Welcome back to another episode of MedCity FemFwd, a podcast dedicated to discussing the breakthroughs and challenges in women’s health. In this episode, we’re joined by Margaret Malone, principal of Flare Capital Partners.
We discuss the investment trends she’s following in the women’s health space and advice she has for startups.
Below is the transcript.
Marissa Plescia: Welcome back to another episode of MedCity FemFwd. I’m Marissa Plescia, reporter for MedCity News. Women’s health has historically been under invested in, but the tides seem to be changing. Here to talk about the latest trends in the women’s health investment space, we have Margaret Malone of Flare Capital Partners.
Hi, Margaret. Thanks so much for joining MedCity FemFwd.
Margaret Malone: Hi, thanks. Thanks for having me, excited to be here.
Plescia: Yeah, of course, happy to have you. So, we’re talking today about some of the latest trends in the women’s health startup market. We know that women’s health has historically been underinvested in. So as the leader of women’s health investments at Flare Capital Partners, what are some of the trends that you’re really seeing in the women’s health space right now?
Malone: Yeah, it’s a great question to kick things off, and maybe for the audience, maybe not as familiar with Flare Capital, our focus is health tech investing, so we are very much focused on investing in companies that are at the forefront of innovation, especially as it relates to value-based care, and thinking about kind of moving the needle on costs and outcomes. So I’ll kind of describe some of the trends from that lens, you know, in terms of where we are.
I think it’s an interesting time to be in women’s health innovation. I actually just came out of a conference last week, a Women of Health Investor Summit. We talked a lot about trends, investment trends, and where there may be innovation coming. When you look at some of the funding data back in 2024 we saw about two and a half, roughly billion invested in what I would call kind of femhealth companies, so very much focused on OBGYN solutions, which had nearly doubled from the year before. And when you include kind of the broader women’s health umbrella, that includes kind of diseases or conditions that may be affecting women differently or disproportionately, that number goes up to 10 and a half. So we talked a lot about that last week, you know, at this at this event. And I think you’re seeing kind of a convergence of, you know, societal awareness, kind of advances in technology, and kind of appreciation for the economic drivers that women’s health has, and that is building momentum.
So coming out of the conference last week, it was interesting to hear from Mark Cuban, who spoke about just the opportunity that the head of women’s health companies, I think he specifically said, like invest in areas where other people aren’t looking, and women’s health is a great example of that. It’s a smart business to be in. You know, he said that a couple of different times, and go where others aren’t going. Just really interesting to hear. Dr. Jill Biden spoke a lot about kind of the innovation and awareness that’s required for women’s health, and just kind of a call to action around research and data. So really interesting to hear some of those leaders, you know, talk about kind of where we are in women’s health.
I think in my seat today, we partner with health systems, with employers, with payers from across the country, and help them think about, what are the pain points that they’re experiencing right now, how will those evolve in the next couple of years? And you know, how we can help. So, you know, I think in terms of the trends that I’m seeing today, I kind of think about it in that kind of viewpoint. So on the health system side, I think we’ve heard from various players that they’re feeling the weight of GLPs, which are starting to cannibalize, and maybe eventually will cannibalize some of their service line revenue. So they’re thinking about, how do we innovate around women’s health? How do we think about building a relationship with women, keeping them in the system, building some more of sticky relationships, just as they think about kind of losing revenue associated with bariatric service lines or ortho cardiac over time.
On the payer side, you know, half of their membership is women. So they’re very much focused on, you know, thinking about innovation here. Oftentimes I see there’s a sophistication with those payers and able to actually identify, quantify some of the costs associated with women’s health conditions or experiences. So they know kind of where pregnancy sits within their costs, hysterectomies, fertility treatments and whatnot. And so we’re definitely seeing on the payer side, I think an interest in finding companies that are helping them navigate, or helping their members navigate through those experiences. And, you know, care delivery as well as, I think, kind of a need to find more comprehensive solutions.
And then maybe lastly, on the employer side, I think for so long, employers were focused on access and experience, helping those employees, you know, stay in seat, retention continues to be very important. I think we’re also seeing a real awareness around we now need to manage this population better, kind of an increased sophistication around how to pick certain solutions they know are going to meaningfully move the needle on those costs and and think about what is the right ROI model here for them. So I’d say, like, those are just an example of the trends I’m seeing. Happy to look anywhere, but then interesting to see kind of the evolution here.
Plescia: Some really interesting trends there. Thank you so much for sharing. So are there any particular areas within women’s health that you feel like are getting a lot of attention from investors right now, and any other areas that you feel like deserve more attention in the women’s health space?
Malone: It’s a great question. You know, I think women’s health, you know, initially, most of the attention was focused around maternity and I think in part because it was maybe more easily quantifiable costs for payers, for employers. And I think that there’s an increased attention now around are we actually improving, you know, women in infant mortality with some of the solutions. So I think of interesting companies in that space. Fertility continues, I think, to be getting a lot of attention, largely because so many women are navigating fertility, and their partners are navigating fertility, and now there’s kind of a wave of innovation around the technology advancements there. So how can we better streamline some of the kind of financial decisions that are made? And most of that today is manual and fairly complicated. So you know, AI technology can be super helpful in that perspective.
I think areas that deserve more attention, I would say kind of whole person care. I think we’ve seen solutions that have emerged that are, you know, targeting more small niche conditions or focus on a specific disease state, when those women are also searching for kind of longitudinal care. And so I think there’s been, you know, there needs to be more attention around like, what are some of the clinical models that can help women along their entire care journey, and help them make better decisions, more informed decisions around that care journey? We’re investors in Visana, which is helping to tackle that challenge.
Menopause is another area where I think we’ve been really excited to see the momentum there, especially with some of the tailwinds within the longevity market as well. We were early investors in Elektra, and at that point in our investment, you know, the US market was, I would say, like underdeveloped, maybe potentially non-existent. And it’s been just kind of really cool to see, and exciting to see the momentum and awareness and interest in menopause, from employers to health systems to health plans as well.
And then lastly, I would say, cardiovascular care in women continues to be, I think, overlooked. You know, cardiovascular care, again, it’s called into the kind of disproportionately and differently impacts women. I think we’ll continue to see kind of innovation there, and I’m pretty bullish on that opportunity as well.
Plescia: Yeah, really interesting. And you mentioned Jill Biden earlier. We know that she announced a lot of funding from the White House and the previous administration. Were there any areas where that funding went that you feel like venture capital firms weren’t really considering before and then maybe started to shift interest to after she announced that funding?
Malone: Yeah. I think a lot of those efforts were, you know, hugely important, especially around maternity and infant mortality. And I think just the awareness that the prior administration kind of created around and really a call to action, to innovate there have been hugely important as we think about kind of next generation of women’s health investment and kind of their role, both within the White House and then other private initiatives. I think the research and data that we can bring forward to women’s health is going to continue to be like just so critical. It’s really difficult to build new models or innovate when we lack the research and the data around women’s health to make these decisions.
So, you know, it’s really encouraging to hear her kind of call to action last week, and their initiative with the Milken Institute, and how kind of their focus on innovation and her leadership there will hopefully, you know, kind of advance the whole sector. So, you know, I think more to come, and we’ll learn a lot, I think, over the coming months. But, you know, I’m excited about that.
Plescia: Yeah, really well said. So, you know, when women’s health companies are pitching to you and you’re talking to them and considering investing in them, what are some of the specific things that you’re really looking for from those startups?
Malone: Yeah, I think at the end of the day, we’re investors, and we’re very much focusing on building and investing in the best company led by the best people. And so I think that the more a founder and entrepreneur can describe a story around a large market opportunity, which, of course, Women’s Health is, but quantify that market opportunity, describe kind of where the existing traditional model of care has fallen short, and how your company is closing the Women’s Health Care gap is critical. Describing the business model and business model innovation, I think that’s oftentimes maybe underlooked here, but innovation around a business model can be incredibly powerful, and especially with a market like Women’s Health where one there may not be businesses that have been built here in the past. That may be, you know, kind of a white space opportunity. And also there may be, you know, tweaks needed in the existing business model where you can create leverage and, you know, kind of increase the sale or speed up the sales cycle, which I think could be really interesting.
You know, we obsess about, you know, economics, the KPI, the businesses, and so the more the founders can articulate that I think it really is powerful. And then ultimately, this is really first, but team. It’s all about the team, especially in kind of the seat that I fit, which is, you know, kind of earlier stage investing. Why is this team, you know, purpose built, brought to this earth to build this company and who they need around them to be successful. So think a lot about, you know, as an investor, how I can help them recruit, you know, other hires, or support them in those hires and make those decisions. So those are kind of a couple of the areas.
And I think, you know, just speaking a little bit of the conference last week, think we heard a lot about, you know, the costs of certain diseases in women’s health, the kind of pain points that exist today, women being the chief medical officers of their households. Like there’s so much, there’s so many reasons why women’s health is an attractive market. And I think sometimes, you know, it kind of gets lost in translation as founders, entrepreneurs, investors, think about the impact, and it’s certainly such a big impact. But also, I think not losing sight of the business opportunity is super critical here, too.
Plescia: Yeah, absolutely. And going off of that, can you talk a bit more about some of the women’s health companies in your portfolio and what really drew you to them?
Malone: So I think maybe the two, or maybe three areas that I think are super critical, so kind of the clinical model and compatibility of that model, the team and the business model innovation, and I think those three kind of characteristics are kind of woven throughout our women’s health investment. So I mentioned before, we’re investors in Visana Health, which is a comprehensive Women’s Health solution, helping health plans help their members kind of navigate women’s health. They are a clinic, they’re delivering clinical services, and have kind of an obsession with clinical outcomes and actually moving the needle on cost and outcomes.
We’re investors in Elektra Health as well, which is focused in menopause. They’re hyperfocused around, you know, clinical outcomes as well and building a scalable clinical model. We’re investors in Cayaba Care, which is focused on maternity and helping underserved populations navigate the maternity journey. And, you know, move the needle on infant and maternal mortality, which is just so critical. We’re investors in Frame, which is focused more on the fertility landscape as well.
So you’ll hear from me, like we’re investors in quite a few both fem health focused as well as the broader Women’s Health market. We’re also investors in knownwell, which is focused on obesity and weight inclusive care, which kind of disproportionately impacts women broadly. Again, kind of the threads of commonality between all of the investments is really a focus around, you know, clinical outcomes and helping women, you know, kind of get care they need at the time they need it, and in a way that kind of meets their demanding and ever changing lifestyle.
Plescia: Yeah, yeah really interesting. Thanks for sharing that. And so, as I mentioned earlier, women’s health has historically been underinvested in. So what are some of the challenges that you’re really seeing women’s health startups struggling with right now?
Malone: I think, I mean, everyone knows kind of stats that exist here with women’s health, as well as companies that may be founded by women, and just the challenges in raising capital. I think my, you know, the takeaway for me, and I kind of mentioned this previously, is that, you know, focus on the impact, focus on the how. Your business may be closing the gaps in women’s health, but emphasize the business opportunity. Focus around why this business is exciting to invest in, and why, as an investor, it’ll make you money and money for your LPs, which is ultimately kind of the math that investors are trying to do.
So bring forward the data. Bring forward KPIs, talk about how the innovation on the business side, on the product and clinical model, is driving kind of stepwise change in the industry at large. And sometimes I find that kind of women’s health companies may get lost in the nuances that exist here. Maybe that’s another kind of advice. Piece of advice is kind of up level the conversation as well and activate the network.
I think one of the challenges in women’s health too, is it may be a newer network for certain investors, and so the more you can get you know, warm leads, or activating your own network to get in the door, I think will hopefully help in that process. But I think there’s investors that are excited. I think, again, Mark Cuban said it really nicely, like, the best areas to invest are areas where other people may not be as focused, and there’s, you know, white space, there’s opportunities. So I think, you know, we’re bullish. We’re excited about momentum here, and I think especially as there’s more research and data that comes and I think even the tailwinds around precision medicine can be hugely helpful in women’s health, but you got to balance kind of the, you know, telling a focus story, but a large opportunity as well.
Plescia: Yeah, yeah. Well said, and going off of that, one of the challenges that I’ve heard from a lot of women’s health companies is that, you know, VC firms are very male dominated, and sometimes they have to go through that extra step of explaining what the condition is that they’re tackling and what they’re doing. So what are some of your recommendations there, and how to bring these conversations to maybe more male dominated VC firms?
Malone: I think it’s really hard to ignore facts and numbers and data. It may require some education. You know, when it’s endometriosis, a lot of people, you know, don’t know what endometriosis is, and just kind of how many people it affects. And so I think leading with that data, and again, it kind of goes back to creating and painting a story around what is the business opportunity here? How can what you’re building kind of change the way that healthcare is currently being delivered to women, and the economic value that can be created there, you know, both near term and longer term?
And so that’s really my advice I think as you know, founders and entrepreneurs are trying to navigate that. And you know, you can make it personal. I think it is really, you know, we think a lot about founder market fit as well. And, you know, I can almost guarantee you that some of those investors have experience with some of the people that they know that may be navigating those conditions or experiencing. So, you know, again, I think if you lead with data and you lead with really quantifiable numbers and outcomes metrics around what you’re building. I think that really does go far.
Plescia: Yeah, very well said. Well, Margaret, those are all my questions. It’s been such a great conversation. Thank you so much for joining MedCity FemFwd.
Malone: Thanks for having me. Take care.
