by For Carolee Lee, investing in women’s health research is both a moral imperative and a very good business decision.
Carolee Lee, CEO of Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), is calling for more investment in women’s health research.
Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), an organization that drives increased funding and focuses on women’s health research. WHAM just released a report calling for more investment in women’s health. Lee presented the report earlier this month at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference.
“It’s always a matter of doing the right thing, in my opinion,” says Lee Chief Healthcare Executive®. “But sometimes business decisions aren’t made to do the right thing, and I think you have to have the sound metrics that show why an investment or an opportunity is a good one.”
In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Lee discusses how women’s health research has changed briefly and highlights the enormous investment opportunity. She emphasizes the need to address pressing women’s health issues, the need for increased funding from the public and private sectors, and how women’s health research will benefit everyone.
“Societies are healthier when women are healthier,” she continues. “Women are 51% of the population. If we are not healthy, our families are not healthy. We make 80% of healthcare decisions. Of course it’s about equality and fairness, but I think our goal here was to show the business case. “
An untapped market
Women’s health represents a largely untapped market, and Lee points out that it’s not a small one.
“Women are not a niche market,” she says. “The size of the market is quite large.”
WHAM’s report projects a $30 billion market for women’s health by 2030. Even with recent growth in investment in women’s health, only 2% of all healthcare venture capital funding is focused on women’s health.
“How is it possible that 2% of dollars are allocated to investments and businesses focused on women’s health? How is that possible? 51% of the population? It doesn’t make sense, from a business perspective,” Lee says.
WHAM has partnered with KPMG to accelerate investments in women’s health research. She released the report’s findings at the JP Morgan conference in a session with KPMG and also had other presentations through the conference.
Lee says she is encouraged by the response to the report and the growing interest in women’s health.
“It’s just so interesting to me because this data is so little known,” says Lee.
“This is a communication problem,” she continues. “You need to be able to share and engage and entice groups of people who would be interested in this data. And they don’t know it. “
Part of the training involves explaining fundamentals, such as the fact that women are disproportionately affected by certain diseases. About 9 out of 10 people with lupus are women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the Office of Women’s Health. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, about two-thirds of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are women.
As much as anything, Lee says part of the communications effort involves making sure investors and policymakers understand that women aren’t just smaller men, with a few different parts.
“If we don’t bust these myths that exist, we won’t create change,” says Lee. “Again, this is the communication part of it…women are not little men. We are different down to the cellular level. If we understand that, therein lies an opportunity. ‘
WHAM urges greater attention to conditions that exclusively affect women, such as menopause and ovarian cancer; Those diseases that disproportionately affect women, such as autoimmune diseases; and how women are affected differently by some conditions, including heart disease.
She points to the Menopause market as one poised for significant growth. The Menopause market is valued at $16 billion and expected to reach $27 billion by 2031.
“Menopause used to be a dirty word,” says Lee. ‘You didn’t talk about it. It didn’t matter that half the population is female and going through menopause. “
Lee points out that small businesses or founders looking to enter the health market would be smart to focus on women’s health. With many companies focusing on other areas, there is less competition.
“This is an untapped, unexplored, unknown opportunity,” Lee says.
Public and private investments
WHAM’s efforts are built around the “3NOT30” initiative, which aims to increase federal and private investments in women’s health, include more women in clinical trials, and use data to inform health research programs of women. It’s been a little more than 30 years since federal policy explicitly called for research studies to include women, but WHAM is trying to drive change faster.
Lee points to increased federal investment in women’s health research. President Biden invested another $1 billion in women’s health research. Former First Lady Jill Biden announced $110 million in grants at the HLTH conference in October.
The Biden administration’s funding “has made a difference and created more awareness,” Lee says.
With President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Lee says she is hopeful the momentum will continue. She says WHAM has helped build an appreciation for investing in women’s health.
“Now think about where we are today, which is focused on business and enterprise, and this administration, I believe, is very supportive of that,” Lee says.
Some health care leaders say they are concerned about federal research funding declining under the Trump administration as the president is focused on cutting spending. Lee says it’s a concern, but it’s too early to estimate research funding. While she says she is not very optimistic about increased spending on research at the federal level, she is encouraged by the increased momentum and interest in women’s health.
Additionally, Lee points to the potential growth of private sector financing and philanthropy.
“There are a number of foundations that are being set up that understand and recognize that research is so critical that they will take on some of this effort,” Lee says.
“And again, even in the next four years, if we can focus on creating businesses now, driving businesses to the next level, that needs more research, and therefore demand can make it more tangible.”
A shift in spending
Lee points to the prospect of another shift in broader spending that could impact women’s health. Women will control more money in the coming years.
By 2030, women will control $34 trillion in the U.S., up from just over $7 trillion in 2020, according to a Bloomberg analysis of data from McKinsey & Company.
Lee calls that one of “the real wild card” shifts that could change health care spending.
“Women are already spending more money on their health,” says Lee. “What impact does that have? And can they start businesses? Can they invest in companies? This could all just completely shift because of that wealth transfer. “
“It’s one of the questions I’m really focusing on right now,” she adds. “Because I wonder if we continue to ask questions as we should, of how things are usually executed or done, and maybe we should think about it differently. Perhaps there will just be a whole shift in how women spend money on their health and well-being and that of their families. “
