As part of our investment approach, we developed a structured evaluation process, the “FemHealth Framework.” The first element (re)imagines women’s health as conditions appearing only in women, mostly in women, and differently in women.
This concept from the FemHealth Framework (© 2019 FemHealth Ventures) was first published in 2019 and is increasingly thought of as a new lens through which to view women’s health. At FemHealth Ventures, we are excited about the increasing adoption of this broader definition of women’s health and the exciting new treatments it will engender.
Only in Women
Some conditions appear only in women.
Examples include:
- endometriosis
- polycystic ovarian syndrome
- cervical cancer
Mostly in Women
Some conditions appear mostly in women.
Examples include:
- breast cancer
- lupus
- multiple sclerosis
Differently in Women
Some conditions appear differently in women.
Examples include:
- heart disease
- diabetes
- asthma
Every cell has a sex
A universe of possibilities is opened in women’s health when we start with the most basic building block: our cells.
Each of the 30 trillion cells in a woman’s body has a different chromosomal makeup than a man.
For example, a skin cell from a woman will have XX chromosomes, but a skin cell from a man will have XY chromosomes. This difference between women and men holds true throughout every single cell in the body.
As a result, even the same disease can present differently in women versus men and require distinct treatment paradigms.
Women’s health is more than “bikini medicine.”
The term “bikini medicine” generally refers to conditions treated by obstetricians or gynecologists.
We’ve (re)imagined women’s health as a broad spectrum of conditions that can impact the whole body, ranging from ovarian cancer, to autoimmune disease, to cardiovascular disease, and everything in between.
A multitude of possibilities for innovation in women’s health exist. And we are here to help bring them to life.