HITLAB TEAM • February 8, 2023
8 Visionary FemTech Founders to Present the Next Wave of Novel Digital Solutions for Women’s Health
New York, NY February 8, 2023 — On Friday, February 10th, HITLAB Women’s Health Tech Initiative will host its fifth annual Women’s Health Tech (WHT) Challenge, where eight promising FemTech founders will pitch their disruptive healthcare solutions to a panel of judges in an effort to discover the next wave of innovation that can address the unmet needs within Women’s Health.
The HITLAB WHT Challenge began in 2018, focusing on emerging technology applications and systems that improve medical care and the provision of healthcare among women worldwide.
“The Global market for Women’s Health products and services is growing tremendously and expected to top $56.8 billion in the next five years,” says Susan Solinsky, Director of the HITLAB Women’s Health Tech Initiative & Co-Founder, Ellipsis Health. “Each year, HITLAB invites innovators, entrepreneurs, and startups to propose novel concepts that can help solve the problems of women and we look forward to honoring these innovators that are here to transform the future of Women’s Health.”
This year’s eight WHT Challenge innovators were nominated by a panel of 20 screening judges and include:
- Momentum Park: USA – committed to optimizing the health, lives and wellbeing of moms-to-be and their babies. Signature programs such as SHERO “Shaping Healthy Equitable Reproductive Outcomes” integrates medicine, public health and technology to advance birth equity and solve the U.S. maternal and infant mortality/morbidity crisis.
- Project Baala: India – an innovative menstrual health solutions provider working to end period poverty and period illiteracy while generating employment. In the past 5 years, they have been able to provide 1.2 million reusable pads and conduct 4000+ awareness workshops for 420,000 women and girls across 4 countries and 25 states of India.
- FemTherapeutics: Canada – Montreal-based medical device company with a mission to personalize women’s pelvic health. They have developed a data and intelligence platform that leverages proprietary gynecological data to design and customize novel medical devices to achieve better clinical outcomes. Our first product involves the customization of gynecological prosthetics (or vaginal pessaries) to improve the management of Pelvic Floor Disorders.
- Athelo Health: USA – The first biometric anchored virtual coach delivered through a mobile application, designed specifically for the unique needs of women with breast and gynecologic cancers throughout the entire patient journey from diagnosis to remission and beyond. Using digital biomarkers they help patients understand what is happening in their bodies’ and how they can improve their quality of life through integrative medicine coaching while gathering real world evidence for the patient’s care team.
- LunaJoy: USA – The first-of-its-kind virtual mental health provider that specializes in providing full-stack solutions tailored to women’s unique mental health needs throughout different life transitions, such as pregnancy, infertility, and menopause. Their innovative platform offers therapy, psychiatry, mental health coaching, and a 24/7 Care Navigation Team, all designed to empower and support women in achieving optimal mental wellness, in achieving optimal wellness through vulnerable life transitions.
- Malama Health: USA– Improves pregnancy related outcomes through tech enabled care, beginning with improved management of gestational diabetes. Their app empowers women to seamlessly log glucose levels, identify trends and insights, and allows providers to remotely monitor their patients.
- BabyLiveAdvice: USA – Is a mission driven organization founded in 2018 by Sigi Marmorstein, a nurse innovator, educator and a mother of three grown boys. BabyLiveAdvice is a social enterprise that supports pregnant moms and parents from preconception to early childhood via telehealth, phone, chat and group classes.
- Hera Diagnostics: USA/Mexico – A pioneering a world without healthcare borders, where access to life-saving diagnostics are available to everyone, everywhere regardless of location, means or socioeconomic status. The areas of interest include oncology, infectious diseases, and disease management. The company’s initial two products will focus on cervical (HeraFem) and skin cancer screening, with the HeraFem product going to market mid 2023 in Latin America.
These companies fall into various stages of funding: Non-Profit, Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A. During pitch day, each company will present their solution to a panel of judges, who will determine the 1st and 2nd place winners in each category. The Judges include: Courtney Leimkuhler, Founding Partner of Springbank Collective, Kate Drasser, CEO, RockHealth.org, Perry Clarkson, Principal, SJF Ventures, and Elizabeth Bailey, Managing Director, RH Capital.
Susan Solinsky, Director of HITLAB Women’s Health Tech will kick off this year’s virtual event, which in addition to the innovator showcases, will include fireside chats, keynote presentations, and panel discussions.
Topics for this year include:
- The Changing Landscape of Women’s Health Globally – Marija Butkovic, Founder & CEO, Women of Wearables, Zsia Rosmarin, Partner Withum and Brittany Barreto, Founder, FemTechFocus
- Why Every Leader Should Have a Mentor and Be a Mentee – a Discussion about the Circle of Support in Women’s Health – Moderator: Anna Zornosa, EIR, National Institutes of Health, Janna Guinen, Executive Director, HLTH Foundation, Program Lead, CSweetener, Sharon Knight , Venture Partner, JAZZ Venture Partners, Brian Kalis, Managing Director, Accenture Health, Erika Seth Davies, CEO, Rhia Ventures
- Driving the Women’s Health Revolution – Delphine O’Rourke, Partner, Goodwin, Dr. Sandy Milligan, Head of Research and Development, Organon
- The Importance of the Mind and Body Connection in Women’s Health– Moderator: Nina Roth, Director, Ellipsis Health, Solome Tibebu, Founder & CEO , Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech, Venture Partner, GreyMatter, Dr. Bradley Karlin, VP & Executive Medical Director, Behavioral Health, Highmark Health, Dr. Victor Carrion, Vice-Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, Director of the Stanford University Early Life Stress and Resilience Program
- Creating More Ease in Your Leadership: Connecting to Breath: Roopan Gill, CEO and Co-Founder, Vitala Global Foundation.
The WHT Challenge event would not be possible without our generous Executive Committee and Program Sponsors and our Prize Sponsors: Horizon, FemTech Focus, Withum, Women in Wearables, Goodwin, Silicon Valley Bank ,and Femtech Insider.
There will be a virtual networking program with 20 breakout sessions led by angel investors, VCs, thought leaders, and founders in women’s health for the last hour following the awards.
The event is open to the public and free of charge. Register here to join us on February 10th from 1pm-5:30 pm.
About HITLAB
HITLAB is an impact-first organization that offers digital health research, teaching, and advisory services to improve health delivery around the world.
At HITLAB, we believe technology and health can work together to improve the quality of health delivery and healthcare worldwide. We use rigorous research and evidence-based methods to identify the best digital health solutions for each of our partners.
