Six female femtech leaders transforming women’s health

In healthcare innovation, few areas have grown as rapidly as what’s known as Femtech or technology-driven products, services and software designed to address women’s health and wellness needs. Importantly, this dynamic field is also helping to empower women to make more informed and better decisions about their own health.

Femtech’s speed of progress is to a large degree down to the innovation, passion and drive of its women leaders. From pioneering founders and co-founders to female CEOs with the experience necessary to deliver the successful growth of these businesses. At the same time, despite the undeniable market potential and demonstrated success of women-led startups (which dominate male-led start-ups in Femtech), these businesses still receive less funding than their male counterparts.

In order to accelerate action and re-dress this imbalance, we call on investors to increase their level of investment and make 2025 the best year ever for the funding of new business opportunities in Femtech and in particular the women helping to build them.

And when it comes to helping women make informed decisions about their health, let’s not forget the phenomenal work of national women’s charities such as The Lady Garden Foundation which includes Victoria Hornby, OBE, Jenny Halpern Prince, MBE and Dr Annalisa Jenkins on its Board of Trustees. The charity raises awareness and funding for the five gynaecological cancers and hosts education programmes for women, including a campaign to encourage young people to attend regular cervical screenings without fear or embarrassment.

As the world’s first global executive search firm to specialise exclusively in life sciences, Talentmark has had the privilege of helping female entrepreneurs to find the talent necessary to take their businesses to the next level.

On International Women’s Day, here’s our shortlist of cutting-edge Femtech businesses and the women leaders at their helms.

Diagnostic Solutions

Dr Geetha Manjunath, founder, CEO and CTO, Niramai Health Analytix

After losing two family members to late-stage breast cancer Dr Geetha Manjunath left her career in IT to develop a product that would catch the disease earlier as early detection and regular preventative health check-ups are critical to decrease mortality rates.

She is the founder, CEO and CTO of India-based Niramai Health Analytix and has led the company to develop a breakthrough AI solution for detecting breast cancer at a much earlier stage than traditional methods or self-examination.

The Niramai breast cancer screening test, Thermalytix, is a computer aided diagnostic engine. The core technology has been developed using patented machine learning algorithms. A high-resolution thermal sensing device and cloud hosted analytics analyse the thermal images to ensure an accurate breast cancer screening.

In addition to being used as a cancer diagnostic test in hospitals, it can be used for large scale screening in rural and semi-urban areas.

Geetha has received international and national recognition for her innovations and entrepreneurial work and features in the Forbes List of Top 20 Self-Made Women 2020. Other awards include winner of the Women Health Innovation Showcase Asia in Singapore and Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 by BioSpectrum India.

Health of Pregnant Women and Newborns

Zhenya Lindgardt, CEO and President of Sera Prognostics, Inc., The Pregnancy Company

Preterm births are one of the leading causes of infant deaths in the United States. Babies born prematurely are also at an increased risk of having serious health problems. Yet despite advancements in many areas of obstetrics, little progress has been made to reduce the number of preterm births or improve neonatal outcomes.

However, a large recent trial on preterm births funded by Sera Prognostics using their biomarker test (PreTRM®) has found that a maternal biomarker test to identify pregnant people at higher risk of preterm birth significantly reduces neonatal morbidities and improves neonatal outcomes.

Sera Prognostics has mapped over 300 proteins that get expressed by the placenta throughout pregnancy and pinpointed markers that specifically point to the risk of preterm birth. This is a key insight as around a third of mortality in neonates is driven by prematurity.

Since 2023 Sera Prognostics has been led by Zhenya Lindgardt as its CEO. Zhenya was selected for the 2024 edition of Women With Impact, a global community showcasing the power of women’s actions in shaping a better world.

Sera Prognostics aims to be a global leader in high-value women’s health diagnostics, delivering pivotal information to providers and patients in order to improve the health of pregnant women and their newborns and the healthcare they receive.

Menstrual Health and Fertility

Ida Tin, Chairwoman and co-founder, Clue

New wearables can monitor hormonal fluctuations, offering insights into menstrual health and hormone-sensing devices and advanced period trackers provide real-time data on ovulation, fertility, and potential health concerns.

Ida Tin, chairwoman, former CEO and co-founder at Clue is the Danish entrepreneur who actually coined the term Femtech in 2016.

Clue is a CE-marked Class 1 medical-grade menstrual health app developed by the Berlin-based technology company BioWink GmbH. It helps women who are trying to conceive, navigating perimenopause, or managing menstrual symptoms to track their periods and fertility. Its mission is to help people around the world benefit from insights into female health and it now has 100 million users globally.

A lifelong entrepreneur and proponent of equality, Ida is also a highly respected speaker and thought leader who is regularly quoted in leading media outlets. She is currently writing a book on the intersection of technology, leadership and systemic change.

She also founded the think tank Femtech Assembly which aims to establish investment in women’s health as an indisputable path to both economic growth and planetary well-being.

Menopause and Aging

Andrea Berchowitz (CEO) and Dr Rebecca Love, co-founders of Vira Health

In the UK, menopause is responsible for nearly 14 million lost working days and 1 million premature career exits. It’s also an important milestone in a woman’s life which can impact her career trajectory, as well as a window of opportunity for putting in place what’s needed for better brain, bone and heart health later in life.

Co-founded by Dr Rebecca Love and Andrea Berchowitz (CEO) in 2019, London based Vira Health has developed Stella, an app which aims to revolutionise perimenopause and menopause support.

Designed by doctors, clinicians and experts in women’s health and menopause, the online clinic provides personalised, holistic and scientifically validated treatment plans, based on a woman’s combination of symptoms and the level of disruption these are creating.

Women have direct access to trained experts and coaches as well as additional resources such as lifestyle and behaviour change advice, guided meditations, educational materials, exercises, recipes and online classes.

Eighty per cent of women who complete their Stella plan report improved symptoms.

Health and Fitness

Mitchella Gilbert, CEO and co-founder, Oya Femtech Apparel

According to the CDC, 75% of women will experience yeast infections at some point in their lives. For athletes and women who train on a regular basis, workout attire can trap sweat and bacteria by retaining moisture and preventing the body from drying out. This can lead to female health problems such as yeast infections, UTIs, bacterial vaginosis and skin irritation.

Additionally, toxic fabrics used in workout clothes in the US contain chemicals such as BPAs which can act as endocrine disruptors known to cause cancer.

As a collegiate female athlete, Mitchella (Mitch) Gilbert, the co-founder and CEO of Oya Femtech Apparel struggled with recurrent vaginal health issues only to eventually discover that the leggings she had been wearing were to blame.

With extensive input from medical professionals, athletes and military women she has been able to resolve the issue by developing a line of patented, non-toxic, and HSA/FSA approved performance wear. This includes cutting-edge sweat-wicking technology, as well as innovative design which provides women with natural ventilation when they exercise.

Mitch Gilbert co-founded Oya Femtech Apparel with Patrick Ayers at the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator. She is one of only 200 black women to raise over $1M in Venture Capital in an oversubscribed pre-seed round. According to Business Insider, fundraising is a difficult journey for Black female founders and only 93 had raised $1 million or more in venture capital before 2021.

Oya Femtech Apparel is also working with the US Air Force and Army.

First published by Talentmark. Used with permission