Investing in what is commonly referred to as “FemTech” — defined as diagnostic tools, products, and services related to women’s health — has exploded in the past decade. Some of the most promising businesses are focused on prenatal care. Then came the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. of overturning Roe v. Wade. The legal and policy restrictions on reproductive health care created by this decision will not only have an immediate impact on expectant mothers and their families, but will also undermine important areas of research. , innovation and progress toward equitable health care outcomes. Among the areas involved: fertility treatments such as IVF; collection of personal information and the ability to conduct research; curtailment of new investment and prevention of comprehensive health care reform; and the introduction of new barriers for female founders.
Investing in what is commonly referred to as “FemTech” — defined as diagnostic tools, products, and services related to women’s health — has exploded in the past decade. Some of the most promising businesses are focused on prenatal care. Then came the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. of overturning Roe v. Wade. The legal and policy restrictions on reproductive health care created by this decision will not only have an immediate impact on expectant mothers and their families, but will also undermine important areas of research. , innovation and progress toward equitable health care outcomes. Among the areas involved: fertility treatments such as IVF; collection of personal information and the ability to conduct research; curtailment of new investment and prevention of comprehensive health care reform; and the introduction of new barriers for female founders.
The growth of what is commonly referred to as “FemTech” – defined as diagnostic tools, products, and services related to women’s health – has exploded in the last decade. As recently as 2013, less than $200 million was invested in the field, but funds have reached $2.5 billion in 2021, with estimates predicting a continued rise.
Forward-thinking founders are creating innovative new products and care systems for women and families. Some of the most promising businesses in FemTech are focused on childcare: fertility clinic Kindbody reached unicorn status in early 2022, and menstruation and pregnancy app Flo is valued at more than $800 million. Maven Clinic, a telehealth clinic whose services include pediatric care, was the first U.S. unicorn. dedicated to women’s health in 2021 when it closed a series of 110 million dollars D.
Then came the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Legal and policy restrictions on reproductive health care will not have an immediate impact on pregnant women and their families, especially hourly or low-wage workers, and will undermine key areas of research, innovation and development among others. equitable health care outcomes. According to Alice Zheng, principal of RH Capital and former physician: “The overturning of Roe v. Wade has many impacts on our society and economy—not just patients and nurses who will no longer be able to receive or provide care, but health systems and people paying more, employers with employees who go for abortion care, and the community at large as we face this new world.”
While we recognize that some may be reluctant to take a stand, we believe that business leaders and policy makers should care about the issue of access to abortion because it has a profound impact on people’s rights, health and life chances. individual and community. They must also understand the implications associated with the types of technological progress that drive economic growth. As academics studying equity, innovation and health care, we see several important areas of science and business at stake as we consider the impact of the Dobbs decision in this area. The damage the decision does may not be fully revealed for some time, but the immediate consequences may be dire.
The first thing people are concerned about is IVF. With the loss of federal privacy protections for reproductive health care decisions, states are now free to grant legal personality to fertilized eggs, a longtime goal of many anti-abortion advocates. Such legislation would promote — or completely eliminate — the use of conventional fertility treatments such as IVF for most U.S. citizens. One study estimates that 18% of IVF cycles nationwide could be affected if countries that have rejected abortion laws enact fetal rights laws. (So far, seven state legislatures have introduced such laws.)
The threat comes as startups like Maven and Kindbody are making improvements to make such treatments more widely available, including making insurance options more accessible. Companies that offer IVF services may need to negotiate to ship the embryos to different countries or enter into costly litigation. Without limiting the innovations in this area of fertility care, people who need IVF to conceive may face fewer options.
The following are troubling implications for personal data and the companies that use it to improve consumers’ lives. The privacy of health data collected by apps used for childcare was a concern before for Dobbs, and now the stakes are even higher. State laws that encourage or require citizens and law enforcement officials to report and punish people suspected of obtaining or having an abortion threaten many forms of reproductive care. Pregnancy testing can become fodder for vindictive “research”, such as digital devices to manage menstruation.
This could hurt the ability of companies like NextGen Jane and Frame Fertility, which focus on data-driven health practices, to serve their customers. NextGen Jane collects menstrual blood from tampons, using genomic data to detect early signs of disease that can affect fertility and quality of life. Frame Fertility helps users discover dangerous conditions, such as endometriosis, that were previously undiagnosed and may affect the outcome of their pregnancy. Forcing these and other businesses to operate in riskier, more ambiguous conditions is not good for their investors, founders, employees or the people they serve.
Data collection and data sharing help to provide better care and drive research in many other ways, such as making medical diagnosis more reliable and accurate, creating safer and more comprehensive treatments, and reduce costs in almost all areas of care. For example, GIFT-Cloud, a data sharing platform for fetal imaging research, has unlimited applications in other areas, including identifying cancer risks. A new method like this is unlikely to survive long enough to reach such a wide implementation, if the lack of data on pregnant women prevents it today. The unraveling or disruption of data collection and sharing will have negative impacts on the care, science and business outcomes of health systems.
Third, there may be a spillover effect on other types of health care reform. Even FemTech companies that don’t work directly in reproductive care can be blocked by extreme abortion restrictions. They may feel compelled to divert resources away from their core business to manage legal risks — and may lose investment from funds that now view women’s health as an uncertain prospect. These include businesses working to address health issues that affect tens of millions of people, such as Renovia, a Boston-based company with a digital therapeutic to treat pelvic disorders (weakness of the muscles or tissues those of the pelvic region). This condition is sometimes but not always related to pregnancy and affects one in three women. Spreading confusion about the line between illegal and legal medical care not only makes it difficult for existing companies to operate, it is likely to discourage entrants. they are young not to act.
And what is the outlook for investment in the post-Roe era? According to Pitchbook, venture capital funding for FemTech has tripled since 2015. It’s possible that there are investors who believe strongly enough in the behavioral side of improving women’s health that who will not be afraid to include such companies in their activities. But overall, the patchwork nature of abortion restrictions will contribute to an environment where we may see this currency shrink rather than grow, as the potential rewards become less clear, especially for businesses may occur only by accident in certain states. Some investors may be shying away from entering the murky space of women’s health for a number of reasons, a development that will slow the flow of dollars to companies trying to solve problems that have major implications for human and social health.
In addition to potentially reducing investment in women’s health, the post-Roe era may also reduce female founders and reduce female employment. Women are 40% more likely to innovate for women than men, and with potential funding to turn these ideas into businesses, the gender gap in business could widen. Better access to reproductive health care increases women’s propensity to become entrepreneurs regardless of industry, increases women’s ability to secure VC funding, and improves the performance of women-run businesses. Consider that the introduction of oral contraceptives in the mid-20th century closed or reduced gender pay and job gaps, enabling firms to retain more and better female talent. The Dobbs decision may reverse these benefits.
It’s true that restrictions can both spur innovation and stifle it, and there are organizations that are well-positioned to mitigate Dobbs’ negative effects. As women’s health investor and entrepreneur Halle Tecco, speaking to the Securities podcast noted, “Disruptions can force innovation, but this is a real challenge facing everyone — not every woman — and one that leaders in this area need to address.” Businesses such as Contraline and YourChoice Therapeutics, which focus on developing male contraceptives – a long-supported area – could see increased profits and investment in the coming years. Existing companies are finding ways to protect their users from lawsuits. Aid Access, Hey Jane, and Plan C, aim to improve access to medical abortion and provide consumers with resources to find abortion pills.
But operating in the narrow, cramped quarters of post-Roe America is unlikely to produce the kind of innovation that deserves patients, that investors and founders want, and that drives great economic growth. There is an opportunity for maternity care to be limited compared to other areas of health technology where legal standards exist. Such an effect is bad for health and bad for business.
