4 Visionary Businesses Supporting Women's Health, from Pharma to Femtech

It’s no surprise that women’s health is generally underfunded and underrepresented – and Jill Biden’s appearance at this year's J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference was a reminder that “women are waiting for better answers to improve their health”. 

Although on average women live longer than men, they live in poor health more than 25% of the time. From being excluded in clinical trials to having their pains and symptoms dismissed, the healthcare system as we know it is failing to meet the needs of women and girls worldwide. 

That being said, some progress is being made towards better health equity. This is especially true in the women’s health technology (or FemTech) sector, where the use of apps and digital devices are helping women take more control over their health and wellbeing. It’s also raising awareness and improving general quality of life with its recent innovations. 

We wanted to share the stories of four visionary companies from all across the industry, as they lead the charge in improving women's health. 

Viramal 

Viramal is an expert pharmaceutical company that was founded in 2013. Based in the UK and Sweden, it’s developing a highly innovative portfolio of life-changing biological treatments for women. 

Their mission stems from the fact that ‘women’s sexual and reproductive health needs have been neglected’, and that ‘they have been poorly served by inadequate drugs and medication’. 

They work towards improving menstruation, fertility, reproduction, conception, disease, pain management and sexual health – so that every woman across the globe can have a better quality of life. 

Viramal has produced treatments that deliver hormones both transdermally and vaginally. Their unique (and patented) cream formulations aim to increase potency of the ingredients while reducing patient exposure and side effects. 

For example, they’ve created a targeted vaginal application that directly affects the pelvic cavity and organs, with very minimal systemic exposure. 

Another wonderful aspect is that they produce all of their products ethically and sustainably. They’re advocates of taking a more holistic approach towards women’s health and are trying to de-stigmatize the biological conditions that affect so many. 

Elektra 

Elektra Health is a digital health platform that specializes in women dealing with perimenopause and menopause. It was founded in 2019 by an all-female team with one main ambition: smashing the menopause taboo. 

Menopause is a topic that is rarely talked openly about, despite the fact it’s an inevitable life stage for half of the population. With both psychological and physical symptoms that can last years, menopause has a monumental impact on the personal and professional lives of women. 

Elektra offers care via telemedicine, connecting women to board-certified clinicians and increasing accessibility globally. They also have a support system in place, where patients can receive one-to-one advice and personalized support plans. 

Part of their goal is to provide organizations with better menopause support, too. As mentioned on Elektra’s website: “1/5 women consider leaving their job due to menopause, with menopause-related productivity losses costing companies $810 billion a year.”  

Supporting women in the workplace, normalizing menopausal symptoms and suggesting holistic solutions within an online community demonstrates how technology can be used to drastically improve women’s health. 

Elvie 

Elvie is a London-born FemTech company that was founded in 2013. Their first product was a specially designed pelvic floor trainer that was connected to a training mobile app. 

Since then, they’ve massively expanded and totally transformed the health landscape for postpartum women. Innovative breast pumps are now their most notorious device, allowing women a novel freedom and convenience to pump hands-free. They currently sell their products worldwide, with distributors across the US, Europe and China. 

Elvie is dedicated to improving women’s health through new and exciting technologies. They’re a company that recognizes the inequality of the sector (with just 3 in 12 people in tech being women) and are doing their bit to further the evolution of women’s healthcare technology. 

They also work to raise awareness surrounding the transformative effects of motherhood – which are so often dismissed or downplayed by society. 

With their award-winning smart tech, Elvie is genuinely improving the lives of mothers and providing new solutions to some of the devastating side effects of childbirth.

Celmatix Therapeutics 

Celmatix Therapeutics is the final company we want to point out – and their revolutionary work centers around ovarian health. 

As mentioned on their website, ‘the ovary is in the center of a complex endocrine signaling network. When it does not function properly, women experience serious health problems. 

‘Despite often debilitating symptoms, such conditions are still being treated with hormonal interventions introduced more than 50 years ago.’ 

Hormonal birth control is often prescribed to girls and women to mask the difficult symptoms of conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). While it may seem like an effective remedy, it’s outdated, doesn’t get to the root of the issue – and often causes more problems than it solves. 

Celmatix are developing new therapeutics that women not only deserve but truly need for a better quality of life. At the beginning of this year, they announced the launch of a novel endometriosis drug program that’s pioneering the first non-hormonal, disease-modifying approach to treating the condition. They’re also at a pre-clinical stage of developing an AMH receptor agonist for ovarian aging. 

With their revolutionary work, it seems that curing ovarian-related conditions may become a possibility. This is wonderful news for women worldwide.

There are, of course, countless other organizations who are committed to improving women's health options and bringing us closer to health equity. And at Meet, we're proud to partner with pioneering companies. 

Whether you're working to improve women's health or are making breakthroughs in other areas of Life Sciences – we'd love to get in touch. Together, we can increase the pace of progress, shape the future of global health and create lasting impact.