WoW Woman in FemTech | Zohar Horovitz Limor, VP Product at GynTools
Zohar Horovitz Limor is a VP of Product at GynTools, a company dedicated to promoting women's health. Its first solution is GYNI - a cutting-edge point-of-care system for rapid and accurate diagnosis of vaginitis which almost all women will experience at least once in their lifetime.
GynTools' goal is to change the standard of care from today's 50% first visit misdiagnosis into an accessible, and accurate diagnosis for all vaginitis conditions. The device is the first of its kind to detect also non-infectious conditions like vaginal atrophy which is a condition that about 50% of menopausal women experience.
Zohar has been working for 10 years in the medical devices industry and in her last 3 roles, she has been a product manager for Femtech products: Lasers, remote patient monitoring, and now in-vitro-diagnostics (IVD). She is also a co-author of the report ‘Femtech in Israel: An Industry Waiting to Be Revealed’.
Tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
In the last few years, I shifted from multidisciplinary hardware-focused projects into systems combining IoT with digital applications, embedding Deep Learning capabilities. The other shift is from technical-only roles into Product roles combining the business understanding alongside the technical aspects of R&D.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
In Israel the army service is mandatory and women can contribute almost as men. I was an officer dealing with the development of artillery but it was prior to being an engineer. So I spent many meetings trying to understand what the hell are they talking about. This motivated me to study mechanical engineering and I admit that the studies in the Technion gave me the tools to realize I can learn everything.
This is what an engineer is all about: there will always be problems but you need to be confident you will overcome them as development and technology evolve over time. My family has many physicians and biology researchers so I think I was genetically doomed to work in the medical industry.
Getting into the medical industry is not an easy task and I was lucky. After 10 years in the defense industry, I started as a rookie by taking my project management skills and using them to be the PMO for the development of an injection pump for drug delivery, Connecting between the timelines of the Israeli R&D center of the drug delivery device with the US drug manufacturer. After this project, it was much easier to navigate in the medical industry.
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?
As my career evolved I cannot directly say how long it took, as it took me 20 years of work to be where I am as I had many career milestones along the way. It is my 3rd role as a product manager in this specific domain that led me to where I am today with the market and local ecosystem perspective.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
At GynTools I am leading the cooperation with one of Israel's HMOs called a pilot study which is co-funded by the Israeli innovation authority for the commercial realization of using our system at outpatient clinics.
Besides that I am in charge of the usual product management tasks of defining the product's requirements, making sure that all the product versions (clinical, Demo and commercial) are aligned with the product's roadmap, and overlooking the UI/UX development.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Yes – I believe many women need to take part in it to improve the quality of women's lives through technology and raising the independence and ability to have a higher salary by working in the tech industry.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
In the Femtech industry, I think we are only at the beginning of the movement to improve women's quality of life. There are so many unmet need domains – the only thing missing is the funding.
As the trends are heavily influenced by the US market, I think that the current state of women giving birth is far from where it is supposed to be. The US market is eager for solutions that are resembling the Israeli /Australian/Scandinavian holistic service models around maternal health (Karitane for example).
As in the US, there are a lot of OB/GYN and mostly nurse practitioners available to support women throughout their pregnancy and post-pregnancy periods. As market failures usually translate into solutions, we already see the rise in companies like Heramed, Nuvo, PulseNmore, and GE handheld ultrasound (all coming from Israel) for technology and Maven Clinic in the US for services. There are many more examples and I am sure more solutions will evolve over time.
Another rising domain I see is the great leap into bio convergence, and specifically controlling and manipulating the capabilities of the microbiome is changing the standard of care for treatment by using it for: cancer treatments, "stocking" it while incorporating it in image processing like GynTools is doing with the vaginal microbiome and replacing some antibiotics with clinically proven probiotics. More and more companies will gain control of the microbiome and will translate it into better care for all the population and hopefully dedicated to women as well.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
If you shift from non-medical into medical: look beyond the position title and see how you will gain industry knowledge from the position, it does not matter if it’s in QA, R&D, or clinical studies practice. After one position you will be able to move to your goal easily.
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Kira Radinsky - data science professor and also works in the industry and the women who are leading the COVID 19 battle in Israel.
Dr. Sharon Alroi Price - Israeli Ministry of Health.
Dr. Osnat Levzion Korach - The first woman to manage a large-scale hospital in Israel.
Find out more about GynTools on their website, and connect with Zohar on her 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.