This infographic, tweeted out by Plum Alley a few days ago, stood out as reminder of the success women entrepreneurs and investors are having right now. Although generally speaking, and definitely in healthcare, there are too few and far between, several efforts are being put forward to change that.
And progress is being made.
Crowdfunding platform Plum Alley, like the others included in the infographic, focuses on funding projects specifically created by women. Plum Alley has supported the funding of VROU, the already successful multivitamin health drink created by former professional soccer player Kathryn Moos.
Also on the list of capital raising organizations is Aspect Ventures, which is behind the success of NanoString Technologies, a provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics.
The Women’s Startup Lab is one of the notable startup accelerators specifically geared toward narrowing the gender gap in the entrepreneurial field.
It clearly takes effort and a particular focus for women to become more prominent in this arena, and it’s true in healthcare both with startups and on the investor end. Various organizations like these demonstrate the success of that effort.
It’ll be exciting to see a chart similar to this in a year’s time.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo: Flickr user Democracy Chronicle
