Two local “femtech” startups are among a dozen young companies vying for $10,000, a package of support services and greater investor visibility at this year’s BioFest Invest pitch contest Wednesday.
In addition to the contest, the day-long event includes speakers and panelists on topics relevant to bioscience companies, such as alternative funding mechanisms, investment trends and how to get acquired.
The pitch fest, which BioMedSA began virtually in 2021 before pivoting to in-person the following year, has helped the companies that have competed raise $69 million in investments — $59 million of that going to San Antonio-based companies, said Heather Hanson, president of BioMedSA.
The nonprofit regional industry hub was founded in 2005 to accelerate what is now the largest single slice of San Antonio’s economy. With an annual economic impact of roughly $44 billion, the health care and biosciences sector now employs one in every five workers here.
BioFest Invest is part of BioFest Days, Hanson said, which not only supports startups, “but also supports the industry at large, whether that’s on the workforce side so people can find jobs or get the education to work in this industry, but also the actual research side itself.”
Femtech, which is generally defined as technology-enabled, consumer-centric solutions that address women’s health care, is a growing field within that sector. While women make up roughly half the world’s population, women’s health care is still considered — and funded — as a niche market.
The local femtech startups competing Wednesday are BobiHealth, a pregnancy monitoring app that promises to provide expectant individuals and families with evidence-based information, and Freyya, a wearable pelvic floor monitoring device that will provide evaluation and treatment for pelvic floor disorders that affect as many as one in four women.
Femtech in San Antonio
Hanson said she’s seen an increase in tech startups focused on women’s health care nationally and in San Antonio, noting that some investment funds target female founders, who are often — but not always — the ones founding femtech companies, as well as those that are dedicated to femtech itself.
That includes $100 million in federal funding to be spent this year from Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, directed toward early investment in research and startups that focus on women’s health.
BioFest Invest attracts dozens of accredited investors from across the country who are drawn to San Antonio’s robust biosciences startup community. This year’s event includes two tours for investors, one of the city’s biggest bioscience entities, including Southwest Research Institute, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, BioBridge Global, Scorpius Biomanufacturing and GenCure, the last two of which are located at VelocityTX’s near East Side campus.
The other tour will visit several of San Antonio’s military health facilities, including Brooke Army Medical Center and its Center for the Intrepid and the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base. San Antonio is home to the largest military health complex in the U.S.
“San Antonio has so many great assets” that can be leveraged, Hanson said, but investors and even other companies often don’t know the extent of the resources available here.
Also new to this year’s BioFest Invest is “Office Hours,” a chance for anyone who registers to get a 15-minute, one-on-one meeting with “investors, legal, [quality assurance and regulatory affairs]” and others.
Freyya, which has already earned a federal Small Business Innovation Research grant for its pelvic floor monitoring device, was founded by Gabriele Niederauer, a biomedical engineer and serial entrepreneur who has started and sold several bioscience companies.
While Freyya’s device is still being developed, the BobiHealth app, which uses AI for “intelligence and monitoring” can be downloaded today, and appears to track heart rate, blood pressure and mood, among other data.
The company’s website states that what sets it apart is its “commitment to serving underserved populations, ensuring equitable access to secure data solutions for pregnancy health care and working towards safer pregnancies for everyone.”
