Womens Health Investment Outlook 2026

Conclusion Despite growing attention, persistent barriers continue to limit innovation and scale in women’s health. Currently, women’s health attracts 6% of total private healthcare investment, and less than 1% flows to women’s health-specific companies. Four out of five funding events, and 90% of capital, is concentrated in just three areas: reproductive health, women’s cancers and maternal care. Meanwhile, high-prevalence, high- burden conditions that affect women differently and disproportionately remain under-addressed in women-specific ways. The Women’s Health Investment Index provides an initial step towards correcting this imbalance. By bringing greater transparency to capital flows and investment patterns, the index provides investors, policy-makers and innovators with a clearer understanding of where the gaps and opportunities in women’s health exist. Momentum is building: While still modest, investment is expanding beyond early-stage and mission-driven backers, with participation from venture, private equity and institutional capital pointing to the emergence of a more durable investment base. Consolidation in fertility, targeted venture activity and blended finance pilots are beginning to test scalable models, though activity remains fragmented and concentrated in select markets. Learning from early proof points will be central to shaping scalable, investable models that can attract sustained capital. Collaboration will determine the pace of progress: Multiple stakeholders, including investors, industry leaders, researchers, innovators, policy-makers, regulators, payers and providers, must align on a shared agenda – one grounded in data, equity and commercial viability. The six imperatives outlined in this report – building a demand-driven evidence base, leveraging partnerships to mobilize capital, modernizing regulation, expanding reimbursement, mobilizing adjacent players and increasing transparency – offer a concrete roadmap to do just that. With the right conditions in place, women’s health can evolve from a fragmented niche into a defined, high-growth asset class within healthcare. Early signals already demonstrate that well-positioned investors can generate competitive returns while building exposure to a durable, structural growth story in health. For investors, the opportunity is clear: back the models that are scaling now, shape the markets that will follow and capture long-term value in a category whose time has come. Women’s Health Investment Outlook 34