For a long time, medical research was directed almost exclusively towards the study of men’s health problems. In practice, the “average man” was taken as a reference and women were only studied in the context of pathologies which concerned almost exclusively “female” health subjects, such as motherhood and fertility. Of course, we can see that women are both sidelined in “generalist” diseases, where men are considered the biomedical model by default, which has obvious impacts on the quality of care for women.
Considering this, the birth of the FemTech movement is not surprising – during the last decade, numerous technology companies have been created offering products and services aimed at improving women’s health. Interestingly, most of these companies are predominantly founded by women who, following a medical condition, decided to take the initiative and shake up the medical scene themselves.
What is FemTech?
The term ” FemTech » (abbreviation for ” female technology ”) was invented in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur Ida Tin. FemTech offers a broad spectrum of solutions to improve health care for women in a number of women-specific conditions, including maternal health, menstrual health, pelvic and sexual health, fertility, menopause, and contraception. , as well as a number of general health conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently (such as osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease).
So, in practice, Femtech encompasses all the technologies and solutions developed to meet a need in the women’s health sector. In just a few short years, the FemTech industry has grown to encompass a range of technology- and consumer-focused products and solutions. Today, FemTech corresponds to many innovations that support women in their daily lives – diagnosis of endometriosis, period panties and breast implants in 3D printing, among others.
FemTech: a revolution necessary and deserved by the health sector
FemTech companies might revolutionize healthcare in several ways. Early advances have already been made in a range of areas, including:
- Improving care delivery : Virtual clinics such as Tia and direct prescription drug delivery services such as The Pill Club, allow women to access care in a more convenient way.
- Facilitate self-care : The tracers and the wearables (wearables) offered by companies such as Bloomlife, and home diagnostics such as those provided by Modern Fertility or the French startup Efelya, are among the FemTech solutions that help women take more charge of their health and related data.
- Improving diagnostics : Clinical diagnostic companies are pushing the boundaries of science to address unmet medical needs in areas such as endometriosis and preterm birth.
- Addressing stigmatized areas : Companies are tackling topics that were considered stigmatized head-on, such as menstrual health, sexual health, pelvic care and menopause (French startups MenoRebelle and Omena).
- Provide care adapted and sensitive to the diversity of needs : Solutions tailored to subpopulations such as the LGBTQI+ population (FOLX Health) and women in low- and middle-income countries (Kasha).
The French FemTech market
According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, the global FemTech industry is estimated at $50 billion by 2025. The FemTech scene is also growing in France. The FemTech France association was created in September 2022 by three entrepreneurs wishing to boost the development of the FemTech sector in France. To do this, the FemTech France association has the following missions, among others:
- to help in the creation and deployment of innovative projects in the field of women’s health
- to create synergies between the various stakeholders – as project leaders, start-ups and industrialists, health professionals, research laboratories, healthcare structures, etc.
- to take full part in the debates and strategic reflections on the political, technological and societal challenges of the sector
- to contribute to education by creating a digital training dedicated to entrepreneurs who innovate in the FemTech sector.
In October 2022, Femtech France carried out an initial mapping by domain and type of products/services of French startups claiming to be FemTech. At that time, there were 81 French startups developing innovative products or services to improve women’s health and well-being, covering health areas such as chronic diseases, maternal health, sexual health and well-being. being general of women.
Map of French FemTech startups in November 2022, available on the FemTech France website
The encouraging numbers and startups in the field show that FemTech is a growing industry, and more importantly – that women’s medical needs are real, though long neglected.
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