Digital female-centric primary and preventive care and fertility support were top-funded women’s health segments in 2021, drawing $668m and $330m in investments, respectively. Going forward, experts anticipate innovation to address unmet needs related to menopause, vaginal microbiome, endometriosis, and other chronic conditions, and surgeries such as hysterectomies and mastectomies.

The COVID-19 pandemic drove huge shifts in clinical trial practice and the transformation is expected to continue even after the global health emergency abates. Industry leaders sharing their predictions around clinical development homed in on decentralized trials, digitization and data tools as key topics for 2022.

Digital female-centric primary and preventive care and fertility support were top-funded women’s health segments in 2021, drawing $668m and $330m in investments, respectively. Going forward, experts anticipate innovation to address unmet needs related to menopause, vaginal microbiome, endometriosis, and other chronic conditions, and surgeries such as hysterectomies and mastectomies.

Many industry leaders expect broad progress in the field of RNA technologies following the rapid and successful roll-out of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 last year. Genetic medicines of various types, emerging platforms for tackling previously “undruggable” targets and the microbiome were among other areas singled out as areas to watch in 2022.