WoW Woman in FemTech I Claudia Chisari, PhD, CEO and Founder of Femspace
Claudia Chisari, PhD, is the CEO and Founder of Femspace, a health-tech company that provides the first digital and evidence-based care platform for women with persistent pelvic pain (Endometriosis, Vulvodynia, Vaginismus etc.).
She carried out the world’s first PhD on digital therapies in Vulvodynia (persistent vulvar pain) at King’s College London, where she was awarded funding by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). She is the recipient of numerous awards for her research, including a prestigious Research Award from the Embassy in London as a pioneering scientist in this sector. She has established significant international partnerships to advance Femspace’s vision of providing personalised support to improve the lives of women living with pelvic pain.
Femspace is the first digital and evidence-based care platform for pelvic pain. Femspace was founded to facilitate access to care for women with pelvic pain, as most of them struggle to reach a diagnosis and are not provided with treatment plans that are specifically tailored to their condition. Still today, pelvic pain is systematically invalidated and ignored, having deleterious repercussions for women’s mental/physical health, and quality of life.
Femspace’s platform allows women to self-manage their condition and drive outcomes-based quality care, all based on the latest pain science. Femspace’s offering includes specialist psychological and physiotherapy support applied to pelvic pain.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
Over 7 years ago, when I started researching pelvic/vulvar pain, I could see that female-specific pelvic conditions remained secondary research subjects, both in terms of understanding the actual disease, and therapeutic solutions.
As of 2022, it takes an average of 10 years to get diagnosed with Endometriosis, an excruciatingly painful condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus starts to grow outside of the uterus. The cause and cure for Endometriosis are still a mystery. This is not an isolated case. 1 in 6 women (including Endometriosis) lives with persistent pelvic pain. Yet, “I don’t know what causes it”, “It’s all in your head”, and “have you tried to drink a glass of wine?” are still the most common responses when women attempt to get an answer for their pain, let alone treatment solutions.
This is extremely gendered. That’s what prompted me to carry out my MSc and a PhD in this field at King’s College London. As part of my PhD, I focused on developing and testing digital therapies for Vulvodynia, showing improvements in women’s pain and mental health. Following the PhD, I wanted to leverage the knowledge acquired to provide a solution that would directly address the problem, making this solution available to all women.
I realised that getting from research to clinical solutions takes time, and I didn’t want to delay this any further. That’s why I am on a mission to bring this to market and democratise access to pelvic pain care, and to do it now.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
Right after my PhD, I started working in Tech, where I also focused on women’s health. I knew I wanted to use my background to help tackle this problem within the industry.
When Femspace started, I realised there has been (and still is) only an established category for pelvic pain. This is one that exclusively focuses on painful sex and addresses it with physical devices to insert into a person’s vulva.
Unfortunately, most women with long-term pain do not respond to that because they fear having further pain, so they wouldn’t even attempt to insert anything. Importantly, most of them experience pain outside penetration and mental health impacts. These important aspects are still completely neglected, even if they are very important to them.
The pelvic pain industry is in desperate need of a refresh for something that truly represents the far wider-reaching impacts of living with pelvic pain, not only sex.
Most people with pelvic pain struggle with mobility, working, social activities, and mental health. Yet most of the marketing and language are focused on painful sex. Something isn’t working. That’s why we’re on a mission to take a new approach with Femspace, but it hasn’t been easy. Many people ask if pelvic pain is even that common, and there is still a perception that this is not very serious or as invalidating as it is.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle? What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
Developing something people love and need takes time. The biggest obstacle was understanding what women needed to launch Amber, our first product for those with Vulvodynia and Vaginismus. Of course, we wanted to honour science but also meet people’s needs. Now we’re on a great growth trajectory and have built a product that women want.
The strong demand from women gives us a strong signal that we’re fulfilling a big market need that isn’t yet solved.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
We are currently working on refining our product offering and learning more and more from women so that we can provide greater options for them.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
The #WomaninTech movement is important as it really brings to attention the issues women in STEM face. If we ensure there is more equality, diversity and inclusion in science and tech, the resulting research/industry focus will likely reflect those changes. For example, more inclusivity and diversity will likely shift the current focus and give more importance to women’s health, from the gender pain gap to other women’s health areas.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
I can see there is more interest and a shift toward exploring pain in women and providing better options for them. The Nurofen campaign on pain in women reflects that. Personalising treatments, and precision medicine more generally is also a key trend, so machine learning will play an important role there.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Compared to academia, the industry is a faster-moving and more dynamic world. The most important piece of advice I would give to anyone starting in the industry, particularly if coming from an academic background, is to be flexible and be able to adapt to things quickly.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
Developing the first-ever in the world digital treatment for Vulvodynia is my biggest achievement to date. The treatment has already helped women improve their physical symptoms as well as their mental health. I’m so happy to make the treatment now available through Femspace.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Dr. Lori Brotto (a pioneer in sex and relationship therapy)
Dr Kristin Neff (worked a lot in self-compassion applied to mental health)
Dr. Ida Flink (for her work in Vulvodynia and women’s health)
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This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.