. Europe’s early-stage FemTech  funding tripled since last year. North America still holds the crown with 65% of global  capital. 

And yet… add a female founder to the team and the average raise drops by 23% —  even in a sector literally designed to improve women’s health. Fertility and pregnancy  dominate funding; menopause barely gets a seat at the table.

In Europe, FemTech is often valued through public health impact. In the US, it’s all  about market size and exit velocity. Both see opportunity. Neither has solved the bias. 

Here’s the founder takeaway: if you’re building in FemTech, your pitch can’t just be for  women. It has to be for the system — cost savings, scalability, and adoption baked in. 

3. Digital Therapeutics: Regulation as the Green Light  

If FemTech is where you spot bias, Digital Therapeutics (DTx) is where you spot the  investor’s biggest tell: regulatory clarity. 

In the US, the FDA’s SaMD framework is a decent map — but not a full GPS. Only 2%  of products publish cybersecurity summaries, and enterprise buyers are wary. 

In Europe, the MDR sets a tough but trusted standard. And Germany’s DiGA program?  That’s the holy grail. Get your DTx approved, get it prescribed, get it reimbursed —  without spending two years selling into health systems. Investors know that’s a  shortcut to adoption, and they price it in. 

4. Investor Signals You Can’t Ignore  

Across both continents, smart money is looking for: 

  •  Clinical validation before scaling spend. 

  •  Clear reimbursement or payer adoption pathways. 

  •  Founders who know the regulatory chessboard. 

  •  AI, FemTech, and DTx plays that prove clinical and commercial value. 

The 2025 capital market isn’t forgiving. It’s selective. And it’s leaning hard toward  “ready-to-scale” over “great idea in development.” 

5. The Real Message Behind “Make Health Tech Great Again”  

This isn’t about wearables. Or AI buzzwords. Or app libraries. 

It’s about who designs the next layer of healthcare infrastructure. 

Right now, in the US, that design is being outsourced to a loose network of private  players, tied together by a voluntary pledge. No legal guardrails. Massive public visibility. 

If it works, it’s a leap forward. If it fails, we’re looking at more fragmentation, more  privacy breaches, more digital health inequality.

Europe, meanwhile, is watching. But no EU country has rolled out a nationwide  framework to match the US’s scale or speed. Switzerland, France, Germany — they’ve  piloted, but they haven’t committed. And here’s the risk: if Europe doesn’t act, it won’t  just import the platforms. It will import the ethics, governance, and power structures  that come with them. 

6. The Founder’s Lens on 2025 and Beyond  

For founders, the question isn’t “Is the market there?” 

The market is huge. The unmet needs are clear. The investor appetite is real. 

The question is: 

  •  Which track are you building for — the US’s high-speed risk capital, or  Europe’s regulation-first, milestone-backed funding? 

  •  Can you speak the investor language in both? 

  •  And in the bigger picture — are you just building a product, or are you  shaping the very rails that future healthcare will run on? 

Because the tracks we lay in 2025 will decide who owns healthcare’s infrastructure in 2030. 

Final Word:  

At The Scale Foundry, we tell our founders: Fundraising isn’t about convincing  someone to believe in your vision. It’s about proving you’ve already built the future —  and all they have to do is buy a ticket.

About Alexandra Hirzel:

Alexandra Hirzel is an exited serial entrepreneur, MedTech investor, and founder of The Scale Foundry, an advisory firm that helps deep tech and digital health startups scale smarter, faster, and with investor-ready precision. With more than 15 years leading AI, MedTech, and digital innovation across the US, Europe, and the Middle East, she sits on global boards, advises founders from seed to scale, and speaks at leading forums including the UN AI for Good Summit. Alexandra is known for cutting through the hype to deliver strategies that win funding, navigate regulation, and turn ambitious ideas into market-shaping companies.

https://www.thescalefoundry.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-hirzel-35134145

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-scale-foundry

Deanna Angello, MBA

Commercializing Innovation in Healthcare: Why “Think Commercial” Needs to Start on Day 1

When my father was diagnosed with a rare neurodegenerative disease known as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), I knew that breakthrough therapies can still leave patients stranded if access hurdles aren’t solved. I have seen it happen in my biopharma career more than once. Those experiences — and two decades of bringing pipeline assets to market at Pfizer, Genentech/Roche, Kite/Gilead, and Johnson & Johnson— taught me a simple lesson: scientific ingenuity is only half the job. Unless a biotech starts designing for customers, competitors, payers, regulators, and patients early, even an FDA approval can end in commercial disappointment. If you truly understand commercialization, you know that it is so much more than just “sales and marketing”.

⏰The Cost of Waiting

Drug launches are brutally unforgiving. Research has shown that roughly two-thirds of launches miss their first-year revenue targets. For first-time launchers the odds are worse: only 28 % beat analyst forecasts compared with nearly half for seasoned companies. Those misses are not the result of mediocre science; they’re usually the price of postponing commercial thinking until Phase III.

Consider Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm – a space I know well. The antibody won accelerated approval in 2021, yet CMS confined coverage to clinical-trial settings because the evidence package failed to convince payers. The label sat on a shelf while the company re-ran studies to answer questions that could have been anticipated years earlier.

Or look at Bluebird bio’s $2.8 million gene therapy Zynteglo. A curative promise could not overcome sticker shock and fragmented reimbursement systems; three years later the company was forced into a take-private deal amid a cash crunch. The science worked. The go-to-market model did not.

❓Begin with the End Customers in Mind

There is no longer one decision maker in healthcare. There are several, as well as enablers and influencers on whether or not a patient will ultimately get a drug. This has evolved tremendously since I started in the industry 25 years ago when you had one customer, one value prop and one. Times have changed. “Customer” in healthcare is plural:

Stakeholder	Core Question	Evidence They Need
Regulators	Is it safe & effective?	Robust clinical data, validated endpoints
Payers / HTA bodies	Is it worth paying for?	Comparative effectiveness, real-world outcomes, budget-impact models
Physicians	Will it change practice?	Head-to-head data, guidelines alignment, logistics support
Patients & Caregivers	Can I access it easily?	Affordability programs, clear benefit–risk, clinic locator tools
Investors	Will it generate durable returns?	Cohesive narrative linking science, market, and access strategy

Mapping these questions in Phase I forces development teams to pick endpoints that resonate beyond the FDA and to build HEOR and real-world-evidence plans early. Done well, the dataset that earns approval is the same dataset that unlocks coverage, guideline inclusion, and physician confidence.

🏅Competitive Intelligence Is a Development Activity

In crowded indications more than 60 % of launches fall short of expectations.  Yet competitive assessments often live in slide decks reviewed once a year. High-performing biotechs treat competitive intelligence as a real-time feed that shapes trial design, manufacturing choices, and even indication sequencing.

Questions to ask before the first patient is dosed:

1. What claims will rivals make by the time we launch?
2. Where can we differentiate (dosing, delivery setting, biomarker-based selection)?
3. Which access hurdles did predecessors face and how did they solve or fail at them?

By answering these early, dose selection and endpoint hierarchy become strategic weapons, not scientific afterthoughts.

 📊Design for Data the Ecosystem Needs

Every metric you choose — from primary endpoint to PRO (patient-reported outcomes) — is a future line in a payer dossier or KOL slide. Three practical rules:

• Triangulate endpoints. Combine a gold-standard clinical measure with a payer-credible surrogate and a patient-relevant PRO.
• Capture total cost of care early. Retrospective chart reviews while the pivotal trial runs can feed the budget-impact model payers demand at launch.
• Plan for real-world evidence (registries, pragmatic trials) by Phase II. Products that can update labels post-approval with real-world durability or sub-population data defend premium pricing longer.

Failure here, as Aduhelm shows, can delay uptake by years. 

🚂Build the Cross-Functional Engine Ahead of the Curve

Capitalize years Before FIH • Hire or contract a seasoned commercial strategist once you have credible pre-clinical data. The incremental salary is trivial compared with the burn rate of a failed launch. 

Phase I • Formalize Target Product Profile v1.0 with input from market access, medical affairs, and analytics. 

Phase II • Stand up customer-insights capability: iterative advisory boards, digital ethnography, claims-data mining. Use findings to lock the pivotal protocol and the value story. 

Phase III & CMC • Add pricing & contracting, distribution ops, and patient-services leads so they can influence supply-chain design and hub architecture. 

12–18 Months Pre-PDUFA • Execute unbranded disease education, field-medical deployment, and payer pre-positioning so launch day is a step-function, not a crawl.

Analysis of first-time launchers found that the most successful companies raised 2–3× more capital earlier to fund precisely these capabilities.

📚Practical Playbook for Founders & Boards

1. Hard-wire commercial KPIs into development OKRs. If an endpoint is not persuasive to payers, ask why it is on the protocol.
2. Make voice-of-customer a repeating sprint. Quarterly KOL pulse checks and patient panels surface pivot points while there is still time to act.
3. Scenario-plan access hurdles. Model price-volume trade-offs at multiple WACs. Stress-test with real P&T committee veterans, not just health economists.
4. Invest in evidence-generating partnerships. Health systems and digital-health platforms can feed adherence and outcomes data that differentiate you from “me too” entrants.
5. Tell an integrated story. Investors fund science that creates value; value is unlocked only when patients receive the therapy. Good commercial hygiene de-risks their capital and lowers your cost of it. As The Wall Street Journal recently noted, market volatility now pushes venture funds and pharma BD teams to probe commercialization plans before they invest.

🏆Conclusion: Science and Strategy Save Lives

Healthcare innovation fails whenever brilliant science meets an unprepared market. By embedding commercial perspective from the first experiment, biotech founders honor the ultimate stakeholder…… the patient waiting at the end of the value chain.

My father didn’t get that chance; his disease progressed faster than the system could. Let’s ensure the next generation of therapies clear not only the regulatory bar but the real-world barriers that determine whether hope turns into health.

Begin with the End Customers in Mind

“Customer” in healthcare is plural:

Stakeholder	Core Question	Evidence They Need
Regulators	Is it safe & effective?	Robust clinical data, validated endpoints
Payers / HTA bodies	Is it worth paying for?	Comparative effectiveness, real-world outcomes, budget-impact models
Physicians	Will it change practice?	Head-to-head data, guidelines alignment, logistics support
Patients & Caregivers	Can I access it easily?	Affordability programs, clear benefit–risk, clinic locator tools
Investors	Will it generate durable returns?	Cohesive narrative linking science, market, and access strategy

About Deanna Angello:

Deanna Angello is a multidimensional biotech C-suite and board strategist who fuses Fortune-50 rigor with startup velocity to turn uncharted challenges into enterprise growth. Over 25 years at Pfizer, Genentech/Roche, Kite/Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, and most recently as Chief Commercial Officer at Cognito Therapeutics, she has tackled first-of-their-kind market, policy, and launch challenges, orchestrated growth for seven blockbuster franchises that exceed $7B in annual revenue, neutralized a $10B competitive threat, and held P&L responsibility up to $3B while directing capital allocation, pipeline prioritization, go/no-go calls, and critical launches.

As a Venture Partner at LongeVC, former Executive-in-Residence at Springboard Enterprises, startup board member, and mentor to 50+ founders who have raised $20M+, she channels a global network of investors, payers, regulators, and KOLs to accelerate access, reimbursement, and capital formation; she also invests through Portfolia’s Active Aging & Longevity Fund and advises accelerators including Springboard Enterprises, IGNITE, Creative Destruction Lab, and Innosphere Ventures. Therapeutically, her footprint spans Alzheimer’s, neurodegeneration, oncology, cell therapy, metabolic disease, women’s health, and health tech, with signature influence on several blockbusters: Lyrica®, Lipitor®, Aricept®, Herceptin®, Rituxan®, Yescarta®, Erleada®, and Carvykti®. Renowned for thriving in ambiguity and solving first-of-their-kind problems, Deanna unites R&D, investors, and payers and strategic operators around a common North Star—delivering transformative growth while advancing science that changes lives.

Marion Ulmann

Healthcare in Her Hands: The Rise of At-Home Diagnostic Solutions Empowering Women

“Your body is always talking to you. Listen to it. Trust it” said Serena Williams while sharing her horrific postpartum experience. Despite her symptoms being dismissed initially by medical staff, she insisted on further evaluation demanding a CT scan that revealed life-threatening blood clots in her lungs.

Serena’s story has become a symbol of healthcare empowerment. Women need to be heard, and they need to trust their bodies and judgments. 

That feeling is now leading a wave of innovation: at-home diagnostic tests that help women monitor their health and take charge of their health and wellbeing on their own terms. 

Why At-Home Diagnostics Matter

During her life, women go through symptoms without any clear answers: irregular periods, pain, fatigue, first early signs of perimenopause, or trouble getting pregnant. 

Getting answers to these symptoms can mean waiting weeks for an appointment, repeating symptoms that can be dismissed, and then waiting again for test results.

At-home kits transform that experience. Whether it is an ovulation test, a hormone panel, a menopause test or a screen for STIs, these tools offer a faster way to understand what is going on. 

Why Now?

A few things are driving the development in at-home testing:

• Shift in healthcare: with an overwhelmed healthcare system during the pandemic, it has appeared necessary to have new tools for patients to manage their health at home. Most of us have taken a COVID-19 test at home and understood the results without medical guidance. So why not apply that model to other areas of care?
• Self-advocacy: After years of feeling unheard, more women are speaking up and taking charge of their health journeys. Women want to manage and understand their health, and they want a system that listens to them.  
• Better technology: Tests have come a long way.  They are easier to use, more reliable, and easy to understand. 

What Women Are Saying

More women are bringing home-test results into doctor’s offices, pushing for quicker action or second opinions. 

Many say it has helped them feel heard or gave them the courage to just talk to their healthcare provider. 

After launching our at-home menopause test, I have heard dozens of stories from women sharing a similar frustration: persistent symptoms like fatigue and irregular cycles, sleepless nights, but nothing severe enough to prompt in-depth medical review.

Now with their at-home tests, they can go with their doctors with more confidence. Share their first results and discuss treatment. 

What Comes Next: Access as Advocacy

At-home diagnostics are more than just a health trend, they are a step toward giving women tools to advocate for themselves and giving women a voice. 

The real change isn’t just about technology, it is about trust. Trusting women to know their bodies, ask questions, and lead the way in their care.

About Marion Ulmann:

Marion is a visionary pharmaceutical leader with over 15 years of experience in driving  market expansion and operational excellence. Her career trajectory showcases a  remarkable blend of legal expertise, political acumen, and pharmaceutical industry  leadership.  

As the founder of Linepharma and a key executive at Nordic Pharma, Marion has consistently  demonstrated her ability to navigate complex global markets, particularly in women’s health.  

Her strategic initiatives have resulted in successful product launches across Europe,  Australia, Canada, Latin America, and Africa, generating substantial revenue growth and  improving access to critical healthcare solutions.  

A true global leader, Marion has expertly managed cross-functional teams across diverse  geographies, including the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe.  

Her expertise in maternal health, family planning, and reproductive health systems has been  instrumental in developing and implementing innovative strategies for market penetration  and expansion.  

In 2023, Marion launched 49Care, further demonstrating her commitment to delivering high quality healthcare products to women in Canada and reinforcing her dedication to  innovation and growth in the pharmaceutical sector. She also serves on the boards of  Options for Sexual Health and Women on Web.  

Marion’s achievements have been widely recognized: she was named one of Canada’s Top  25 Women of Influence in 2025 and honored as Life Sciences Executive of the Year by the  Canadian Healthcare Industry Awards. 

By Candace Nagaraja, Featuring Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

Introduction

Menopause has long been underrepresented in healthcare discussions. However, recent cultural shifts and emerging research have brought it to the forefront. Understanding the multifaceted needs of women during this transition is crucial for healthcare providers and innovators.

Menopause Enters the Zeitgeist: Why Now?

Each day, approximately 6,000 women in the United States reach menopause, defined as one year without a menstrual period. This transition typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average age being 51. Despite its prevalence, menopause has often been stigmatized or overlooked in medical training and public discourse.

Clinically, menopause is associated with various symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, and increased risks for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Economically, the annual direct costs of managing menopausal symptoms in the U.S. are estimated at $3 billion.

“…We are in the absolute perfect moment for perimenopause and menopause to take center stage… culturally, we’re talking about it. We see celebrities, politicians, public speakers who are speaking up and out… women are speaking up about taboo topics all across society…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

As millennials begin to enter perimenopause, they are bringing new visibility and destigmatization to care provision, in a similar way to how they brought transparency to menstrual care throughout the twenty-tens, for example with Thinx fruit-focused advertisements.

Meeting Women Where They Are

Despite increased awareness, access to quality menopause care remains limited. Less than 20% of OB/GYNs receive menopause-specific training, and fewer than 5% of eligible women are currently using hormone therapy. A study published in JAMA found that 84% of women report experiencing menopause-related symptoms that impact their quality of life, yet more than half delay seeking care due to stigma or lack of provider awareness.

Appealing to this audience requires more than convenience. These women are typically in a high-intensity life stage, balancing work, caregiving, and personal health. The best-performing platforms prioritize flexible access (telehealth appointments, asynchronous check-ins), reliable information (provider-backed content), and validation through peer experiences. When done right, care becomes not only accessible but affirming.

“…Women in menopause are savvy, tech-savvy consumers who are leveraging telemedicine to access care that is convenient and meets them where they are. They are tracking more metrics, speaking to their providers more, and actively seeking validation online… Reddit, for example, to validate some of their health decisions…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

Who’s Getting It Right?

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms have emerged to fill the care gap. According to Rock Health, over 60% of women aged 45–60 report being willing to try a digital health platform for menopause if it offers clinical credibility and convenience. Companies such as Alloy, Evernow, and Elektra offer a range of services—from prescription-based hormone therapy to educational content and virtual consultations. 

These models reduce friction and stigma, but vary in depth and personalization. Elektra Health provides comprehensive telemedicine services with a focus on personalized care. Alloy and Evernow offer digital pharmacy models, emphasizing convenience and accessibility.

Overall, these platforms prioritize clinical credibility, transparency, and community engagement, setting a new standard for menopause care, although demand is still set to outpace supply of these care platforms. 

“…The market is so big… we have barely scratched the surface of women who are looking for either trusted care providers or convenient access to hormone therapy…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

The Power of Brand—and Branding Differentiation

For the menopause consumer, brand trust is essential. Unlike younger audiences who may be drawn to novelty or design, women in midlife may be more highly attuned to credibility. Surveys consistently show that midlife women rank ‘clinically vetted’ and ‘peer recommended’ as their top decision drivers when evaluating healthcare options.

“…Women are savvy and sophisticated consumers. We know when a product is built on snake oil… So, the more that you can build out a clinical advisory board or even have your providers communicating, the better…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

A strong menopause brand communicates clinical legitimacy, respect for lived experience, and a tone that is informed, empowering, and straightforward and messages with an empathetic, informed, and actionable tone. Platforms that rely on vague language or lack visible medical oversight are unlikely to earn long-term loyalty. Women are increasingly seeking out platforms where science, empathy, and clear communication converge.

Why Women Need Their Own Platforms & Products

Menopause care differs significantly from men’s health—not only in clinical needs but in how patients seek information and make decisions. Based on international studies, women often pursue a more iterative care journey, seeking insights from providers and peer validation through personal networks and online forums.

Historical misunderstandings, such as those stemming from the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, have resulted in decades of confusion and hesitation around hormone therapy. Even today, only a small fraction of eligible women use hormone therapy. Specialized platforms are essential for providing accurate, evidence-based information and personalized care experiences.

There is a huge untapped market opportunity for companies who expand their products and services to build for the menopause market. Innovative companies across the healthcare spectrum (medical device, pharma, consumer health, and digital health) looking for a white space opportunity to grow their top line revenue and market share have already begun considering the menopause market – across women’s health clinical areas such as cardiovascular, MSK, mental health, autoimmune and beyond.

Menopause Meets Longevity: The Next Phase of Innovation

Menopause is increasingly viewed through the lens of long-term health and wellness. While acute symptoms may drive initial engagement, long-term outcomes—such as cognitive performance, bone strength, and cardiovascular protection—are becoming central to how women evaluate treatment options.

“…We’re seeing more diagnostics, hormone level tracking, and biological aging assessments to personalize long-term health planning. GLP-1s are also a big topic… not just for weight gain, but also cognitive function – women are thinking about heart health, bone health, and especially brain health…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

This mindset shift has led to greater interest and research in longevity-focused therapies. GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy), initially approved for type 2 diabetes and weight management, are now being evaluated for efficacy in a concomitant lens with HRT, specifically for post-menopausal populations. Additionally, GLP-1’s are under study for broader benefits, including the mitigation of systemic inflammation and potential protection against cognitive decline. Key (peri)menopause platforms are starting to adopt offerings at this intersection of longevity and hormonal health: Noom and Alloy both offer GLP1’s and HRT for the (peri)menopausal demographic, and Weight Watchers recently announced plans to launch a menopause program that includes HRT.

Women are also adopting strength training and physical therapy to maintain joint and muscle health, as well as exploring nutritional supplements and cognitive health protocols to preserve brain function. Advanced diagnostics, such as hormone level tracking and biological aging assessments, are being utilized to personalize health planning. In a recent survey by AARP, over 40% of women aged 50–65 expressed interest in preventive aging diagnostics if offered in a trusted clinical setting.

These interventions reflect a proactive, preventive approach where menopause care is seen not as a phase to manage, but as a foundation for aging well.

“…There’s a mental and emotional shift at 50… menopause motivations become about how to live well for a long time, how do you make sure your body is in it for the long haul…”

• Alessandra Henderson, Co-founder and former CEO of Elektra Health

Conclusion

The menopause market is undergoing a significant transformation. By combining scientific rigor, empathetic storytelling, and strategic distribution, innovators can meet the needs of a complex and underserved population. For stakeholders in digital health, consumer products, and clinical services, the opportunity to make a meaningful impact is substantial—provided they approach it with insight, sensitivity, and a commitment to women’s health.

About Candace: Candace Nagaraja is a leading expert and strategic innovator in women’s health. She serves as a Managing Director / Partner & leader of women’s health at LEK Consulting, advising clients across medical devices, diagnostics, provider services, and consumer health. Her career includes over a decade of experience in commercialization strategy, with a focus on driving impactful innovation in women’s health. Candace is passionate about advancing women’s health globally, acting as a mentor at Femtech Labs and as a member of the Springboard Women’s Health Council. She holds both an A.B. in Economics and an MBA from the University of Chicago and the Booth School of Business.

About Alessandra: Alessandra Henderson is an entrepreneur, thought leader and investor on a mission to transform healthcare & women’s health. Alessandra is Co-founder & former CEO of Elektra Health, a virtual care platform closing the menopause care gap via evidence-based telemedicine, education and community. Under her tenure as Elektra CEO, Alessandra raised $7M+ from leading investors including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Flare Partners and Seven Seven Six, built a membership of thousands across 50 states, and led Elektra’s go-to-market strategy, including launching the first commercial menopause-payer partnership in the US with Mass General Brigham Health Plan. Prior to Elektra Health, Alessandra spent 10+ years building early-stage consumer businesses as a leader on the founding teams at Artsy, the MIT NYC Startup Studio, and Human Ventures. She holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from MIT Sloan, and her work has been covered by The NY Times, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Techcrunch, Fortune, Forbes, and more. Alessandra currently advises and consults with high growth digital health companies in pursuit of improving outcomes & building a new standard of care.

Source Table:

Blog Line Reference – Source Description – Link

Each day, approximately 6,000 women in the United States reach menopause. – Society for Women’s Health Research – https://swhr.org/health_focus_area/menopause/

The average age being 51. – World Population Review – https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/age-of-menopause-by-country

Annual direct costs of managing menopausal symptoms in the U.S. are estimated at $3 billion. – Society for Women’s Health Research – https://swhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/swhr_factsheet_menopause_rev_0222-1.pdf

Women are the primary healthcare decision-makers in their families… – U.S. Department of Labor – https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/women-health-care-jobs-fact-sheet.pdf

Only a small fraction of eligible women use hormone therapy. – Medscape – https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/hormone-therapy-menopause-remains-historic-lows-despite-2024a1000gtw

GLP-1 receptor agonists are now being evaluated for broader benefits. – Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation – https://www.alzdiscovery.org/uploads/cognitive_vitality_media/GLP-1-Receptor-Agonists-Cognitive-Vitality-For-Researchers.pdf

Women are adopting strength training and physical therapy… – Office on Women’s Health – https://www.womenshealth.gov/topics/menopause

Advanced diagnostics are being utilized to personalize health planning. – National Institutes of Health – https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2024/thirty-years-later-womens-health-initiative-provides-researchers-key-messages

Menopause care is seen not as a phase to manage… – Vox – https://www.vox.com/life/410612/menopause-women-aging-rapamycin-ovaries-estrogen-health

Innovators can meet the needs of a complex and underserved population – Society for Women’s Health Research – https://swhr.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/swhr_factsheet_menopause_rev_0222-1.pdf

Over 60% of women willing to try digital menopause platforms. – Rock Health – https://rockhealth.com/reports/digital-health-consumer-adoption-report-2022/

84% of women report symptoms affecting quality of life. – JAMA Network – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2806750

Women value ‘clinically vetted’ and ‘peer recommended’ care. – Journal of Consumer Research – https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/47/5/663/5866588

40% of women interested in longevity diagnostics. – AARP – https://www.aarp.org/research/topics/health/info-2023/womens-health-midlife-aging.html

Reddit, for example, to validate some of their health decisions – Weber & Shandwick – https://webershandwick.com/womens-health

Study of GLP-1 and HRT effect on postmenopausal women – Menopause Journal – https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/fulltext/2024/04000/weight_loss_response_to_semaglutide_in.4.aspx

Weight Watchers is adding a menopause program – Reuters – https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/weightwatchers-names-new-medical-chief-plans-offer-menopause-therapy-support-2025-07-08/

Thinx advertisements – Fast Company – https://www.fastcompany.com/90412779/thinx-menstruation-ad-campaign-imagines-men-getting-periods?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Bilikis Oladimeji

From Fragmentation to Flow: Unlocking the Power of Connected Women’s Health

The past decade has seen a significant surge in attention and investment in women’s health. The 2025 WHAM Investment report highlights a remarkable 300% growth in investments between 2018 and 2023, alongside 35 successful company exits in the past five years. This progress is a testament to the dedication of researchers, investors, founders, women’s health advocates, and accelerators like Springboard Enterprises. Despite broader multifactorial headwinds, digital health offerings and technology-enabled innovations in this space continue to expand. However, many unmet needs persist. Some of these were prominently featured at the first Women’s Health Day on the Hill, an event that underscored the critical role of public policy in amplifying the impact of both public and private investments. The Springboard Accenture reports, also summarized as part of the congressional briefing, further articulated these enduring challenges. Taking a ‘balcony view’, I observed the positive energy and commitment within the room just before that briefing. I was reminded of a reflection a founder recently shared with me about the strong sense of connectedness within the women’s health startup community. This raises an important question: How can this connectedness be mirrored in Femtech offerings to women?

A few months ago, my attention was drawn to an online post about someone tracking their hormones with Proov, sleep and activity with ŌURA, and periods with Flo. It sparked both excitement and curiosity in me. My excitement, as a woman and women’s health advocate, stemmed from the expanding options available. My curiosity, as a Physician Informaticist and consultant, centered on how this information integrates to serve the user both within and outside healthcare settings, and how it can contribute to research that addresses evidence gaps. The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) broadly defines Health Informatics as the science of using data, information, and knowledge to improve human health and healthcare delivery. My medical education was preceded by an interest in computer programming and information management. Discovering Health Informatics was a perfect match that set me on an expanded trajectory at the intersection of business, healthcare data and technology, bridging clinical and research needs with tech-enabled innovation, including emerging technologies like Generative AI. 

Addressing Fragmentation in Femtech: Key Opportunities

From my observation serving as health tech startup advisor and reviewing pitch decks as an angel investor, Femtech has inherited some of the challenges of the broader digital health space. One of these is point solution thinking and the fragmentation of data and services. This is evident both within individual startups and across companies. Symptoms of this fragmentation include:

• Lack of foundational data management plans, leading to data silos and underutilized information.
• Disconnected solutions (apps, platforms) that are not fully aligned with user needs and journeys.
• Limited user ownership and agency over their health data.
• Loss of valuable health data when startups fail or close, often requiring patients to overcome significant hurdles to recover their information.
• Poor integration of solutions with clinical systems, hindering healthcare professionals from using relevant data for decision-making (e.g., lack of integration with Personal Health Records or Electronic Health Records).
• Gaps in research and medical evidence, leading to the absence of standardized clinical and procedure codes for documenting observations or facilitating reimbursement.

Consider a maternal health example – digital health apps now support maternal health journeys, offering personalized and timely information, 24/7 multidisciplinary virtual care, and birth planning. These services are often impossible within typical 10-15-minute clinical appointments. These applications generate a wealth of operational and health data. However, critical questions arise:

• Is the data managed in compliance with regulations, including privacy?
• How is all that data stored securely?
• What data ownership or use agreements are in place with users?
• How easily can users access their information during and after use for example a subscription?
• How easily can relevant clinical information be retrieved and integrated with a user’s main medical record?
• Beyond what users remember or print for in-person visits, could the comprehensive data better inform their care?

Building a Connected Health Ecosystem

How might we better connect the disparate systems where health information is often trapped, especially during the foundational build of a startup? Adopting key Informatics principles can offer a path forward:

Health Data Governance & Ethics

This is a crucial foundational pillar. It involves ensuring data privacy, security, and compliance with regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and GINA. Implementing data governance best practices and frameworks is essential for health data ownership, use, access, sharing, and responsible use of AI in product development, deployment etc. Due to lack of health ecosystem experience, technical experience and resource constraint for fulltime experts, startups may inadvertently skip this crucial step with user trust and regulatory consequences. 

Data Standards & Interoperability

Founders, with expert guidance, can identify health-related datasets within their products and use standardized terminologies where possible (e.g., SNOMED CT, LOINC, ICD-10, RxNorm). Applying data exchange standards like HL7 and FHIR builds a strong foundation for interoperability across systems. It is also vital to identify and communicate gaps in current standards to relevant communities, initiating the process of expanding coding for unrepresented conditions or observations. Continuing with the maternal health example, the ONC/ASTP released an informational resource on Interoperability of Maternal Health Care Records in March 2024 to guide innovators.

User Journey or Clinical Workflow Integration

Leveraging user-centered design, it is critical to understand where a solution fits within a user’s life: what precedes it, what associates with it, and what follows. This insight helps with integration with adjacent solutions and identifies opportunities for extension. Where applicable, understanding the clinical workflow around your product is also important. Depending on the solution, weigh the benefits of aligning with existing clinical workflows against the risks of disrupting them. Given that the Electronic Health Record (EHR) is central to healthcare, consider how your solution or its output integrates with EHRs.

Other crucial considerations include plans for evidence generation, analytics and insights, and change management. These elements are also foundational for creating a Learning Health System – for continuous improvement and innovation in health.

Conclusion

Fragmentation is a significant pain point in Femtech for both women and healthcare professionals. There’s a clear opportunity to reshape the industry and create a more connected health experience for women, regardless of how many solutions become available. While focusing on a specific problem is essential and cost-effective for startups, especially in early stages and with limited funding, the inherent complexity of health (experience, clinical needs, and regulatory requirements etc.) indicates that point solutions without connection to the broader ecosystem can lead to frustration or even harm for patients/users in the long run.

No single company can meet every woman’s end-to-end health needs. However, by adopting user-centered design and informatics principles, we can begin building a network of sustainable, personalized solutions that are durable, holistically benefit women, and enable longevity for the companies serving them.

What are your thoughts on ways to unlock the power of connection in women’s health? 

About Dr. Bilikis Oladimeji:

Dr. Bilikis Oladimeji is a visionary healthcare executive, an internationally trained physician informaticist, and a proven catalyst for innovation, with a track record of advancing the healthcare’s quintuple aims. She is the Founder/CEO of SheriBell Global LLC, empowering healthcare organizations and health tech ventures/startups to implement or optimize their clinical technology strategies, innovative care models and AI/ML adoption, in alignment with clinical, business and regulatory goals. Past employers include Optum/UHG, GSK, Duke Health, a Personalized Medicine Startup and Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She has been recognized as an inventor and for leading innovation in clinical research, clinical decision-making, healthcare models, AI adoption & governance, and digital health. She is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS), a co-author of multiple scientific and general publications and a global textbook on informatics. She also advises, invests in and supports startups and mentors the next generation of healthcare and informatics professionals, in the US and abroad. She has served as startup/hackathon judge and spoken on various stages including at major health/informatics conferences (AMIA, HIMSS, HFES), Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS), ESSENCE Festival of Culture and at MIT Hacking Medicine. She has served on boards of non-profits and currently serves as Springboard Enterprises Council Member and Advisor, Steering Committee Member of Women’s Health Advocates and member of the WHAM Research Collaborative. She is an alumnus of Duke University Fuqua School of Business and University of Lagos, Nigeria. She is a lifelong learner with additional education from institutions like Oxford, Harvard and Stanford. 

Rashmi Rao

Gender  Health Gap: Why Isn’t She the Default?

Even as global life expectancy has risen dramatically — from 30 years in 1800 to over 73 today — women’s “healthspan” has stagnated. Women spend 25% more time in poor health than men. That gap is global. According to the McKinsey Health Institute, closing this gendered health gap could unlock $1 trillion in annual global economic gains by 2040. Yet healthcare systems, research agendas, and funding flows continue to center male biology as the default — treating women as exceptions.

Women live longer, but not better. Most of the health burden occurs during their most productive years, impacting workforce participation, caregiving roles, and long-term economic stability. 

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Beyond Reproductive Health: Reframing the Narrative

Women’s health has too often been reduced to sexual and reproductive care. But maternal health makes up only 5% of the total burden of women’s health issues. The real drivers? heart disease, autoimmune disorders, mental health, perimenopause, caregiving-related stress and systemic neglect.

As the Springboard and Accenture report emphasizes, women’s health has been consistently underfunded, under-researched, and misunderstood — with female-dominant diseases 8x more likely to be underfunded by NIH than male-dominant ones.

This isn’t a “niche market.” It’s half the population — who also make 82% of healthcare decisions in our families and communities and give birth to 100% of the next generation.

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Conditions Driving the Gender Health Gap

More than a third of the global gender health gap stems from just ten conditions — some impacting how long women live, others affecting how well they live. Understanding these conditions is essential for setting priorities in research, funding, and care. How severely they impact women’s health — whether through early mortality or years lived in pain — varies widely based on race, income, geography, and access to care. That’s why addressing them requires not only medical intervention but systemic, equity-driven solutions.

We now know that women are more likely to suffer adverse drug reactions, experience diagnostic delays, and die from heart conditions because clinical trials, regulatory frameworks, and innovation systems were built without them in mind. Women represent 80% of autoimmune disease patients, yet only 7% of NIH-sponsored autoimmune research focuses on them. 

Menopause — affecting 50 million women in the U.S. — is still treated like a footnote. Yet it intersects with heart disease, brain health, and workplace readiness, especially for women in the military and beyond. Heart disease is the #1 killer of postmenopausal women, but only 4.5% of coronary research targets their needs. Recognizing its impact through mandated defense reporting would improve not just health outcomes, but national performance and workforce retention.

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Addressing Gender Health Gap:

The core elements of the gender health gap indicate a need for better data, more effective interventions, improved care delivery, including all genders equitably, and increased investment in women specific health research and solutions. 

A targeted investment of just $200 million across NIH institutes for coordinated, sex-based data collection and interdisciplinary women’s health research could radically improve care and drive innovation. Meanwhile, establishing a $5 million FDA Women’s Health Innovation Program would accelerate life-saving solutions to market, informed by the very biology they intend to serve. The economic return? Up to $14 billion, just by doubling current NIH spending in key areas like heart, brain, and immune health. The path forward requires systemic change — not just new treatments. Based on leading insights from McKinsey and Springboard, these five calls to action offer a blueprint for transformation.

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1. The Data Deficit: Count Women

The problem: Women weren’t required in NIH-funded clinical research until 1993. Today, their experiences still get sidelined in health data, leading to delayed diagnoses and inappropriate treatments.

Most medical research still centers male physiology. In cardiovascular care alone, symptoms like chest “tightness” or nausea in women are overlooked because diagnostic models are based on men.

Further, key subpopulations such as women of color and post-menopausal women remain under-represented in clinical trials. Only 5% of available 
medications have been adequately monitored, tested and labelled with safety information for use in pregnant and breastfeeding women.

What’s missing? Data that reflects real, diverse women’s lives — across life stage, race, age, geography, and identity.

Action needed:

• Mandate sex- and race-disaggregated data in clinical trials.
• Standardize terminology and data collection to improve women’s health research. For example, harmonizing ICH terminology —  sex vs. gender 
• Oversample underrepresented women to correct historical gaps.
• Use AI and large datasets to reveal patterns in women’s health long ignored.
• Emulate the success of pediatric research policies in the U.S (BPCA, PREA) to the study of pregnant and lactating women safely in clinical trials.

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2. Fix the Research Gap: Study Women

The problem: Diseases that disproportionately affect women — like endometriosis, autoimmune disorders, and perimenopause — are severely under-researched. Funding lags far behind need.

In 2023, women’s health startups received only $1.1 billion of $26.5 billion in healthcare venture capital. That’s just 4%.

Why does this matter? Lack of research means lack of innovation. It also means poor reimbursement, fewer clinical guidelines, and lives in limbo.

Solutions:

• Employ sex-specific biomarkers to understand differences in physiological mechanism and manifestation.
• Require comprehensive sex-specific benefit risk assessments to close critical gaps in clinical research.
• Fund research on conditions like menopause, migraines, and postpartum disorders.
• Push CMS and private insurers to reimburse gender-specific treatments.
• Include diverse women in clinical trials — early and often.

Bottom line: Women are not just “small men.” They deserve research that reflects their biology.

3. Center Gender-Specific Clinical Guidelines: Care for Women

The problem: Most care models are one-size-fits-men. Clinical guidelines fail to account for sex-based differences in symptoms, medication response, and treatment efficacy. For example — Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed for heart attacks. Men are more likely to be referred for surgery, even when symptoms are identical.

Why does this matter? Women physicians deliver better outcomes — but are reimbursed less. In similar procedures, male-dominated specialties like urology get higher compensation than OB-GYNs, even for longer, more complex procedures.

Solutions:

• Update clinical protocols to account for sex-based differences in physiological mechanism and manifestation.
• Adopt a new pricing and reimbursement value proposition to drive innovation in women-specific conditions
• Expand CPT and ICD codes for women-specific conditions.
• Incentivize research on pregnant and lactating women to advance maternal and infant health
• Recognize caregiving roles and chronic burdens in care models.

What this means for systems: A holistic, gender-aware approach reduces long-term costs and improves outcomes for everyone — not just women.

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4. Equity in Every Exam Room — Include All Women 

The problem: Not all women are equally seen — or served. Low-income women, women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and single mothers face compounding barriers to care.

Nearly half of all women’s health burdens occur during working years, affecting career trajectory, financial stability, and mental health. Yet systems aren’t built to accommodate that complexity.

Lived experience: Women with trauma histories, environmental stress, or caregiving obligations often go without care — not because they don’t want help, but because systems weren’t designed for them.

Solutions:

• Build culturally competent, trauma-informed care models.
• Extend community care and digital health access to marginalized groups.
• Reform workplace health policies to support caregiving, not punish it.

Provocative idea: What if companies treated employee caregiving the way they treat community service? What if wellness started at work?

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5. Health Across Her Lifespan — Invest in Women 

The problem: Investment in women’s health is reactive, not proactive. Most funding focuses on reproductive years — leaving out childhood, menopause, and aging.

A $300 million investment in women-centric R&D could generate $13 billion in savings through productivity and reduced health costs.

Women’s economic participation has been and will be a major driver of economic growth since the 1950s. Addressing the gap could generate the equivalent impact of 137 million women accessing full-time positions by 2040.

What’s overlooked?

• Menopause: 1.1 billion women globally, largely ignored in medical training.
• Mental health: Women face higher rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout — often unaddressed.
• Career health: Corporate success often comes at a health cost, especially for caregivers and executives.

Solutions:

• Fund preventative care across all life stages — from adolescent mental health to elder support.
• Rethink ROI in healthcare to include longevity, productivity, and equity.
• Expand workplace flexibility, trauma-informed practices, and long-term caregiving support.

This isn’t a handout. It’s a smart investment — with exponential returns.

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Let’s Rewrite the Default

Women’s health is generational health. Women’s health is the future of our species and the future of our planet. Women’s health isn’t niche. It isn’t optional. And it definitely isn’t just about reproduction.

It’s about whether women are believed when they’re in pain. It’s about data, reimbursement, equity, and policy. It’s about whether half the population is seen, studied, and served.

So, why isn’t she the default?
Because too often, systems weren’t built with her in mind. But now we know better. We have the data. We have the voices. We have the urgency.

Let’s make “her” the default — not just in medicine, but in research, investment, and care.

The future of health depends on it.

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REFERENCES:

1. State of Women’s Health Report by Springboard Enterprises
2. Policy Recommendations for Women’s Health Research | World Economic Forum
3. Closing the Women’s Health Gap to Improve Lives and Economies | World Economic Forum
4. History of Women’s Participation in Clinical Research

Rashmi R. Rao , Managing Director, rcubed | ventures; Founder / Board Chair, HLWF℠ Alliance

“There is never a bad day to have a good idea”, is what you would hear Ms. Rashmi Rao say often. 

Ms. Rao is an entrepreneur and inventor with 40+ patents and demonstrated prowess in transforming ideas to lucrative tech and healthcare businesses generating $500M+ revenue at Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Philips Healthcare. Rashmi was inducted into the Top100 Health tech Women leaders (2024, 2025) and the Women in Tech Hall of Fame (2018) and has over 40+ granted patents.  Rashmi has scaled and exited three companies and built and managed teams of up to 350+ people globally and has an impressive track record in managing venture funds, overseeing successful exits and participating in notable acquisitions. At Philips Healthcare, Rashmi spearheaded AI-powered consumer health solutions and secured a $500M insurance contract. She led the development of off-line AI models and integration with Apple HealthKit, which generated $150M+ in annual revenue. In Apr 2025, Rashmi published a book on AI in Healthcare with a specific focus on the US and Global Regulatory landscape for AI applications in Healthcare.  As the Founder of rcubed | ventures, Rashmi invests in startups focused on value-based care, remote monitoring, and sustainability, leveraging her healthcare and M&A expertise. She also leads HLWF℠ Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to breaking silos in healthcare, health tech, and life sciences to tackle systemic health inequities. Rashmi is well-recognized for her board expertise and serves on the board of World Affairs Council, and University of Washington, Engineering Innovation in Health (EIH) to lend her expertise at the intersections of social innovation, public health and public policy. She resides in Sammamish, WA, with her spouse and two sons.

Georgie Kovacs

From Awareness to Alignment: The Next Imperative
in Women’s Health Innovation

We’ve spent the last few years widening the lens on what “women’s health” really means. Thanks to a series of recent reports from WHAM, World Economic Forum (WEF) & McKinsey Health Institute, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and others, we have finally driven the conversation beyond reproduction and menopause to be a more representative definition of the health of women – diseases that affect women disproportionately, differently, or uniquely. These diseases include endometriosis, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, Alzheimer’s disease and more. 

The landscape is evolving beyond apps and telehealth into diagnostics and therapeutics—signaling a deeper commitment to clinical impact. This shift is long overdue. But despite that progress, there’s a growing sense of stagnation. In one-on-one conversations and small meetings, we talk about it: the same headlines, the same panels, the same data points across decks, keynotes, and podcasts. Add to this plateau the recent administration’s ping-ponging on funding decisions—like with the Women’s Health Initiative—and the momentum feels uncertain. 

How do we move the needle? The good news is: there are clear ways forward. Even better, many individuals and organizations are already laying the groundwork for meaningful change. 

But to accelerate that progress—and avoid repeating the same conversations—we each need to take ownership. Whether founder, investor, policymaker, clinician, or advocate, everyone in this space has a role to play. 

This piece outlines three key paths to drive lasting impact in women’s health: 

1. Understanding and aligning with the right stakeholders 
2. Expanding the rooms—and the conversations—we’re having 
3. Building coalitions that go beyond performance and into coordinated action 

And while there’s still work to be done, it’s important to recognize the forward momentum already underway. 

Let’s break it down.

The Role We Can Each Play

Founders: Pitch to the Right People—and Pitch Differently Every Time 

Beyond building a great team and securing product-market fit, founders face one constant pressure: raising the capital to fund and scale the business. And the data is sobering. According to NASDAQ, in 2024, women’s health companies received only 2.3% of total healthcare venture capital funding, a significant drop from 2023’s record-high of 4.1%. It’s a frustrating statistic, and it’s one we can’t afford to accept as the norm. 

In my time on the Springboard Enterprises Council—and throughout my work in women’s health—I’ve observed a few dynamics that might help move the needle on this troubling statistic. At the core of it all is one truth: know your stakeholder. Start with your story—but don’t stop there. Know what your audience values, and guide them toward your vision in terms they can understand. 

So what does that actually look like in practice? 

The first observation is that most founders in this space are driven by passion and personal experience. And understandably so—women’s health has been historically underfunded, under-researched, and misunderstood. Add to that the complexity of the healthcare system and a legacy of misogyny, and of course it’s women who are leading the charge. 

While investors may appreciate a passionate, mission-driven team, their lens is different. Their focus is on return and risk. A compelling founding story is a powerful starting point—but to secure funding, founders need to show investors how they’ll achieve their goals, too. 

I’ve lived this disconnect. When I launched Fertility for Me, a platform designed to improve the fertility journey, I pitched three white male investors over the age of 65. One of them asked, “What do you mean people have a problem with fertility?” Despite being part of an incubator, I was completely dismissed. 

Frustrated, I overcorrected—leading with the raw emotion of my four-year fertility struggle. While people listened, they focused on the trauma and missed the business plan. It wasn’t until I reframed the story around the economics of fertility—the actual business opportunity—that I advanced in the competition. 

That leads to the next observation: founders need to find the right investors and speak their language. A successful pitch isn’t about what you want to say—it’s about what your audience needs to hear. 

Founders must act as a matchmaker for how the potential investor’s investment thesis might match the startup’s funding requirements, business model, and sector. The closer the match, the better. 

Conduct a deep dive on the potential investor to shape the company’s story, layered on top of the investor’s basic needs – ROI and exit strategy. Questions to consider: 

• How much do they understand this disease area? 
• Which data and proof points will they need to have confidence in the company’s future?
• Does the company have a strong team who can deliver on its promises? 
• Regardless of the company’s vision, what does the investor need to hear to trust and have confidence in the company? 

Each pitch must be customized for a given investor. 

Separately, consider thinking out of the box. My favorite story is that of Aunt Flow, run by the brilliant Claire Coder. While her business is access to free menstrual products in every bathroom, her customers are often the facilities teams and thus, her investors are not necessarily healthcare investors. It’s a reminder that customers—and investors—may live outside traditional categories. If you understand your stakeholders deeply, you can find alignment in unexpected places. 

When we tailor our pitch to the right stakeholders, we increase our chances of being heard. But that’s only half the equation. We also need to ask: who’s even in the room? Because the truth is, we’re often delivering powerful ideas to the same small circle—and wondering why broader momentum is so hard to build. 

The Echo Chamber Problem: If the Room Looks the Same, the Outcome Will Be Too

We’re not just recycling stats—we’re recycling audiences. Too many of the people leading this conversation are talking to each other whether at conferences or on social media (thank you algorithms). I don’t say that with judgment—I say it with concern, and I’m not the only one. 

Across most women’s health events, the audience skews overwhelmingly female. Most clinicians already agree with and have lived experiences around the challenges in women’s health. Investors who focus on women’s health already believe in and know the space. While that creates solidarity, it doesn’t create momentum. 

Where are the generalist VCs? Where are the payers? Where are the regulators? Most importantly, where are the men? 

This work doesn’t move forward unless the rooms change. We need to be thoughtful about who we invite into these conversations—not just symbolically, but meaningfully. Because if the only people shaping the future of women’s health are the ones already convinced it matters, we’re not going to reach the scale or credibility this work deserves. 

In addition to having the right audience, the discussions need to change. Rather than sharing the statistics, highlight meaningful success (beyond praise for successful funding rounds) and hold roundtables to discuss solutions to specific problems led by experts outlining a clear plan. 

Changing the audience is a start. Changing the conversation is even better. But if we really want to drive impact in women’s health, we have to go beyond individual voices and isolated wins. We need to align. And that requires something many sectors talk about—but few execute well: true coalition.

Coalition is Not a Buzzword. It’s the Strategy. 

We don’t have time to wait 17 years for research to translate into care. We’re owed centuries of data, as Dr. Lisa Mosconi, a neuroscientist and women’s brain health specialist, says—and yet we’re still trying to get funding for the basics. 

So what’s working? Where have other fields succeeded? 

• Alzheimer’s Disease: Lisa Mosconi’s work is rallying scientists, funders, and policymakers around a sex-specific research agenda. 
• Breast Cancer: That wasn’t just a research story—it was a communications strategy, a funding movement, a cultural shift. 
• Tuberculosis: Global alignment, clear data, and political will made it a case study in public health coordination. 

What do they have in common? 

• Shared agendas 
• Long-term commitment 
• Stakeholders who know how to align around a cause even when their incentives don’t naturally overlap 

We have examples. We don’t need to start from scratch. But we do need to start organizing with more clarity and less performance. Thankfully, some of that alignment is already beginning to take shape. Across the women’s health ecosystem, we’re seeing real momentum—organizations, advocates, and investors stepping up in meaningful ways. 

Acknowledging Forward Momentum 

We’re not short on effort. In fact, there’s incredible work being done across the women’s health ecosystem right now. 

• Organizations like Springboard Enterprises provide startups access to leading experts, optimizing the success of their business. 
• Women’s Health Advocates focuses on educating the government and advocating for policies and funding needed to advance the health of women. 
• Women’s Health PAC is pushing forward a non-partisan, membership-based organization to support women’s health across research, policy, candidates, and more. 
• Venture funds such as Foreground Capital and Portfolia prioritize investing in women’s health.

Final Thought

Everyone I know in this space is working hard. This isn’t a critique of effort or intellect or drive. Instead, it’s an invitation to pause and ask: Are we being as strategic as we are passionate? Because passion got us here. Strategy is what gets us further. And that starts by asking not just, “What do I want to say?”—but,

“Who needs to hear it—and how do I help them understand why it matters?” That’s where real change begins. 

We’ve broadened the lens. Now it’s time to change the view. 

And that starts by understanding who we’re speaking to—and why they haven’t joined the conversation yet.

Georgie Kovacs is a healthcare strategist, advisor, and founder of Fempower Health, a platform dedicated to reshaping the conversation on women’s health. With over 20 years of experience in biopharma, consulting, and healthcare innovation—spanning roles at Pfizer, Syneos Health, IQVIA, and Bristol-Myers Squibb—she bridges the gap between research, patient needs, and industry strategy.

Georgie is a member of the Springboard Enterprises Women’s Health Council, where she helps select and mentor startups innovating in women’s health. Through Fempower Health, she has interviewed top experts, translating complex healthcare challenges into actionable insights. Her work has been featured in CBS This Morning, GoodRx, Authority Magazine, and the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Cindy Machles

AI in Healthcare: Advancing Access, Improving Outcomes, and Navigating Boundaries

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming healthcare, fueling changes that would once have been considered the stuff of science fiction. AI Is not only improving efficiency in administrative tasks and enhancing diagnostic and treatment outcomes, it is reshaping how healthcare is delivered, making it more accessible, efficient, and personalized. And as we’ve seen through the amazing startups currently incubating at Springboard Enterprises, AI is demonstrating tremendous promise in addressing conditions that disproportionately affect women, many of which have historically been overlooked and underfunded.

So, there’s lots of good news to celebrate here. At the same time, evolutions on the horizon mandate that we question the ethical boundaries and proper application of AI before it gets out of hand.

From Administrative Relief to Life-Saving Innovations

A key benefit of AI in healthcare is its ability to automate time-consuming administrative tasks that once commanded a disproportionate amount of healthcare professional time. For example, AI systems are now managing patient scheduling, clinical trial enrollment, and reimbursement submissions; tasks that previously required significant manual input. By automating these functions, AI not only reduces the risk of human error but also frees up physicians, nurses, and their administrative support staff to focus on patient care, which is what we all want.

For women, AI is addressing conditions like breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, and mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, which have historically had an outsized impact on us. In breast cancer detection, for example, AI-driven tools are being used to interpret mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies with greater accuracy and speed than humans can, thereby saving lives. For patients who are at elevated risks for cardiovascular disease,  AI can predict physiological changes before they become critical, enabling more proactive healthcare management. The same applies to autoimmune disorders, where AI can help forecast flare-ups or complications, allowing for earlier intervention and improved quality of life. And finally, AI can sift through large sets of data from electronic health records and wearables to identify patterns that may indicate the presence of depression and anxiety, where diagnosis and treatment often come later than they should. 

Ensuring Privacy and Avoiding Bias

As with anything, AI is not a panacea. Its ability to analyze and classify vast amounts of personal health data could open up a Pandora’s Box of privacy violations if not responsibly managed. Patients must have confidence that their data is secure and that AI tools are being used responsibly, with their well-being as the primary concern. Additionally, AI systems must be trained on diverse datasets to avoid reinforcing existing biases and perpetuating health disparities, especially for underrepresented groups—including women. Another critical issue is the role of human oversight in AI-driven healthcare. While AI can improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficiency, it should never replace human judgment entirely. Ensuring that AI remains a supportive tool in the hands of trained professionals will help maintain trust in our healthcare system and guard patient safety. 

Striking the Balance Between Innovation and Ethics 

AI is significantly enhancing healthcare delivery by improving diagnostics, personalizing treatments, and reducing administrative burdens. Its applications are transforming how conditions like breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune disorders, and mental health issues are diagnosed and managed, providing more accessible and effective care at every stage of a patient’s journey. 

But as the role of AI expands, it brings with it a host of ethical challenges that must be addressed. Key concerns include data privacy, biases in AI models, and the need for human oversight. These issues highlight the importance of developing robust frameworks to guide the responsible use of AI technologies. 

By implementing thoughtful regulations and ethical guidelines, we can feel confident AI will revolutionize healthcare responsibly and effectively, in a manner that benefits all patients. Sounds a lot like the tenets of the Hippocratic Oath.

Cindy is a pioneering marketing leader with a track record of disrupting industries and building innovative brands. She was one of the first to apply consumer marketing principles to healthcare, later leading global strategy at Grey Healthcare Group and founding Glue Advertising, a top 20 NYC agency. Cindy has since embraced AI’s potential in healthcare, serving as CMO of SecureCHEK AI and advisor to AI-driven ventures. A champion for women entrepreneurs, she mentors startups through Springboard Enterprises and the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center. Cindy holds a BS from Boston University and an MBA from Chicago Booth.