FemTech and Women’s Health: Capitalizing on Opportunities – Hosted by WIB National

Women’s health might finally be getting the attention it deserves, according to an analysis of US health tech investment trends. Although venture funding in the overall health tech market fell 27% between 2022 and 2023, investments in innovators focused on women’s health grew 5%, marking a difference of 32 percentage points. For the past four years, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions has analyzed the health innovation landscape, most recently with a deep dive into health tech and platform-enabled ecosystems. This year, they focused on investment trends among innovators focused on women’s health but also explored investment trends more broadly across the overall health market (this includes healthcare services, healthcare technology systems, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medtech companies). This webinar brings together three FemTech and Women’s Health experts in a moderated panel discussion to discuss these opportunities.

By attending, you’ll learn:

• Funding trends in women’s health
• How women’s health is more than a niche market
• Gender bias and systemic challenges to women’s health
• How to prioritize and invest in women’s health

Program:

12:00 p.m. – 12:05 p.m.  Welcome & Announcements/Introductions
12:05 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.  Panel Discussion
12:50 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.  Q&A
12:55 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Final Remarks

Speakers:

Mitzi Krockover, MD, Managing Director, Co-Chair Health Sector Committee, and Founding Member of the Arizona Chapter of Golden Seeds

Mitzi is the Founder and CEO of Woman Centered, LLC, and the host and producer of the Beyond the Paper Gown podcast, which inspires and informs women to achieve their optimal health. Additionally, she is a Managing Director at Golden Seeds, an angel investment organization focusing on funding early-stage companies led by women; she co-leads the Health Sector Committee. Dr. Krockover has served as the founding Medical Director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Center and as Vice President of Women’s Health at Humana Inc. Dr. Krockover also serves on the boards of the Institute for Mental Health Research, the Black Women’s Health Imperative, and Springboard’s Women’s Health Innovation Council.

Sheila Ann Mikhail, Co-Founder, Executive Chair of M34, Inc.

Sheila Mikhail is the founder of several entrepreneurial ventures in the life sciences sector. She has been a founder of Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio) (acquired by Bayer 2020), Bamboo Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer in 2016), Viralgen Vectorcore SA (acquired by AskBio 2021), Chatham Therapeutics (acquired by Baxter (now Takeda) 2014)), and Jurata Thin Film, Inc. Sheila has been a strong advocate of equitable access to healthcare. She formed the Columbus Children Foundation to ensure that life-changing gene therapies would be made available to children suffering from ultra-rare diseases. Over 50 children have been treated free of charge for AADC (juvenile Parkinson’s). After her bilateral breast cancer was repeatedly misdiagnosed, she formed BC Ruckus to ensure that women with dense breasts get access to supplemental screening so that they can find their cancer early. The entity is named after an oncologist who told her that she was creating a ruckus by demanding supplemental screening. Because of her insistence, a breast MRI found 6 cm of malignancy that was not picked up by 3D or diagnostic mammograms. She found her cancer “in the nick of time” before it had metastasized. Finally, she formed Jurata Thin Film to make vaccines more accessible globally by eliminating the need for cold chain storage. Trained as a lawyer, she was the founder of Life Sciences Law, PLLC (LSL), a boutique law firm that focused solely on the needs of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. She previously worked for Ropes & Gray (Boston). Prior to law school, Sheila was a management consultant for Arthur Andersen, Kearney, and the Acumen Group (Founder).

Maaike Steinebach, Founder and CEO of FemTech Future Limited

Maaike has over 20 years of business leadership in financial services and tech, having lived and held executive positions across Asia with Fortis Bank, ABN Amro, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. In 2018, she co-founded the Fintech Association in Hong Kong and the Women Chief Executive Network in Hong Kong. In 2019, she left banking for a more tech-orientated role at Visa as General Manager for Visa Hong Kong and Macau. She is a fervent advocate for equality and inclusion and techs—she believes that technology can democratize the mental, sexual, financial, and physical well-being of women. Early in 2023, she resigned from Visa to pursue her passion for women’s health and Femtech, a category of products and services that use technology to support the health and wellbeing of women. She started Femtech Future Limited, an advisory firm that consults with Femtech companies and MNCs on how to integrate women’s health into the workplace and educates leaders on the topics of Femtech and Innovation in Women’s Health. She is now a leading voice on Femtech in Asia, a region where Femtech and women’s health is underserved, underfunded, and underresearched. Maaike has won numerous awards, including the Jessica Women in Tech Award 2024 and Harper’s Bazaar Inspirational Women Award 2023. She did a TedxTinHauWomen Talk in 2023 on “the Femtech Revolution” and at SXSW on “the Future of Sex” with global sex tech expert Bryony Cole. She is frequently asked to speak at conferences and events on topics like the Gender Health Gap, Femtech, and the Female Economy.

Angela Vanscoy, Partner at Deloitte, Moderator

Angela is an Audit and Assurance partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP. She has experience with accounting and audit-related matters associated with internal controls, fair value, and strategic transactions, including business combinations and debt and equity financings. In addition to her client service roles, Angela has had various audit quality roles, including a rotation in Deloitte’s national office with the Audit & Assurance Services group. During this time, she focused on risk assessment and related internal control matters.