The UK government’s renewed Women’s Health Strategy published this month is a welcome and meaningful step forward for women’s healthcare. Beyond the benefits this promises for patients, this strategy offers a real opportunity for founders and the wider femtech ecosystem.
More than just policy
For years, femtech has been underfunded and overlooked by mainstream healthcare infrastructure. However, it seems there is now a shift in focus recognising femtech as a high-growth sector worth supporting and investing in. Indeed, a recent report forecasts that the global femtech market will grow to $97 billion by 2030.
A key announcement in the strategy is a £1.5 million Femtech Challenge Fund, designed to accelerate adoption and development of women’s healthcare innovations, particularly those addressing healthcare inequalities. Although details of the fund are not yet known, it is due to be launched within two years and is likely to target technologies such as diagnostic tools, AI symptom checkers, wearables, digital therapeutics and medical devices.
The strategy also commits to establishing a Women’s Voices Partnership to bring organisations together to shape future policy, adding real value for UK-based founders and companies.
The Women’s Health Strategy represents an exciting opportunity through the capital being injected into the sector, as well as through shaping policy and in the procurement relationships and the commercial momentum that NHS-backed adoption can create.
The IP angle
Through our work with early-stage femtech companies at Mathys & Squire, we have seen first-hand the importance of getting an IP strategy in place from the outset. Founders can be taking practical steps now to take full advantage when the fund does launch, in particular to pre-empt two issues that we see too often:
- Disclosures – grant applications, public pitches and collaborations can be disclosure events that put your ability to protect your IP at risk, particularly if your product involves innovative technology. Disclosing details of your technology before applying for IP protection can potentially prevent you from protecting it in future, so speaking to a patent attorney early and putting in place a strategy for protecting IP and managing disclosures is key.
- Ownership – grant schemes such as Innovate UK or public health grants have specific terms around intellectual property ownership, particularly where NHS trusts or academic institutions are involved as partners or co-developers. It is important to take a proactive approach to IP ownership from the outset by ensuring that these terms are founder-friendly and clearly define who owns the IP. An unclear or unfavourable chain of IP ownership is a common red flag for investors and can be difficult and expensive to resolve later down the line.
The Women’s Health Strategy is good news for patients and for a sector that has long deserved more attention. As momentum picks up in the sector, founders who get the IP foundations right now will be better placed to compete for funding and NHS partnerships, and to retain the value of their important technologies.
For more information and advice on protecting femtech innovations, please contact us here.
