The market for digital applications for women’s health and wellbeing is set for ‘explosive growth’, driven by almost $1 billion in funding over the last three years and a positive regulatory environment, according to a new report.

Analysts Frost & Sullivan, who dub the sector ‘femtech’, say the area’s software, diagnostics, products, and services will see it emerge as the next big disruptor in the global healthcare market.

Such femtech applications target reproductive, maternal and general women’s health and wellness, including mental health issues, elderly care, and chronic and communicable diseases.

Shruthi Parakkal , transformational health senior consultant at Frost & Sullivan, said: “Going forward, it will be critical for medical device, clinical diagnostic, and women’s health companies to provide additional value to their customers, which necessitates taking ownership of the value chain.

“With this objective, they may have to either consider the acquisition of Femtech applications, partnering with specialised Femtech companies or build their own portfolios.”

The end goal, Parakkal added, would be to formulate a marketing strategy exclusively for Femtech, and “companies that recognise this need early on will have the first mover advantage”.

The consultants say the market, which could be worth $50bn by 2025, has already seen a number of innovations, including European CE approval for the first mobile application for contraception in 2017 and the FDA’s 2016 approval for a fertility tracking wearable as a Class-One medicine device.

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