Sandra Powell-Elliott
What you probably already know: Biotechnology focused on women’s health and women pioneers in biotech are advancing by leaps and bounds. Health care has historically neglected nuanced differences between men’s and women’s needs, resulting in one-size-fits-all approaches and suboptimal outcomes for women. Biotech innovations are now revolutionizing women’s care, offering personalized medicine, targeted therapies and advanced diagnostics for conditions such as endometriosis, infertility and breast cancer. But scientists have only scratched the surface in their understanding of biotech’s potential, especially in women’s care where investment still lags, says Sandra Powell-Elliott, vice president and chief innovation and commercialization officer at Hackensack Meridian Health, a New Jersey-based not-for-profit health network.
Can you call out a specific innovation that has the potential to meaningfully change outcomes for women in the next decade? I am really excited about the discovery of voice biomarkers for disease detection and monitoring. Imagine a world where simply speaking into an application can result in an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or worsening heart failure. Microphones commonly used today are high-quality and ubiquitous in our lives, so scaling this technology to large populations can be relatively easy. In addition, the power of artificial intelligence is uniquely positioned to analyze and model disease differences in the sounds we make and not the words we use or the language we speak. Acoustic feature modeling and waveform-based pattern recognition can be utilized to define vocal biomarkers of scientific significance.
What’s something the field has largely ignored that you think deserves serious scientific attention? One of the most underestimated opportunities for transforming women’s health is the intersection of the immune system and inflammatory responses in women, especially as hormones fluctuate over time. The core role of both an inflammatory response and the immune system is to protect and heal. However, when both become over- or under-active, the protective nature is lost and the body is at risk for damaging effects. There is an understanding that hormones in women strongly influence both, but the “how’”and “when” are not understood.
What does the regulatory and reimbursement environment look like for women’s biotech startups right now? I think the regulatory environment is really the same. It is all about the data. I do think the reimbursement space will be a challenge for some time. The system has been historically focused on organ-related conditions and treatments such as heart, brain, lung and bones, less on the fundamental differences of different diseases in women versus men. As a result, I think it will take longer for women-oriented testing and treatment to be reimbursed. The rationale to approve reimbursement will need to be clear and demonstrate a compelling difference between the sexes from a biological perspective, and the return on investment for the payors may take longer to realize. Payors will want to know how coverage and reimbursement will save them money in the short-term.
Women’s health has been chronically underfunded for decades. Do you think that’s changing? There are signs of improvement, but I am not seeing a tremendous shift in capital targeting women’s health. I don’t think we will start to see substantial changes until someone makes a bold move to really invest in the space. One company to watch is Midi Health — their virtual platform for perimenopausal health is starting to see positive growth in revenue and they recently raised $100 million in a Series D round. A raise that size demonstrates a shift toward women’s health, but the question is, is it a signal of a real shift or simply a unique company in the women’s health space?
If you were advising a brilliant young scientist or founder who wanted to dedicate their career to women’s health biotech, what would you tell them is the single biggest opportunity — and the single biggest pitfall to avoid? One of the biggest opportunities is with in-home diagnostics and monitoring technology. Scientists who develop low-cost, scalable and accurate diagnostic and monitoring capabilities will usher in a new era of care delivery. The biggest pitfall to avoid is developing to meet today’s clinical needs without an eye toward the future. Research, development and commercialization take much longer than you anticipate. Plan and design for 10 years down the road.
