Silicon Valley Bank Releases First Innovation
in Women's Health Report
SAN
FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite
ongoing economic headwinds and a pressured venture fundraising
environment, investment in startup companies addressing women's
health is on the rise. According to a recent report from Silicon
Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, investment in
women's health companies increased 314% since 2018, while overall
investment for the health sector increased 28%.
SVB's Innovation in Women's Health Report examines fundraising
and investment activity as well as capital and valuation trends
across the sector. The report defines women's health as healthtech,
biopharma, diagnostics/tools, and medical device companies
that address underserved care needs for women. This includes
conditions that uniquely impact women, conditions that differently
or disproportionately impact women, and conditions that are marked
by gender-based discrepancies in care.
"Despite broader challenges in the larger venture capital
landscape, women's health is showing significant momentum and
progress," said Raysa Bousleiman,
co-author of the SVB Innovation in Women's Health report and VP of
Venture Capital Relationship Management for Life Science and
Healthcare at SVB. "Investors and companies are challenging the
misconception that women's health is restricted to reproductive
years and realizing the tremendous opportunity to address the
complete spectrum of health needs throughout a woman's life.
Investments are increasingly shifting into emerging areas such as
menopause, pelvic health and mental health."
Along with other startups, women's health companies saw
valuations drop in 2023. Women's health companies are typically
valued lower than healthcare companies overall, with seed stage
women's health companies consistently valued 20% lower than overall
healthcare companies at the seed stage, according to the data. One
reason for the lower valuations could be lack of data collection on
women's health conditions, SVB reported.
"The lack of data on women's health can be a roadblock for
founders when convincing investors there is a need for their
company, for accurately estimating market size and for receiving
FDA approval," said Bousleiman. "However, valuations could increase
as investors are encouraged by efforts such as the White House
Initiative on Women's Health Research, which aims to close the
research gaps in the sector. As clinical trials move forward and
more data becomes available, the clinical development of
diagnostics, devices and therapeutics to address women's health
issues will progress."
Key Report Findings: Innovation and Investment in Women's
Health
- With a 314% increase in women's health venture capital
investment since 2018, 2023 will rank as a top funding year for the
sector
- Investments in non-reproduction startups
reached $435 million in
Q3 2023, indicating a shift in the long-held misconception that
fertility and pregnancy are the sole focus of women's health
- Averaging $182M
investment per quarter, biopharma surpassed healthtech as the top
funded women's health subsector in 2023
- 76% of women's health companies have a female
founder which is three times higher than companies across the
overall innovation ecosystem
Delivering relevant insights on the current and future state of
the Healthcare market, SVB will next release its 2024 Healthcare
Exits and Investments report on January
17th, 2024. This annual report analyzes trends
for venture capital investing, fundraising, M&A activity and
IPOs for biopharma, medical device, diagnostics and tools, and
healthtech sectors in the US and Europe. Early data indicates US investors
raised $19B for new health-focused VC
and growth funds in 2023, the third highest amount for any
year.
Bousleiman, and other leaders from SVB's Life Science and
Healthcare practice, will preview the 2024 Healthcare Exits and
Investments report during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference
this week in San Francisco. On
Wednesday, the team will also be speaking at select industry events
surrounding the conference including:
- Bousleiman will moderate a panel session
"Women's Health: A Huge Area Attracting New Investment" as
part of the Biotech Showcase
- Ben Johnson, head
of Early Stage Life Science and Healthcare, will moderate a
panel session "Early Seed Financing: Attracting Investment
& Extending Your Runway" as part of the Biotech
Showcase
- Scott McCarty, director of Life Science and
Healthcare Southeast region, will be speaking on a panel "The
State of the Digital Healthcare Industry" as part of the
Biotech Showcase
- Jackie Spencer, head of
US Relationship Management for Life Science and Healthcare
practice, will be speaking on a panel "Crossovers, Megarounds
and IPOs: Biotechs Always Find a Way," at Fierce
To access the complete "Innovation in Women's Health report" and
to watch SVB's recent webinar featuring investor, founder and
researcher perspectives, "Unlocking the Blue Ocean Opportunities in
Women's Health," please visit Innovation in Women's Health |
Silicon Valley Bank (svb.com)
About Silicon Valley Bank
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, is
the bank of some of the world's most innovative companies and
investors. SVB provides commercial and private banking to
individuals and companies in the technology, life science and
healthcare, private equity, venture capital and premium wine
industries. SVB operates in centers of innovation throughout
the United States, serving the
unique needs of its dynamic clients with deep sector expertise,
insights and connections. SVB's parent company, First Citizens
BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCNCA), is a top 20 U.S. financial
institution with more than $200
billion in assets. First Citizens Bank, Member FDIC. Learn
more at svb.com
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SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank