Women’s Health Start-Ups Attracting Interest from Big Pharma, Investors Say

Text size

Women’s health-focused start-ups are gaining more attention among the big players in the healthcare industry, early-stage investors in the sector said at a Barron’s Level Up event Friday.

“I had three different pharma organizations say this is my number one focus,” said Deena Shakir, a general partner at Lux Capital. 

At the virtual event, Shakir and Alyssa Jaffee, a partner at the healthcare-focused venture-capital firm 7wireVentures, joined Barron’s Managing Editor Kristen Bellstrom to discuss what they called a growing opportunity in women’s health.

“We have conversations all the time with most of the big pharma companies,” Shakir said. “And I can tell you that almost every single one has brought up women’s health, even ones that have historically not had major pharmaceuticals in that space. So I think that the excitement and interest we’re seeing from investors, and from payers, is starting to be reflected in pharma as well, which is always an interesting sign of what’s to come.”

Shakir’s current investments in the space include Maven Clinic, an online clinic specializing in women’s and family health, and Gameto, a biotech focused on diseases affecting the female reproductive system. Jaffee’s firm is invested in FOLX Health, a virtual care tool for LGTBQIA+ populations, and Jasper, a service that helps patients navigate cancer care.

“There is no perfect way to describe this category,” Shakir said. “But it is very important that we invest in companies that are focused on the journey of not only 51% of the population, but the individuals who control 80% of household decisions, and 70% of the dollars that are spent in healthcare.”

Both investors said the market had changed dramatically in recent months, as the picture across the broader economy has darkened. “The process has changed,” Jaffee said. “We hope it doesn’t go too far, and too restricted. But finding that happy medium is important for both VCs and entrepreneurs.”

Potential acquirers in the public markets have a lot of cash on hand, Jaffee said. “The health plans have done better in the last couple of years than they’ve ever done,” she said. “We should see some pretty interesting consolidation as healthcare continues to heat up.”

Shakir noted that Maven Clinic, one of her investments, had been one of the few venture-backed companies to raise what is known as an up-round, a round of financing at a higher valuation than its previous round, in the current environment. (Maven has been called the first ‘unicorn’—a private company valued at more than $1 billion—in the women’s health space.)

“I think that says a lot about the way investors are thinking about the category,” Shakir said.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com