Opportunities in women’s health: page 1
Investment: page 2
Greater Manchester | creating the conditions for a flourishing market: page 3
Purpose-driven businesses: page 4
Navigating the investment market: page 5
Female innovation in “a man’s world”: page 7
An [investment] match made in heaven: page 9
Contributions: page 10
We understand women's health: page 11
Connect with us on LinkedIn: page 12
References: page 13
Thewomen’shealthmarketisestimatedtohaveaglobalvalueof $48.2bn.AlthoughcurrentlylargelyconcentratedintheUS,Europeis fastcatchingup.In2024,theperiodtrackingappFlobecamethefirst EuropeanFemTechbusinesstoachieveunicornstatusdemonstrating thatthereissignificantmarketpotentialininnovative,techenabled solutionsaimedataddressingtheunmethealthneedsof51%ofthe population.
The team at Mills & Reeve are therefore aiming to build up a picture of how women's health businesses can be supported to thrive nationally and beyond.
Women’s health holds immense potential, yet glaring health inequalities between the sexes persist. Research published by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum in 2024 identifies disparities across the entire care pathway, from prevention to treatment and follow-up care. And the gaps extend beyond care delivery, encompassing the research, data, and investment that underpin it.
Against this backdrop, Mills & Reeve is hosting a series of roundtable events around the country focusing on how each of these gaps can be addressed to overcome the barriers to better health outcomes for women.
Bringing together key stakeholders from across the science, healthcare services, policy, business and investment sectors, each event will explore a key issue facing women's health: investment and support research and data policy and strategy
The first event in Manchester focused on investment, and how the city and the wider North West is championing women’s health businesses through funding, partnerships and support. Participants shared their experiences of securing backing, building networks, and scaling their ventures, while exploring the region's genuine potential to become a hub of innovation with influence reaching far beyond the borders of Greater Manchester.
This report is the first of two covering the findings from the event. It focuses on the opportunities of and barriers to financial investment, with the second part considering alternative routes to scale and the region’s wider support offering.
Throughout this report, we refer to women’s health. We acknowledge that some people who identify as women will not be affected by some of the conditions/issues that we talk about here. Similarly, there will be others – including trans men, nonbinary and asexual/agender people, and other gender expansive identities – who will be impacted by them. We use the term women’s health to encompass anyone who has female biology or is impacted by the societal issues faced by women.
“There’saphrasethatgoesaroundtheinvestmentworldwheresome investorsanalogisehealthproductstoantibiotics,painkillersandvitamins, saying”wearenotinterestedininvestinginvitamins.Weonlywanttoinvest inmedicines(antibiotics)thateffectivelymakechangeandcureaproblem immediatelyorrelativelyquickly”.Sometimeswomen’shealthisperceivedas somethingthatcanberesolvedwitha“vitamin”.”
Despite women accounting for more than half of the world’s population, the growing body of evidence that FemTech can deliver strong returns while being highly impactful and forecasts that the global women’s health market is set to reach $67.1bn by 2030, FemTech startups still only receive a fraction of the investments in the venture capital (VC) space.
In the US, women’s health represents just 2% of VC funding allocated to the health industry and FemTech companies receive just 3% of funding in digital health. Figures in the UK are not even accessible at this stage although we know that female-founded businesses receive a small fraction of the total VC funding available.
Women’s health is still perceived as “niche”. A point also noted in relation to how society sees women generally by Caroline Criado Perez in her bestselling book Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Built for Men.
Whilst the outlook might seem gloomy, there is an opportunity to bridge this gap.
Encouraging women-led funds and increasing the representation of female investors who prioritise women’s health are essential steps to ensuring that FemTech receives the funding it deserves. Expanding dedicated funds which prioritise founders addressing female health issues will also help to promote investment in women’s health. These approaches not only advance women’s health but also mainstreams it within the investment landscape.
Greater Manchester | creating the conditions a flourishing market
“Fundingisarealissueforwomen’shealth,buta inthenorth…I’mworkingwithnumerousmale-le women’shealththatalsocan’tgetfundinginthe
Greater Manchester boasts the largest city-region economy in the UK outside London. Between 2010 and 2020, it grew by 39%, and with a GVA of £78.7bn, it is poised to become the fastest-growing regional economy in the country. Home to a population of 2.8 million, four universities, 10,000 digital and tech businesses - including 1,500 highgrowth companies - six unicorns, and supported by a strong advisory community, the region is ideally placed to become a catalyst for women’s health and FemTech innovation.
Along with Glasgow and the West Midlands, Greater Manchester is one of three “high potential” innovation clusters to share in the £100m Innovation Accelerator programme. Despite this, less than 4% of the UK’s total private capital investment makes its way to companies in the whole of the North West.
There is growing emphasis on supporting the local market in Greater Manchester. Health Innovation Manchester (HInM), BioNow and inward investment promotion agency for Greater Manchester ‘MIDAS’ have been working hard to attract more investment into the region and into women’s health.
Since its launch in 2023, HInM have been part of the Health Innovation Network’s Accelerating FemTech programme, which provides workshops and mentoring in collaboration with partners in the NHS, biomedical community and academic institutions. And a new initiative, the Women’s Health International Innovation Support Hub (WHIISH), is poised to launch in the region to provide 360 degree, longterm support for entrepreneurs to bring their innovations to market and achieve scale.
“It’sabouthowyoutakethatscience,oranareathatinvestorsarenot familiarwith,andtranslateitintotheirlanguage,notjustfroma healthcareperspectivebutfromaninvestmentperspectiveaswell.”
A key challenge faced by female founders is that their businesses are often driven by purpose, emerging from lived experience as much as commercial ambition. For her recent research for Femtech Insights, Ludovica Castiglia analysed 1,720 funding agreements made by 513 venture-backed FemTech companies in the UK, US and Canada. She found that the most damaging thing a female founder can do is use words in their funding pitch or company publicity that suggest they champion their product’s cause.
While the participants felt that purpose itself is not necessarily seen as a negative by investors, the discussion emphasised the importance of being able to pitch to investors in the language they understand and that inevitably includes being clear on the opportunity, the potential return and the numbers.
Participants noted that the VC infrastructure in the UK lacks a deep understanding of women’s health solutions. On the one hand some participants found that having an academic or science background could pose challenges when communicating with investors. Conversely, another found that not being a pharmaceutical business means it is difficult to explain your business to VCs, who often come from a science background.
There is, however, a growing recognition that profit is just one piece of the puzzle and in recent years, a new paradigm has emerged, one that puts purpose at the heart of a company's mission.
According to research by Deloitte, purpose-driven companies are three times more likely to retain talent due to higher levels of employee engagement and job satisfaction.
In addition to promoting workforce wellness and community impact, Forbes reports that these companies see significant financial benefits. For example, purpose-driven organisations experience an annual return on equity averaging 13.1%, which is 9% higher than the S&P, and they retain employees who are 64% more satisfied with their work, according to data from IDEO.
“It’snotenoughjusttobepurposedriven.There’sabigelementof makingsurethatthefinancialmodelisrobust.Investorswanttoknow youaregoingtotakethat£1mandturnitinto£10m-plus.“
More than three quarters of women’s health businesses have a female founder, but for every £1 of VC investment in the UK, female founder teams get less than 1p. Research by Deloitte also found that innovators led by all-male teams were four times more likely to receive funding than those that had even one female leader.
It may therefore not come as a surprise that Flo, the first European FemTech business to achieve unicorn status, was founded by male entrepreneurs and backed by male investors.
However, the overwhelming consensus around the table was that regardless of gender, founders must be able to demonstrate to investors that their passion is backed by solid financials.
Getting good advice, support and mentorship - and building up those networks early on and throughout the investment cycle - is crucial.
Our roundtable participants’ experience of dealing with investors was mixed. One participant who had raised funds from both an angel investor and a VC said they had been mentored throughout the process and had carried out substantial work evaluating market size to demonstrate their potential. They had a really positive experience and felt that was because they leveraged their network and raised money through warm introductions.
Conversely, another participant recounted the harsh experience of having an investor pull out at the eleventh hour of a round three fundraise. However, despite the setback, they explained that the lessons learned from the experience were “so rich and deep” that they are now using them to guide other female founders embarking on their own investment journeys.
“TheFemTechandwomen’shealthmarketis ripeforinvestment.Thereisarealneedfor readilyaccessiblehealthcarefocusedonand designedtosupportandimprovewomen’s health.Womenarenolongerjustthecaregiver andhomemakers–theyareavaluable contributortotheeconomytherefore supportingtheneedforpositiveoutcomes-not thatthereshouldneedtobeanyjustification! However,wecontinuetohearalltoooftenthat thereislackofinvestmentinwomen’shealth andthishighlightsacriticalgapandalso underscorestheimmensepotentialforgrowth andimpactwhenthesebusinessesreceivethe supporttheydeserve.”
VickyProtano Partner,Corporate
“Therearesomefundsfocusedonwomen’shealthandtheyhavebuilt portfoliosofwomen’shealthbusinesses,”saidoneparticipant.“It’s aboutreallyunderstandingthatlandscape-anditmightbeoutsideof theregion,itmightbeoverseas.”
Castiglia’s research found that since 2010, female FemTech founders raised 23% less capital for each deal compared to male founders. On average, FemTech companies exclusively founded by women receive 28% of VC funding compared to 38% for similar companies founded entirely by men. Just over 1/3 of funding went to companies founded by mixed-gender teams.
There is also a stark difference in how investors frame their questions to femaleled boards. Research from Harvard found that 67% of questions to men were promotion-orientated, focused on achievements and advancements, while 66% to women were prevention-orientated questions about safety, responsibility and security.
Participants agreed that unconscious bias among investors was an issue. In the US, more than 95% of VC firms have majority male decision makers. In the UK, the figure is 96.1% based on The Alan Turing Institute report (Rebalancing Innovation: Women, AI and Venture Capital in the UK).
However, others had been successful in identifying investors who shared their social values and commitment to solving health inequalities.
A key message for founders seeking investment and/or partners was “do your due diligence”.
The roundtable acknowledged that this is generally easier with VCs than with angel investors but agreed that it is crucial for founders to be prepared to walk away if something doesn’t feel right.
The consensus around the table was: understand exactly what the investor is bringing to the table (including non-financial support) and what they want in return.
“It’satwo-wayprocess–youaregivingequityaway,but[investors] havetobringsomethingtoyouintermsofvaluecreationandsupport foryoutoscale.Rememberthatyou’reuniqueandhavesomethingto offeraspartofatwo-wayprocess.”
“There’snodenyingthegenderhealthgapexists. Businessesfocusedonwomen’shealthareatthe cuttingedgeofhealthcareinnovation,transforming women’shealthandwellness,inabidtoclosethe gap.Despitefacingbarrierssuchaslackoffunding, genderbias,andsocietaldisparities,their commitment,strength,andcreativityareopening doorstonewpossibilitiesandadvancements, unlockingunprecedentedopportunitiesforgrowth andimpactinwomen’shealth.”
CharlotteLewis CommercialHealthandTechnologyLawyer
“Ithinkthereareahandfulofamazinginvestorswhounderstandthis spaceandtherearesomethataresolelyfocusingonthisspace,but theyarequitehardtofind,soIthinkit’sabouthearing(thegood,the badandtheugly,allthehorrorstories)butalsogoingonyourown journeytoseewhat’soutthereratherthanthinkingit’snotforme… andtherearepeopleouttherewhocanhelp.”
According to the 2019 Rose Report, which examined the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs, women founders could add £250bn to the UK economy if they started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men.
Alongside lack of access to funding and networks, one of the barriers identified by the review was risk averseness among female entrepreneurs.
This resonated with many at our roundtable, even those who had positive experiences of investors and had completed successful funding rounds.
Another said they would be happy to give up some control in their business but needed to find a partner who was prepared to become part of their journey.
Some participants expressed concern that an investor might alter the dynamics of their business, but others acknowledged that giving away equity and achieving scale often go hand in hand. Female founders and women’s health businesses were also encouraged to explore all their options including obtaining funding other than through equity as well as non-financial based investment options.
Thesecondpartofthisreport considersnon-financialinvestment, alternativeroutestoscaleandthe
Victoria Bertenshaw Research Programme and Development Manager University of Manchester (KOKO Health Limited)
Stella James
Executive Director
Business Development
Bionow
Lucy Buckley Founder
The Digital Health Assurance Company Mo Carrier Founder MyBliss
Mia Church Business Development Manager Mills & Reeve
Claire Edwards Director - Healthcare and Life
Sciences M&A
Alvarez & Marsal Europe
Louise Lawrence
Senior Programme Development Lead Health Innovation Manchester
Charlotte Lewis
Commercial Health and Technology Lawyer Mills & Reeve
Julie Millar Director of Sales Operations and Strategic Partnerships
Northwest EHealth
Laura Molloy Employment Lawyer Mills & Reeve
Vicky Protano Partner, Corporate Mills & Reeve
Andrew Tasker CEO Viveca Biomed
Anja Ueland Innovator and founder Warmher
Elaine Mills
Equality and Inclusion
Involvement and Outreach lead
NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board
Laura Wells
Commercial, Technology and IP Lawyer Mills & Reeve
Claire Williams
Head of Pharamacovigilance and Regulatory
NorthWest EHealth
Andrea Winders Head of Inward Investment for Life Sciences and Healthcare
Manchester Investment Development Agency Service
Zoe Wright Founder and CEO
The Real Birth Company
Theimportanceofhealthcarethataddresseswomen’shealth is,thankfully,becominganincreasingpriority,with technologyplayingapivotalroleinaddressingwomen’s healthandthegenderhealthgap.
There's complexity with a highly regulated landscape, the even greater need to protect privacy and difficulties accessing funding.
It's still a surprise to learn that women weren't required to be included in clinical trials until 1993. Since then, we've seen an increase in female clinical trial participants, but results are still not necessarily analysed by sex and/or gender – we're here to support those efforts in closing the gap.
With extensive experience across the technology, health and life science sectors, we can provide a “one-stop” legal service for innovators, investors and providers.
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Women’s Health Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report | Grand View Research
Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies | McKinsey Health Institute
Global $67B+ Women's Health Market Landscape 2024-2030: Analysis by Age, Application and Region | Yahoo Finance
Can investors help women s health break through the glass ceiling? | Deloitte
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men | Caroline Criado Perez
Greater Manchester Economy | Invest In Manchester
Manchester: The City to Scale | Invest In Manchester
£100m R&D levelling up funding awarded to accelerate innovation | UK Research and Innovation
Purpose is everything | Deloitte
4 Reasons Purpose-Driven Companies Outperform The Competition | Forbes
5 Studies on the Benefits of the Purpose-Driven Workplace | IDEO
UK VC and Female Founders report | British Business Bank
Women’s health tech ‘less likely to get funding if woman is on founding team | Guardian News & Media Limited
Male and Female Entrepreneurs Get Asked Different Questions by VCs and It Affects How Much Funding They Get | Harvard Business School Publishing
Women Drive Wealth. So Why Is Equity Still Inequitable? | TIME USA, LLC
The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship | Alison Rose