The inaugural Accelerating FemTech program has successfully concluded, led by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in collaboration with the 15 Health Innovation Networks and various partners from across the UK. The initiative, funded by Innovate UK as part of the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, highlights the critical role of collective expertise and national collaboration in the program’s impact.
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Despite their longer average life expectancy, women experience a greater proportion of their lives facing health problems and disability compared to men. This disparity is largely due to the dominant ‘masculine by default’ approach which continues to influence the health and care system, affecting research and clinical trials, education and training, service delivery, as well as as health policies and services.
In August 2022, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs published the first report Strategy for Women’s Health in England in response to the unique health challenges and needs of women and girls across the UK. The strategy sets out a 10-year plan to improve health outcomes, better understand women’s health issues and strengthen the overall effectiveness of health services.
Accelerate FemTech
Recognizing the urgent need for a more inclusive and gender-sensitive approach to healthcare, the Accelerate FemTech program has been created. Specially designed to meet the challenges described in the Strategy for Women’s Health in EnglandAccelerating FemTech sought to close the gender gap by empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to pioneer women’s health innovations through tailored support, expert-led workshops experts and mentoring.
The FemTech acceleration consisted of two parts:
- Inspire – A series of specialized webinars and invitation-only face-to-face events that engaged and connected innovators such as clinicians, businesses and academics to develop technology solutions to address human health challenges. women.
- Accelerate – A targeted 10-week accelerator program for UK SMEs with early-stage innovations addressing current women’s health challenges – from women’s specific areas such as maternal health, fertility, gynecological cancers and menopause, to conditions that affect women disproportionately or differently, including osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease.
A total of 12 companies formed the inaugural cohort of the Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate phase, with their innovations ranging from supporting people living with endometriosis to providing personalized pelvic pain care and non-hormonal contraceptives:
During the Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate phase, each company was paired with a dedicated business coach from the 15 health innovation networks. Selected for their extensive experience in supporting innovations in healthcare and the wider NHS, weekly meetings were held to meet the specific needs and learning objectives of each business. Various Network staff also contributed to the program by acting as mentors and subject matter experts, sharing valuable ideas and expertise.
(The most valuable part of the program was the) meetings with business mentors and coaches (which) were crucial in guiding the business in the right direction.
Acceleration of the FemTech business
Comments on the final survey results
The ability to share a wealth of expertise and experiences from across the health and social system has created an incredible program for innovators. It was a privilege to hear the different perspectives expressed with equal passion to tackle some of the biggest challenges in women’s health.
Alistair Kirby
Head of Innovation at Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex
Throughout the program, these companies received support to apply for the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst call in November 2023, aimed at demonstrating their commercial and technical feasibility.
A national partnership
Delivered by South London Health Innovation Network (HIN) and its partners (the network, CW Innovation, Mills & Reeves and others), Accelerating FemTech used funding from Innovate UK as part of the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council. The program was led by the collaborative efforts of the 15 Health Innovation Networks across the country and their experience in running innovator support programs, such as the award-winning HIN program DigitalHealth.London Accelerator and health innovation Yorkshire & Humber’s Power@YH.
Created by NHS England in 2013 to spread innovation at pace and scale, the network brings together the NHS, industry, academia, the third sector and local organizations to improve health outcomes and generate economic growth. To date, more than 48,000 patients and 2,438 businesses have been supported nationally, generating £455 million of investment mobilized by supported businesses.
Impact/Results
The acceleration of FemTech has had a significant impact for both participants and funders, including:
- 66.7 Net Promoter Score in the Excellent category
- 100% of companies would repeat the program and said conversations with experts helped provide insights to grow their project and business, as well as expand their network.
- 83.3% of companies strongly agree that the program has improved their understanding of product development, potential markets, regulatory considerations and strategy
- The success of the program has led to partnerships and funding being secured with Innovate UK to expand two additional cohorts in 2024.
It was great to be part of the first Accelerating FemTech accelerator… a rare opportunity to hear from industry experts about the complexities businesses face in both creating the right product for the NHS and developing the right business model.
Adora Digital Health
Acceleration of the FemTech business
The outcome for the businesses involved, I am sure, will accelerate them towards inclusion in the NHS. The comprehensive and well-programmed program greatly assisted companies in their quest for product, business and personal development for each participant. At first, many found that pitching took place outside of their comfort space, for example. The use of a diverse team from health innovation networks worked extremely well, as did the workshops and the contribution of subject matter experts to each company.
Ian Taylor
Consultant and Program Manager at Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria
To learn more about accelerating FemTech, visit Accelerating Femtech – Health Innovation Network.
The acceleration of FemTech was achieved by the South London Health Innovation Network (HIN) and partners (the network, CW Innovation, Mills & Reeves and others), using funding from Innovate UK under the Biomedical Catalyst in collaboration with the Medical Research Council.
