October 2026
Back in Australia after attending Women's Health Week Europe, a few highlights have stayed with me.
The sessions that made me decide to book my tickets were as informative as I had hoped – discussions on Where Capital Flows / Funding patterns in women’s health with the panel including Jemma Day, British Business Bank and Tim Davis, London Stock Exchange followed by Un-Ventured Territory: Alternative routes to scale in women’s health with the panel including Maryann Umoren Selfe, FCCA, Calabar Capital and Caitlin MacLean, Milken Institute.
The live debate on whether the label “women’s health” is a gift or a curse with the panel including Marissa Fayer, Deeplook Medical and Annie Theriault, Cross Border Impact Ventures challenged my thinking. For me, the label is helpful only if when used it encompasses all conditions affecting women across their lifespan. We are not there yet: too often it is still used to refer to a limited set of conditions at specific life stages. The challenge is giving women’s health dedicated attention without letting the label limit its relevance.
The session on the fightback against censorship, with the panel moderated by Anna O'Sullivan, CensHERship left me reflecting on the action needed to open communication channels to audiences not able to access women’s health information. This is necessary for public health messaging and also for investment in the sector – blocking information / distribution channels hides true market size and hinders access to clinically validated information. Hearing directly from Emily Darlington MP, Jenny Campbell,Appeals Centre Europe and Paulina Szklarek, Mooncup about their experiences highlighted the scale of the negative impact – more work is needed.
Hearing from portfolio manager Anesa Mulabecirovic, MD PhD MBA about DNB’s newly launched global equity fund focused on women’s health. DNB Fund Women's Health is an active portfolio positioning across healthcare, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics and services and consumer health, investing in companies developing/selling products for women's health, with the disease or need having a biological anchor in women. Their investment criteria: whether the treatment works and if it is needed (ie. is it better than what is available today), using fundamental analysis they assess whether the company can make money from it, and then they determine if the price is right for them – it is an investment thesis not a social enterprise. Chatting with Anesa after her session, I was pleased to hear that Australia is on her radar.
Back at my desk, I’m reflecting on the connections between these conversations: the language we use, the need for discussion with audiences not currently engaging with women’s health, and the action needed to turn attention into meaningful investment in the health of women.
It was great to spend the time together Maya Goldstein.
Thanks to Molly Taylor and Callum Sipson.
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