Women’s Health Week USA 2026: what to expect at the sector’s most commercially-focused gathering
We're entering the era of scale.
Women’s health is at an inflection point. The validation phase is over. Capital is moving. Institutional players are entering. The question the sector is now asking isn’t whether women’s health deserves investment, it’s how to take it from growth to scale and build an industry designed to last.
That question is the organising principle behind Women’s Health Week USA 2026, taking place May 13-14 at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City. With 700+ senior decision makers, 70+ speakers and 30+ sponsors confirmed, it is one of the most commercially concentrated gatherings in the women’s health calendar.
Early bird pricing ends April 17. Register here to save up to $600 on your place
What women’s health 2.0 actually means
The theme for 2026 is The Era of Scale, a deliberate signal about where the conversation needs to go.
When Women’s Health Week launched, the focus was on validation: proving demand, building product-market fit, attracting early capital in an overlooked category. But that work has been done. Women’s health now extends well beyond fertility and gynaecology into metabolic and autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular health, longevity, wearables, and AI-driven diagnostics.
Investments are making returns and investor confidence has grown, but a persistent growth-stage cliff is limiting how many companies reach true commercial scale. The next phase is not about proving demand. It is about institutionalising the category: moving from founder-led growth to system-led adoption, from specialist believers to generalist capital, from pilots to embedded infrastructure.
That is what two days in New York will be focused on.
The speakers
The lineup reflects the breadth of the ecosystem now engaged with women’s health as a commercial priority.
Kate Ryder, CEO and Founder, Maven Clinic
Mallika Mundkur, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, FDA
Melanie Newman, Chief External Affairs Officer, Planned Parenthood
Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira, Head of R&D & Chief Medical Officer, Organon,
Phylicia L. Woods, Senior Director of Government Affairs, Hologic
Nichole Young-Lin, Clinical Lead for Women’s Health, Google
Jill Angelo, VP Women’s Health, OURA
David Stern, CEO of Kindbody
Tammy Sun, CEO and Founder of Carrot Fertility
The full speaker list runs to 70+, with representation from the NYSE, ARPA-H, the World Health Organization, CVS Health Ventures, Natural Cycles, Novo Holdings, and more. View the full list here.
The programme
Day one opens with a focus on capital. The opening session, Who’s Backing the Boom: Inside the Capital Surge in Women’s Health, sets the commercial tone immediately, examining where institutional money is going and what unlocks the next wave of investment. Later sessions tackle the growth-stage cliff directly, alternative routes to scale beyond VC, and the regulatory landscape, including a fireside chat with the FDA and a panel on building the business case for reimbursement.
The afternoon moves into the digitisation of the sector: the wearable economy, data gaps and trust, and the role of AI in shaping the next generation of women’s health products.
Day two opens on equity, with Advocacy for Women’s Health in 2026: How Policy Drives (or Derails) Growth, followed by The Economics of Equity: How Inclusion Equals Growth Strategy, a session making the commercial case for addressing underserved populations. The afternoon shifts to commercialisation strategy, M&A dynamics, and the power of partnerships
Intelligence-powered matchmaking
What separates Women’s Health Week from a standard conference is the matchmaking infrastructure behind it. The W. Intelligence system collects 10+ structured data points from every attendee, including company stage, focus areas, strategic priorities and partnership goals, and uses that data to generate curated 1:1 introductions before the event begins. With 30+ meeting tables running all day across both days, the goal is straightforward: everyone leaves with at least one new partnership.
It’s this kind of impact that led Lindus Health to describe Women’s Health Week as “the best ROI on a conference we’ve ever had.”
The pitch sessions
Alongside the main programme, Women’s Health Week USA will host two Pitch Sessions on the mainstage, open to companies across two categories: Medical Devices & Therapeutics, and Consumer & Tech. Fifteen companies will be selected to pitch in front of the full audience of investors, corporates and strategic partners.
Any company treating a condition that affects women exclusively, differently, or disproportionately is eligible to apply. Applications are free and close April 10.
For those looking to attend rather than pitch, early bird registration closes April 17, after which ticket prices increase across all tiers.
This article is part of a partnership with Women’s Health Week.