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‘No more cute mentorship programmes’: femtech community reacts to Women’s Health Strategy
Femtech entrepreneurs have expressed concerns over the government’s lack of clarity around the 10-year strategy
Women in the femtech community have reacted to England’s Women’s Health Strategy, amid fears that the government could be using the initiative as a “short-term vote-winner”.
Femtech entrepreneurs have asked for more innovation support, warning that a failure to provide enough funding could hamper the ambitions of the strategy.
The women have told Femtech World that the UK government should be held accountable to ensure its commitment to tackling health inequalities goes beyond “mere election-year rhetoric”.
The Women’s Health Strategy, developed and published in 2022, aims to address longstanding gaps in the health and care system.
The initiative seeks to improve care for menstrual and gynaecological conditions, expand women’s health hubs and accelerate research.
While many women’s health organisations have welcomed the plan, women in the femtech community have raised concerns about the government’s lack of clarity.
“It’s good to see the government prioritising women on their agenda, but I don’t see specific numbers,” Hélène Guillaume, founder and CEO of the training and nutrition app Wild AI, told Femtech World.
“One in ten women in the UK suffer from endometriosis and go undiagnosed for an average of seven and a half years. I’d like to see a commitment to reduce that to six months.
“I’d like the government to make including women in research compulsory, as 80 per cent of the medical research is still done on males – I’d like to see them pledging actual funding on this.
“We need more funding commitments to innovation. The government could and should play a role here too by investing in women. No more cute mentorship programmes, but actual cash.”
Valentina Milanova, women’s health expert and founder of the gynaecological start-up Daye, said: “It is crucial to hold Sunak’s cabinet accountable to ensure their commitment goes beyond mere election-year rhetoric.
“To significantly improve gynaecological health in the UK, the government should focus on increasing both public and private funding for innovations related to vaginal, menstrual, hormonal and reproductive health, which is currently shamefully low.
“Before Brexit, British start-ups, universities and researchers had access to funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) through their venture capital investment scheme, which could provide successful applicants with up to 15 million euros for research and development.
“Rejoining the EIC venture capital program for R&D is a concrete step the current government can take to demonstrate its commitment to addressing the gender gap in healthcare and medicine by increasing funding opportunities in this underdeveloped field.”
Although the UK government has promised to use the strategy to “reset the dial on women’s health”, many femtech entrepreneurs feel that they are still being kept in the dark about the plan.
“From the pledge, it is unclear how the strategy will improve the overall state of women’s health,” said Jasmine Tagesson, co-founder and COO of Hormona. “There is so much to do and so many areas to improve.
“As a company that focuses on hormone health due to its massive impact on women’s overall health, we hope that the government doesn’t forget to look at the bigger, underlying issues that impacts women’s health.
“Hormone health is closely tied to the issues highlights, such as painful periods and postpartum issues and as such, we hope that the government will provide support for start-ups such as ourselves so that our efforts can help further research into different areas of women’s health.”
Dr Bryony Henderson, GP and associate medical director at Livi UK, said: “While this announcement is a positive step forward, it is essential that the strategy be comprehensive, adequately funded and inclusive of diverse perspectives and experiences.
“I urge the government to ensure that initiatives address the intersectional nature of women’s health, prioritise accessibility and equity and foster collaboration among healthcare providers.
“Long-term commitment and ongoing evaluation will be crucial to effectively address the complex and varied needs of women, while ensuring that every woman is given the fundamental right to make decisions about their body.”
She added: “In implementing the strategy, it is important to address gaps in the healthcare infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas. Ensuring equitable access to quality care, including specialised services and treatment options, is vital for improving health outcomes and reducing disparities.
“While research is essential, I would like to see preventative care and health promotion initiatives prioritised to empower women with knowledge and tools to maintain their reproductive health. This could include education on healthy lifestyle choices, regular screenings and preventive measures to reduce the risk of disease.”
By Women’s Health Week
With four weeks to go until Women’s Health Week USA, the excitement is ramping up!
The final early bird pricing closes this Friday, the full speaker lineup is confirmed, and a record number of pitch applications signals the depth of innovation now moving through the sector as we enter the Era of Scale.
Women’s Health Week USA takes place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City, bringing together 600+ senior decision makers spanning investors, founders, multinationals, payers, providers and policymakers around one shared agenda: taking women’s health from growth to scale.
Early bird tickets are available until midnight on Friday, April 17.
Book by then to save up to $600 on your place
The Full Speaker Lineup is Confirmed
The full speaker lineup has finally been confirmed, with 80+ voices spanning investment, innovation, policy, medtech and pharma.
The programme reflects the event’s 2026 theme, The Era of Scale, moving beyond early validation into the harder work of institutionalising women’s health as a category.
Confirmed speakers include Kate Ryder (Maven Clinic), Mallika Mundkur (FDA), Melanie Newman (Planned Parenthood), Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Jill Angelo (OURA), David Stern (Kindbody) and Tammy Sun (Carrot Fertility), alongside representation from the NYSE, ARPA-H, the World Health Organization, Samsung Next, Novo Holdings and more.
170 Pitch Applications and Counting
The Women’s Health Week USA Innovation Showcase received a record 170 applications ahead of its April 10 close, the highest number in the event’s history.
The volume reflects the growing depth of innovation in the sector, but it was the quality of submissions that stood out, with companies across Medical Devices & Therapeutics and Consumer & Tech bringing genuinely differentiated solutions to conditions that have been underserved for decades.
The selected companies will get the chance to pitch on the mainstage at the New York Academy of Medicine in front of the full audience of 600+ investors, corporates, innovators and strategic partners.
Results will be announced next week.
Register your interest to find out who makes the WHW USA Innovator Class of 2026
NYSE Partnership: A Quick Recap
For those who missed our announcement on Femtech World last week, the New York Stock Exchange is the Official Exchange Partner of Women’s Health Week USA 2026.
On the morning of May 13, WHW will feature in the NYSE Market Update, reaching approximately 200 million viewers.
Women’s Health Week will also light up the North Star Billboard in Times Square for a full week around the event, with live and taped interviews distributed across NYSE Live and Taking Stock.
It remains one of the most significant institutional endorsements the women’s health sector has seen.
Early Bird Pricing Closes This Friday
Tickets increase by up to $600 after midnight on Friday, April 17. For anyone with May 13-14 in their calendar, this week is the window to move.
You have until Friday to nominate your femtech company of the year.
The award is one of 10 featuring at Femtech World’s third annual awards event, which attracts entries from across the UK, EU and Europe.
The Company of the Year Award is for companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in tackling women’s health needs through groundbreaking products, services or platforms that are shaping the future of global femtech.
If your company is driving innovation, impact and growth in this space, this award was made for you.
About the sponsor: Femovate
The category is backed by Femovate, the global femtech incubator using design to fuel innovation across every stage of a woman’s health journey, from proactive prevention through to personalised treatment.
Femovate has invested over US$2 million in design capital, working side-by-side with founding teams to bring market-ready solutions to life.
The startups it supports have collectively raised US$120 million, launched 30 products, and secured seven FDA clearances.
Why enter?
The Femtech World Awards are free to enter.
Winners and shortlisted companies receive extensive coverage across all Femtech World platforms.
Winners will also receive a trophy and the opportunity to be featured in an interview for the publication.
Find out more about the Femtech World Award and enter here by 4pm BST on Friday 17.
Women with osteoporosis may be more likely to carry a gene linked to Alzheimer’s, according to new research.
Scientists found that APOE4, the most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s, can weaken bone quality in women, even when standard scans appear normal.
The study, carried out by researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing in California, US, and UC San Francisco, suggests the gene may damage bone at a microscopic level long before any visible signs.
These changes can emerge as early as midlife and remain invisible to routine imaging tests used to assess bone strength.
The findings suggest a link between Alzheimer’s risk and skeletal health and could help pave the way for earlier detection of both conditions.
Professor Birgit Schilling, a senior author of the study, said: “What makes this finding so striking is that bone quality is being compromised at a molecular level that a standard bone scan simply will not catch.
“APOE4 is quietly disrupting the very cells responsible for keeping bone strong – and it is doing this specifically in females, which mirrors what we see with Alzheimer’s disease risk.”
Doctors have long observed that people with Alzheimer’s suffer higher rates of bone fractures, while osteoporosis in women is known to be one of the earliest predictors of the disease.
Now scientists believe they may have uncovered why.
Researchers led by Dr Charles Schurman carried out a detailed analysis of proteins in aged mouse bone and found that tissue was unusually rich in molecules linked to neurological disease, including those associated with Alzheimer’s.
In particular, long-lived bone cells known as osteocytes showed elevated levels of APOE, with levels twice as high in older female mice compared with younger or male animals.
Further experiments using genetically modified mice revealed that APOE4 had a strong and sex-specific impact on both bone and brain tissue.
The disruption at the protein level was even greater in bone than in the brain.
However, the bone structure itself appeared completely normal under scans.
Instead, the gene interfered with a key maintenance process inside bone cells, preventing them from repairing microscopic channels that keep bones strong and resilient.
When this process breaks down, bones become more fragile even if they look healthy on standard imaging.
These results suggest bone cells could potentially act as early biological warning signs of cognitive decline in women carrying APOE4.
Professor Lisa Ellerby, another senior author, said: “We think targeting these cells may open a new front in preserving bone quality in this population.”
Experts say the findings highlight the need to view the body as an interconnected system rather than treating diseases in isolation.
Dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common form, remains one of the UK’s biggest health challenges.
Around 900,000 people are currently living with the condition, a figure expected to rise to 1.6 million by 2040.
It is already the leading cause of death, responsible for more than 74,000 deaths each year.
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