Reflections from WIRED's health conference 2023

As with impact investing, healthcare is now at the top of everyone’s agendas as seen by technology magazine WIRED hosting a conference on the topic in London on 21 March 2023. Covering a broad range of topics, it contained some key learnings for both investors and start-ups in the sector.

The importance of collaboration

As we have discussed previously, a consistent theme of conferences is the need for greater collaboration. Several speakers spoke of the incremental gains within the scientific community, including the importance of collaborations with the academy, across disciplines or with public systems such as the NHS.

Success in this area may depend on a company’s ability to collaborate or form partnerships effectively. This has always been the case in healthcare, but will be particularly important in 2023 as many companies face worsening valuations.

The continued rise of women’s health 

There were a number of discussions of businesses focused on women’s health issues (“women” being defined by the panellists for these purposes as persons with ovaries). As part of this there was a general rejection of the term “femtech”, on the basis that these companies are providing healthcare solutions to 51% of the population and so should just be seen as “healthcare” companies.

Many of the speakers highlighted the comparative lack of investment in this area, the need for more data and the health equity issues arising as a result of this under-investment. Whereas previously the focus had been primarily on fertility issues, many companies are trying to address a range of holistic conditions including the menopause and improving diagnostics for conditions that disproportionally affect women.

The role of patients (and the need to be sensitive)

Much of the discussion echoed that of the FT’s Global Pharma and Biotech 2022 conference, at which many speakers noted the ability for patients to become a key part of their own treatment. While several recent companies have focused on wearables, many of these have used relatively basic data (such as heart rate). The next stage is to increase the scope and frequency of the data that patients provide, including results from a patient’s blood at different times of the day.

One speaker referred to this as moving into a new phase of “ambient” tech, in which it constantly surrounds us in our daily lives. For these companies to be a success patient trust will be crucial, particularly when interacting with more diverse communities. In addition, these start-ups will need to understand the different regulatory framework of the relevant jurisdictions.

In conclusion, there was an optimistic tone about the state of the UK’s healthcare sector. Changing mindsets are seeing more money flow into previously underserved area, while new technologies are allowing more bespoke, constant treatment for patients using their own data in real time. However, there are regulatory challenges that these businesses will need to navigate before they can come to market.