WoW Woman in FemTech I Paula Newell, founder and CEO of AVeta Medical
Paula Newell is the founder and CEO of AVeta Medical, a company on a mission to radically transform the vaginal health market by offering scientific, life-changing, personalized solutions anchored by the proprietary AVeta device.
AVeta Medical’s mission is to treat the underlying cause of vaginal atrophy without side effects and allow all women to live their best life even after menopause and breast cancer.
Vaginal Atrophy is a fact of life for more than 80% of women over 51yrs of age. Vaginal Atrophy is currently under-treated by poorly tolerated solutions that result in unwanted side effects. Millions of women have no treatment option, especially Breast Cancer Survivors who have no suitable, long-term treatment options.
Over 50% of women either don’t seek treatment or are unhappy with the treatment options they are given. The topic is very much seen as taboo and because of a lack of natural treatment options, women suffer in silence.
Paula has over 20 years of varied clinical experience as a Senior Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Manager. In 2017, she completed the Bioinnovate fellowship programme – a MedTech entrepreneurship incubator based on the world-renowned Stanford Biodesign programme. Her passion for woman’s health led her to search for a global unmet clinical need in vaginal atrophy. Paula is constantly campaigning to encourage open discussions about women’s health, shifting people’s views and educating both women and men on important and often intimate topics.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
I am from Galway - a university city and vibrant Innovation hub located in the West of Ireland; I have travelled all over the world practicing as an Occupational Therapist before returning to Ireland in 2010.
I founded AVeta Medical in 2019 following my successful BioInnovate fellowship. The idea was born from a passion for women’s health, and a desire to seek out a need that was large in scale, but also in challenge. I sacrificed my clinical career progression in order to achieve this.
I strive to be an inspirational mentor and role model to other female-founded companies and to also campaign for woman’s health. I have established a leadership, cross-functional team in AVeta with direct experience in launching innovative products in women’s health and armed with genuine female insight and world-class design expertise.
The company has received several national and EU awards and grant funding; secured >€ 3milion in non-dilutive funding since its inception to accelerate the medical device to market launch.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
I was fortunate that after successfully completing the BioInnovate Fellowship programme – Ireland’s MedTech entrepreneurship incubator I received national Enterprise Ireland funding to validate the global unmet clinical need. This funding allowed the AVeta Medical team to conduct a detailed market analysis gaining an in-depth understanding of the unmet clinical need of vaginal atrophy, commercial landscape, and validated proof of concept in pre-clinical studies.
The AVeta device is based on the science of wound healing stimulating the body’s natural healing response to increase moisture levels to regenerate the vagina tissue. Treatment is immediate, providing long-lasting symptom relief as it is based on the body’s natural healing response, presenting no negative side effects. AVeta is a patient-centric device and was designed in partnership with women suffering from vaginal atrophy so that the solution matches what is most important to future women users.
In 2021, AVeta Medical was awarded an EIC accelerator grant of €2.5m to expand the team, conduct First in Woman (FIW) clinical studies in Europe and the USA and obtain regulatory approval. This funding will bring the AVeta device a step closer to providing a much wanted and needed solution to millions of women suffering from vaginal atrophy.
We are excited about growing an innovative Irish company in the international Femtech space.
Challenges:
Women's health has been under-researched, underfunded, and underrepresented for far too long, despite women making up more than half of the US and EU populations.
AVeta Medical wants to transform woman’s health and remove the stigma that women’s bodies have been shrouded in taboos for centuries, break down barriers, bust taboos and empower more women to talk openly about their vaginal health and seek treatment.
Women founders are outperforming their male counterparts. Yet not a week goes by without another headline about the growing gender gap for both founders and funders. The research has been done, and the data is conclusive: Women are invaluable to every company’s success.
We face the typical capital challenges that many in the Femtech space meet too- a woman developing a solution for women. Many investors just don’t understand the FemTech space. Raising VC funding/capital is still more challenging for female founders. Women-owned businesses attract less venture capital investment. Additionally, there are fewer female-led VC firms or representation of women in the VC space.
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?
In 2017, I found myself at a crossroads in my clinical career as an Occupational Therapist with a speciality in Pediatrics and a Healthcare Manager, so I applied for the BioInnovate fellowship in Ireland, based on the world-renowned Stanford Bio-design programme. National grant funding was secured in 2018 to conduct a detailed market analysis of the unmet clinical need of vaginal atrophy, and the commercial landscape, and to validate the proof of concept in pre-clinical studies. A key part of the validation was actively engaging with sufferers of vaginal atrophy and with Physicians who treat this condition so that the AVeta device incorporated the voice of the customer in the design to ensure market adoption and acceptance.
The development of the AVeta device is a long road of clinical studies and regulatory obstacles, but it is a solution that my team and I firmly believe will make a seismic difference to millions of women suffering from vaginal atrophy.
The MedTech sector is heavily regulated, and it is an industry that requires significant validation, trials, and testing to say the least. However, AVeta Medical is committed to working in partnership with the notified bodies to ensure that the AVeta device is safe to use, meets all regulatory standards, and treats the underlying cause of vaginal atrophy without negative side effects. This will allow all women to live their best life even after menopause and breast cancer.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
AVeta Medical has raised >€3 million in non-dilutive funding from National and European funding agencies over the last 36 months.
I have established a leadership, cross-functional team of six with direct experience in launching innovative products in women’s health and armed with genuine female insight and world-class design expertise. AVeta Medical has a world-class scientific and clinical board that are the main KOLs in the field of vaginal atrophy.
The company’s clinical trial sites are over-prescribed for clinical studies which are progressing in Europe and the US in the next 12 months.
The team are also passionate and committed to raising awareness about woman’s intimate health issues whilst encouraging women founders in the space to talk openly, break down barriers, and bust taboos. We want to normalise associated experiences of womanhood and reframe the cultural conversation around vaginal health. We want women to feel empowered to discuss openly their vaginal health so that we can recognise and create solutions to the issues that matter most to women.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
AVeta Medical is currently working on its European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator project – a 24-month project funding the company €2.5 million to facilitate AVeta to carry out clinical trials and to generate valuable data and credentials to secure private investment for market acceleration.
The AVeta Medical team is also innovating on a pipeline of products to transform the vaginal health market by offering natural, scientific, life-changing, personalised solutions that matter most to women.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Of course, I am passionate about the worldwide Women in Tech movement. It is clear, that the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) industries need more women. Having a diverse team is always beneficial to any company, even within the tech sector. It is crucial to have a balanced workforce when it comes to sharing ideas, leadership, and creativity for new projects.
A clear example of this is when Apple released its health app. You could track almost every health metric a person might need to monitor such as weight and blood but left out menstruation, a basic bodily function experienced by over 50% of the world’s population. This took a year for Apple to correct and could have been sooner (or straight away) if more females were involved in the process.
I am committed to building women’s capabilities and careers in all areas of R&D and STEM. I feel that it is an important movement to ensure adequate female representation in the industry. AVeta Medical is a female-led, woman's health company and strives to promote gender balance at all levels, as close as possible to the target of a 50/50 split, with both men and women in teams and leading roles.
We still have a long way to go towards reaching gender equality in the workplace and as
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook states “No industry or country can reach its full potential until women reach their full potential. This is especially true in STEM, where women with a surplus of talent still face a deficit of opportunity”.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
Women’s health is in the spotlight and women are seeking solutions that can support them across different stages in their journey, from fertility to nursing, pregnancy, menopause, sexual health, and more.
Hormone Health: during each phase of a woman’s life, her hormones alter patterns driving critical changes. Understanding hormone behaviour and levels will shed incredible light on the inner workings of a woman’s body at key transition stages – puberty, pregnancy, fertility, and menopause. The importance of direct-to-consumer hormone testing at home is a key trend. A hormone imbalance can also affect a woman’s mental health.
Preparing women, and society for menopause & personalised menopause care: Greater focus on educating women, and society about menopause, symptoms, and impact on woman’s health and quality of life. Empowering women with more hormone-free, natural treatment solutions.
More Personalised care or Solutions for women’s health.
Navigating Fertility or Infertility care: advanced fertility solutions that will enable many more women to become mothers at a later stage of their lives.
The role of AI/ technology is to improve personalised care solutions for women.
Manufacturing medical devices specifically for women.
The increase in digital health provides better self-management, enabling and empowering women to be more in control of their own health and wellbeing.
What is the Market annual growth rate?
The women's health market is projected to exceed $54B by 2026 with vaginal atrophy ~ 5% of this market. Vaginal atrophy is a chronic and progressive condition. The symptoms do not disappear, they get worse without treatment and if you stop treatment vaginal atrophy comes back- consistent management is key.
Menopause accounts for 40% of women’s life stages with 6,000 women entering it daily. By 2025, there will be 1.1 billion postmenopausal women globally. Patient numbers with vaginal atrophy are rising, driven by aging populations, longer life expectancy, and breast cancer survival rates increasing.
51% of the world’s population are women – we control 80% of healthcare decisions. 82% of postmenopausal women are open to trialing new products, are tech savvy, and have a high disposable income. The emerging sufferers of vaginal atrophy are well educated, and informed about their sexual health and are highly motivated to access alternative drug-free solutions with no safety concerns or side effects.
There is an increase in specialist vulvovaginal, and menopausal clinics, and telemedicine / virtual platforms offering more individualized, expert professional care, products, and community support networks to postmenopausal women and women suffering from vaginal atrophy.
VC funding for FemTech tripled over the last 5 years to $1.9B in 2021
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Be confident and follow your instincts – starting your own business is not a secure path to take but it is exciting and incredibly rewarding and the potential paybacks for women’s health are endless. The AVeta team is so passionate about the AVeta mission and solution that we are happy to overcome any hurdles that may appear along the way to make a positive impact on woman’s lives.
Be yourself. Try not to compare yourself to others, easier said than done, I know. We are our own worst critics. There is no such thing as being “Perfect”. Stay true to your vision and how you achieve that vision. Be authentic.
Never take “NO” as an answer. Even when you are told time and again, NO, continue to persevere. Keep fighting to achieve success.
You simply can’t do it by yourself. Surround yourself with people who are passionate about your company and your solution, and who believe in you. There are many highs and lows in entrepreneurship, so you need to be surrounded by your team to take on those tough times with you.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Colette Courtion, founder and CEO of Joylux is an inspirational female founder in woman’s health. She strongly supports female founders supporting each other and advocates that together we will change the future and achieve more.
Tania Boler, CEO & co-founder of Elvie- has been a pioneer in the femtech industry since 2013 she co-founded Elvie, one of the world’s leading femtech brands. I find Elvie’s marketing campaigns so powerful, inspiring, and empowering women to talk more openly about difficult topics in woman’s health - urinary incontinence, and breastfeeding. Their #LeaksHappen & “Smart tech for Smart bodies” marketing campaigns are works of art to celebrate womanhood, bust long-standing taboos and create tech that women deserve.
My biggest inspiration is other women who are working to make the future better for all of us. It’s like I’m running a marathon and at each checkpoint is a new, group of motivating women who are cheering me on. “Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women, who have her back.” Anonymous.
Find out more about AVeta Medical on their website.
Follow AVeta Medical on Linkedin.
Connect with Paula on LinkedIn.
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.