The US Impact on Women’s Health Innovation and Commercialization

How does the current political situation in the US affect early-stage innovation and commercialization in women’s health in the US and Europe?

While women’s health is receiving more attention than ever and women’s health innovation has moved up on many agendas, women’s health researchers and startups are still facing great challenges when it comes to funding and commercialization.

The US has for years been a major frontrunner, but the current political situation has increased the headwind for women’s health, well-recognized by both researchers, startups, and VCs working in this space.

In this MVA Women’s Health network meeting, international speakers will shed light on the US current situation and its implications for startups and innovation locally and internationally; we’ll get perspectives from VCs, startups, the pharma industry and experts to help us understand the concrete situation, challenges, possibilities and perspectives for everyone looking to further women’s health.

Date: Tuesday, 28th October 2025
Time: 14:00 – 18:30
Venue: Medicon Valley Alliance, Arne Jacobsens Vej 13, Hub3, Auditorium

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Program

Speakers​​​​​

	Jessica Federer is a recognized leader in health innovation, specializing in digital health and women’s health. A former Chief Digital Officer at Bayer, she led digital transformation across pharmaceuticals and consumer health. Federer founded the Health of Women Investor Summit, co-created the WHAM Investment Collaborative, and serves on the board of Angelini Ventures, investing in biotech and digital health. She has advised Fortune 100 companies and health tech startups, and previously led U.S. expansion for Europe’s fastest-growing digital health firm during the pandemic. She holds an MPH from Yale and began her career in public health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
	Stasia Obremskey is a venture capital leader dedicated to advancing women’s health. As Co-founder and Managing Partner at Foreground Capital, she invests in early-stage women’s health startups and manages one of the largest portfolios of venture-backed companies in the field. She serves on the boards of Cadence OTC, Vitra Labs, Contraline, Gesynta, and YourChoice Therapeutics. With a background in CFO roles across healthcare startups in the U.S. and Asia, and early career experience at Bain and Morgan Stanley, she brings deep financial and strategic expertise. Stasia holds an MBA from Harvard and was named a Trailblazing Leader in Women’s Health.
	Pablo Arrigada is a gynecologist and reproductive endocrinology specialist with extensive leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has held global R&D and Medical Affairs roles at Merck, Abbott, Preglem, Gedeon Richter, and now Bayer, where he drives the elinzanetant development program and leads diversity strategies in clinical trials. With expertise spanning clinical development, medical affairs, and product launches, he has worked closely with health authorities worldwide and built strong networks with key opinion leaders. He holds an MD from the Pontifical Catholic University, board certifications in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and an MBA from IMD Business School.
	Carolyn Kreuzkamp, MBA, is a Federal Funding and HealthTech Commercialization Strategist based out of San Francisco, CA. She specializes in supporting women-led university spin-outs and research teams with obtaining non-dilutive funding to advance translational science and product commercialization. She is a member of the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review, a mentor for the Department of Commerce’s Select Global Women in Tech program, and a public funding advisor at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Florida and an MBA in Health Research Commercialization from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC Chapel Hill.
	Tara Heitner, PhD, MBA is a business development professional with over 20 years of executive leadership, strategic planning, and pharma partnering experience in life sciences. As CEO and Founder of Heitner Biopharm Consultation, she has advised companies for more than a decade and previously co-founded ventures and held senior roles in both biotech startups and global pharma. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from McGill University, a postdoctoral fellowship in antibody engineering from UCSF, and an Executive MBA from DTU. Actively engaged in the Nordic ecosystem, she mentors through NOME and co-chairs the Nordic Pharma Licensing Group. Her focus is advancing drug development opportunities addressing diseases that uniquely or disproportionately affect women.
	Tanja Danner, cand.it., is CEO and co-founder of Prenaital, a deep tech company transforming prenatal care. With over 20 years of leadership in technology, she has tackled complex challenges in healthcare and other regulated industries, still believing technology is the most effective path to scalable, positive impact.

The deadline for registration is 24th October 2025

The MVA Women’s Health network
Joining the MVA Women’s Health Network is free of charge but is limited to Medicon Valley Alliance members. Non-member organizations and companies are welcome to attend one network event to evaluate the relevance of joining the network. For more information, please contact Katrine Brems Olsen at kbo@mva.org

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