Venture Funding Surge in Women's Health Sector Faces Potential Headwinds

The women's health sector is experiencing a significant boost in venture funding, but recent policy changes and government actions may present challenges for continued growth and innovation in the field.

Record-Breaking Investment in Women's Health

Venture funding for women's health startups reached an all-time high in 2024, with $2.6 billion invested, up from $1.7 billion in 2023, according to a report by Silicon Valley Bank. Notably, biopharma-related investments accounted for 34% of the total, indicating a growing interest in developing new treatments beyond the sector's traditional focus on healthtech solutions.

Raysa Bousleiman, vice president of life science and healthcare venture capital relationship management at SVB, noted, "Women's health has continued to grow. [Last year's total is] the highest we've ever seen."

This surge in funding is addressing long-standing deficits in research and treatment for conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. Areas receiving increased attention include reproductive care, menopause, and maternal health. For instance, Comanche Bio secured $75 million from investors including NEA, Atlas Venture, and F-Prime Capital to advance a treatment for preeclampsia.

Government Policies and Research Challenges

Despite the positive trends in private investment, recent government actions and policy changes may pose significant challenges to women's health research and innovation.

The Biden administration's White House Initiative in Women's Health Research, launched in late 2023 with $113 million in funding, faces an uncertain future under the current administration. Sabra Klein, professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, expressed concern about the initiative's limited impact, stating, "By the time it got going, they lost the election — and it's over. A year is not dedicated investment."

Furthermore, the current administration has implemented several actions that could impede research in already neglected areas or hamper the adoption of existing treatments. These include cuts to grant funding and major research studies involving the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Sabrina Johnson, CEO of women's health-focused company Daré Biosciences, warned, "The field of women's health is already underserved, so we can't really afford further slowdown."

Impact on Research and Clinical Trials

Recent policy changes, including restrictions on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies, may have far-reaching effects on women's health research. These changes could potentially slow public funding for women's health studies, which have historically been underfunded. A study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that only 8.8% of total NIH grant funding between 2013 and 2023 was dedicated to women's health.

Marcelle Cedars, a reproductive endocrinologist at University of California, San Francisco Health, emphasized the disparity, saying, "We can't devote more than 9% of our research effort to taking care of 51% of the population; that's a problem."

The impact extends to clinical trials as well, with concerns that new policies may conflict with FDA guidance promoting diversity in trial participation. This could exacerbate the existing deficit of information on sex and gender differences in medical research.

As the industry navigates these challenges, some researchers hope that the increase in private funding for women's health biotechs will help support crucial early-stage science. Klein suggested, "This could be a call to the private sector to invest earlier in a pipeline. It's a riskier investment, but without it we lose our standing in the world as being biotechnology leaders [and] biomedical leaders."