Femtech Players Map Japan 2023 Latest Edition (vol.1)
*Please be sure to clearly state "source: Femtech Community Japan" when quoting, reprinting, or reproducing the content of this article.
*Please see the original version in Japanse here.
https://note.com/femtechjapan/n/nfd0bb6b7a4d9
We have curated a comprehensive market map showcasing Femtech players in Japan. This map delineates the array of products, services, and companies employing technology to address the diverse challenges and gaps in women's healthcare.
Our Femtech Players Map categorizes Japanese Femtech entities by sector, serving as a valuable resource for those interested in exploring various solutions tailored to women's health needs. Anticipating continuous growth, innovation, and business opportunities in the women's healthcare and Femtech sectors, we envision this map contributing significantly to women's health and wellness.
We extend our gratitude to the numerous experts whose advice and support were instrumental in shaping this Femtech Players Map. Their contributions are sincerely appreciated.
Detailed descriptions of our Femtech Players Map and comprehensive reports on individual companies can be obtained from the Femtech Community Japan (FCJ). For access to the detailed report, please reach out to us via email at hello@femtechjapan.org.
0. Background on the Femtech Players Map
Definition of Femtech - What does Femtech mean? -
Femtech, a portmanteau of "female" and "technology," pertains to a field dedicated to providing technological services and products addressing women's health issues such as menstruation, infertility, and menopause.
Femtech Domains and Target Categories
Femtech encompasses a spectrum of women's healthcare issues spanning various life stages such as menstruation, infertility/pregnancy, childbirth/postnatal care, menopause, as well as lifestyle-dependent and individual-specific concerns including contraception, gynecological diseases, and hormonal fluctuations.
Our Femtech Players Map incorporates companies offering solutions across these domains, categorized into five key areas: menstruation and contraception, pregnancy and infertility, menopause, healthcare and hormones, and gynecological diseases.
For further insights, please refer to the accompanying articles providing an overview of Femtech and business trends in Japan.
Femtechまとめシリーズvol.1「Femtechへようこそ！」
Femtechまとめシリーズ vol.2「Femtechの事業立ち上げに向けたビジネスモデル事例のご紹介」
1. Femtech Players Map Japan 2023 Overview and Overall Trends
The Femtech Players Map Japan comprises 55 companies as of June 2023.
Fertility/infertility represents the largest sector with 22 players, followed by menstruation/contraception (14), and healthcare/hormones (14). Additionally, emerging players address menopause and gynecological symptoms.
Besides the categories based on health issues, we have also sorted them into the technology category, focusing on what kind of technology is being used. IT and digital technologies are important means of implementing products and services for many products and services. The Femtech Players Map shows products and services with core technologies such as sensing and detection technologies to acquire biometric data, new testing and diagnostic technologies, and data analysis technologies such as machine learning and deep learning as DeepTech.
Apart from the categories based on health issues, players are also classified by the technology employed. IT and digital technologies play a pivotal role in implementing products and services, with 37 players are positioned under the IT/Digital category and 18 under DeepTech.
While DeepTech remains nascent, overseas DeepTech companies are anticipated to enter and expand in Japan, aligning with the growing importance of women's healthcare and wellness initiatives.
In recent years, heightened attention to women's health and wellness has spurred numerous initiatives and services in Japan. Several companies are developing solutions to bridge gaps in women's healthcare and wellness, even in areas where technology isn't the primary focus, thus fostering new awareness and solutions for women facing health challenges.
In this Femtech Players map, Femcare services are not included because of its variety.
Also visit the second part of our article for insights and analysis about broader domains including Femcare and women's wellness:
Domestic Femtech Player Map 2023 Latest Edition (second part)
2. Femtech Players Map: Trends by Domain
Menstruation & Contraception
Health issues related to Femtech have been the most media-covered topics, particularly menstrual shorts and PMS issues, and a number of Femtech products and services have emerged, including menstrual management apps and online pill prescription services.
In menstrual management applications, Luna, a pioneer for more than 20years, has expanded its services to fertility and hormone-related health management, while PAIRCARE, CareMe, and other smartphone-based applications targeting teenagers and young adults, as well as new functions such as easy use on LINE and sharing symptoms with boyfriends and family members, are attracting attention. On the other hand, new functions such as easy use on line, sharing symptoms with boyfriends and family members, etc., are attracting attention.
In the area of online pill prescriptions, new entrants continue to enter the market, including ClinicFore, which is affiliated with a clinic, mederi, Sumarna, and Anypill, which are online platforms specializing in pills, and other major IT platforms with existing user bases have also entered the market. In addition, major IT platforms with existing user bases have entered the market.
Pregnancy and Infertility
With the introduction of insurance coverage for infertility treatment in April 2022, there are an increasing number of products and services in Japan that support patients, companies, and medical professionals in the areas of fertility and infertility. The importance of expanding knowledge about pregnancy and infertility is becoming increasingly important for society as a whole, as well as for the couples and partners involved in the process.
Since the ease of conception and the causes of infertility vary depending on factors such as age, hormones, and other individual physical conditions, individual consultations with specialists and the formation of online communities are progressing, and are expanding into the B2C (for individuals) as well as B2B (for companies) fields.
Companies involved in infertility treatment include Fami-One, an infertility treatment consultation platform, Varinos, which provides intrauterine flora analysis services, and vivola, which analyzes infertility treatment data.
In addition, initiatives closer to medical treatment, such as Dioseve, a university-launched startup that applies regenerative medicine iPS cell technology to infertility treatment, are also emerging.
Menopause
Menopause-specific online medical care, online chat, and other services are emerging as startup companies. Following the lead of players such as TRULY, a menopause-specific chat service, new companies such as YStory, which aims to provide a platform for self-care support based on individual data, have emerged.
On the other hand, there are still few companies that are engaged in business development with DeepTech as their core.
In the area of menopause, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) will start a survey on menopause in 2022, and the government is promoting the active participation of women in management positions.
Healthcare and Hormones
For the purpose of promoting corporate women's activities and health management, there are many services that provide a wide range of women's health care education, awareness, and support in the form of B2B2E to support corporate employees as a form of employee benefit service.
In addition, companies that comprehensively address women's health issues, such as online prescriptions and hormone testing kits for home use, fall into this category. Following the trend of the increase in home testing kits overseas, partly due to the impact of the new coronary, the trend of providing remote and online services is expected to continue to grow in Japan.
Gynecological symptoms
Early prevention and diagnostic services are primarily offered, including painless, non-invasive breast cancer testing and genetic risk assessment. Solutions that lower the hurdles for screening and testing for gynecological diseases are expected to continue to expand.
3. Femtech Players Map: Trends by Tech Category
IT and Digital
A variety of online services are offered, focusing on menstruation, contraception, pregnancy and infertility, with a focus on the younger generation, who are more receptive on the user side and have a large target population that is active in utilizing apps and digital services. In the Healthcare and Hormone domain, there are also many services in the form of B2B2E that provide education, awareness, and support for a wide range of women's health care in order to support corporate employees for the purpose of corporate promotion of women's activities and health management.
In the future, the above areas are expected to expand to include expert online consultation, community building, and D2C of related products. In addition, expansion into areas such as menopause, gynecological symptoms, and sexual wellness is also expected.
DeepTech
The report introduces 17 companies working in the so-called DeepTech area, including sensing and detection technologies for acquiring biological data, new testing and diagnostic technologies, and data analysis technologies such as machine learning and deep learning. Considering the depth of technology in Japan, including universities, research institutes, and research laboratories of large companies, there is still a lot of research and technological development going on in Japan that is on par with the world's advanced areas. In the area of Femtech×DeepTech, there is still a white space where innovative innovations can be created.
Currently, most of the DeapTech companies in the Femtech area in Japan are in the early stage, and it is hoped that support for technology-based founders, participation of engineers from various fields, and financial investment will stimulate this area further in the future.
4. Femtech Players Map Selection
In this Femtech Players Map, our FCJ team have selected companies that we consider to be "technology-driven products and services that support women's healthcare issues" based on the following considerations.
<Considerations in Selection>
Players who promote business development and product/service development with the vision and mission of solving issues in the women's healthcare field
Examples: menstruation, contraception, pregnancy, infertility, menopause, healthcare, hormones, gynecological diseasesProducts and services where the technology is at the core of the business model
(Examples of tech elements)
・Products and services in which the core value of the business model lies in the application or IT platform
・Innovative technologies such as biometric data sensing/detection, inspection/diagnosis technologies, etc.
・Products that utilize data analysis technologies such as machine learning and deep learning.Products and services that are at a certain level of business or technology development, such as prototype or above, or have received funding or funding from a government grant program (excluding R&D stage).
5. Use of this Femtech Players Map
When you use this Femtech Player Map, please indicate the source of the quotation (created by Femtech Community Japan, the URL of this note).
The information is based on our own research based on public information and we do not guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the information.
We use the logos of companies and services, but we will remove or replace them if there are any problems with their use. Please contact us at the following e-mail address.
If you have any comments on our Femtech Player Map, please contact us at the following address. Please note that we will decide whether or not to publish your comments on our Femtech Players Map based on the information you share with us.
email： hello@femtechjapan.org
6. We are looking for member companies!
This Femtech Players Map and detailed reports on individual companies are available for corporate members of the Femtech Community Japan (FCJ).
If you are not a corporate member and are interested in receiving the detailed report, please contact FCJ at the following email address: hello@femtechjapan.org.
Femtech Community Japan brings together startups, major companies, VCs, investors, universities, research institutes, medical and healthcare professionals, media partners, and others to share information and discuss current and future issues related to Femtech and to form working groups.
If you are interested, please follow us on our website, X(Twitter), and facebook group.
We are also looking for corporate members and start-up members from 2023. If you are interested, please contact us at hello@femtechjapan.org or fill out the application form below.
■Membership Application Form
https://forms.gle/YF48DYmCkm6pa6mz5
■Organization Profile
■Web
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