Menopause Care and Investing: How Portfolia Is Backing the Future of Midlife Women’s Health?

Every day, about 6,000 women in the United States reach menopause. That’s 1.3 million women annually entering a life stage that can last decades, yet it’s still wrapped in stigma and starved of meaningful care. Globally, by 2025, an estimated 1.1 billion women will be postmenopausal; representing one of the largest and most underserved patient populations in healthcare.

The economic impact is significant: untreated menopause symptoms are estimated to cost the U.S. economy $26.6 billion annually in lost productivity and healthcare expenses. Globally, worker productivity losses alone are estimated around $150 billion. Yet despite this massive need, menopause care remains dramatically underfunded and under-supported.

At Portfolia, we see this as both a critical health challenge and one of the most compelling opportunities in women’s health innovation. As the most active investor in women’s health; with 46 companies and 100+ investments in the sector, we stand apart not only in scale, but in approach as well. 

We bring thousands of women investors together in an inclusive investing experience where members participate in pitches, democratizing venture capital while solving problems that matter.

This article explores why menopause care is a pivotal focus area for women’s health innovation and how Portfolia and our community of investors are backing the next generation of menopause solutions.

The Scale of the Menopause Gap: A Universal Experience with Massive Unmet Need

Menopause is not a disease. It is a natural biological transition that every woman with ovaries will experience if she lives long enough. Yet symptoms can be debilitating, and the lack of education, research, and treatment options has left millions of women suffering in silence.

By the numbers:

• 1.3 million women in the U.S. reach menopause annually (6,000 per day)
  
• 1.1 billion women globally will be postmenopausal by 2025
  
• 46.3% of women aged 40–60 experience menopausal symptoms
  
• 80% of women experience symptoms that significantly affect quality of life
  
• 90% of women report symptoms that affect their daily lives and work
  
• Average age of menopause: 51 years (typically between 45 and 55)
  
• Perimenopause typically lasts 4 years on average, but can last up to 14 years
  
• 94% of women received no education about menopause in school
  

For innovators and investors, this points to one of the largest and least-served patient populations in modern healthcare. The scale is clear; the solutions have not yet caught up.

What Menopause Actually Looks Like: For Women and for the Market?

Menopause symptoms are far more diverse and impactful than many people realize. Research analyzing nearly half a million women globally shows wide variation in symptom prevalence, intensity, and impact on daily life.

Commonly reported symptoms include:

• Joint and muscular discomfort: 65.4% (highest prevalence globally)
  
• Hot flashes and night sweats: 70–80% (vasomotor symptoms affecting ~75% of menopausal women)
  
• Insomnia and sleep disturbance: 50% report as most impactful at work
  
• Fatigue: 48.2% experience regularly; 54% say it impacts work more than half the time
  
• Nervousness and anxiety: 46.9%
  
• Poor concentration: 44% report significant impact at work
  
• Poor memory: 40% affected at work
  
• Vaginal dryness: 62–67% prevalence; 93.3% in those with genitourinary syndrome
  
• Depression and mood changes: varies significantly by region
  
• Brain fog and cognitive difficulties: widespread but often dismissed
  

These symptoms don’t just cause discomfort; they fundamentally disrupt women’s lives, relationships, and careers. And they often persist for years: hot flashes last an average of 7–11 years, with 40% of women in their 60s and 10–15% of women in their 70s still experiencing them.

Each of these symptom areas represents a category where better products, services, and care models are urgently needed. That is where menopause innovation comes in.

The Workplace Crisis: How Menopause Impacts Career?

The timing of menopause creates a perfect storm for working women. Perimenopause and menopause typically occur between ages 45–55, coinciding with the peak of many women’s careers. This is when they’re most likely to be in, or moving into, leadership positions.

The Economic Impact

• $26.6 billion: Estimated annual cost to the U.S. economy from lost productivity and healthcare expenses related to menopause
  
• $150 billion: Global cost of worker productivity losses due to menopausal symptoms
  
• $1.8 billion: Annual U.S. cost from missed work days alone
  
• $24.8 billion: Annual direct medical costs for menopausal women aged 45–60
  
• $13 billion: Amount women spend annually treating menopause symptoms
  

Career Impacts

• 49% of women say menopause has impacted their job performance
  
• 65% report that work performance is impacted by symptoms
  
• 42% say symptoms have inhibited their career ambitions
  
• 18% have taken sick leave due to menopause symptoms
  
• 11% reported missing work in the past 12 months
  
• 13% experienced reduced work hours, employment loss, or early retirement
  
• 22% of women aged 40–55 consider retiring early due to symptoms
  
• 18% of women going through menopause are thinking about quitting their jobs
  
• 10% have declined job opportunities due to lack of menopause support
  

The Workplace Support Gap

• 76% of women report having no workplace accommodations for menopause
  
• 84% agree that more menopause support is needed in the workplace
  
• 48% believe women experiencing menopause are seen as less productive or emotionally stable
  
• Women with lower incomes, lower education levels, and those in the private sector experience more negative productivity effects
  

The data reveal a troubling pattern: women are leaving the workforce or limiting their careers precisely when they have the most experience and leadership potential. This creates a “leaky pipeline” to leadership, contributing to the persistent gender gap in senior management; a gap estimated to cost the global economy trillions in lost potential.

For employers, innovators, and investors, this is a signal: workplace-focused menopause solutions; benefits, digital care platforms, education, and support are not “nice to have,” but core to talent retention and performance.

The Menopause Treatment Gap: Where Today’s Care Falls Short

One of the clearest examples of the menopause care gap is hormone therapy.

Hormone Therapy: A Misunderstood Solution

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is widely considered by clinicians to be the most effective treatment for managing many menopausal symptoms, particularly hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, and vaginal dryness. Yet its use has plummeted since 2002, when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study raised concerns about risks.

The dramatic decline:

• 1999: 27% of menopausal women used HRT
  
• 2002: HRT use declined by almost 50% within six months of the WHI study
  
• 2024: Only 14% of UK women are currently taking HRT
  
• Late 1990s: HRT was among the most commonly prescribed treatments in the U.S., with nearly 15 million users
  

Multiple more recent studies suggest a more nuanced picture than early headlines:

• For women under 60 or within 10 years of menopause, many experts conclude that benefits often outweigh risks
  
• A 2024 JAMA study reports that HRT is safe and effective for treating vasomotor symptoms when started earlier in the menopausal transition
  
• Estrogen-only HRT for women 65+ has been associated in some studies with a 19% reduction in mortality
  
• Significant risk reductions have been reported in breast cancer (16%), lung cancer (13%), colorectal cancer (12%), heart failure (5%), dementia (2%), and more, depending on regimen and population
  
• Low-dose transdermal preparations show better safety profiles than older oral formulations
  
• Bioidentical progesterone appears to have fewer side effects than synthetic progestin in many cases
  
• 54% of HRT users say it has given them their life back
  
• 36% report that HRT has made them more productive at work
  

The original Women's Health Initiative study was flawed in critical ways: it studied primarily women 10+ years postmenopausal (average age 63), used only one type of hormone formulation (synthetic hormones no longer preferred), and tested only one delivery method (oral pills). Modern HRT can be tailored to individual needs with various delivery methods (patches, gels, creams, vaginal rings) and dosages.

Yet despite this evidence, misconceptions persist. The stigma around HRT continues to prevent many women from accessing effective treatment, leaving them to suffer unnecessarily.

For innovators and investors, this misalignment between evidence, access, and awareness signals a major opportunity: to build products, platforms, and care models that support better decision-making and more equitable access to evidence-based menopause care.

The Menopause Market Opportunity: A $24 Billion Opportunity by 2030

The massive unmet need in menopause care has created a significant and growing market opportunity.

• The global menopause market was valued at $17.79 billion in 2024
  
• It is projected to reach $24.35 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.42%
  

Market dynamics include:

• Dietary supplements dominate: 94.23% of market revenue in 2024
  
• North America leads, with 37.4% of global market share
  
• The U.S. dominates the North American market with 83.51% share
  
• UK HRT prescriptions totaled 13 million items in 2023/24 (a 22% year-over-year increase)
  
• Women’s health venture capital investment reached $2.6 billion in 2024, including menopause-focused solutions
  

Growth is being driven by increasing awareness of menopause symptoms, demographic shifts (aging populations), growing recognition of treatment benefits, expansion of product offerings, and increased research support for innovative solutions.

Right now, much of the spend goes to over-the-counter and supplement products that do not always address the full range of symptoms or underlying biology. This leaves significant room for evidence-based therapies, digital health platforms, workplace solutions, and holistic care models to emerge and scale.

How Portfolia Is Investing in Menopause and Midlife Women’s Health?

In a venture capital landscape where women’s health has been historically underfunded, Portfolia is leading the way in reshaping what women’s health investing looks like.

• Portfolia’s portfolio includes 46 women’s health companies and over 100 investments in the sector. This is more than five times the next most active VC firm focused on women’s health (which has just eight companies).
  
• Menopause and midlife women’s health are central pillars within Portfolia’s women’s health thesis.
  

What sets Portfolia apart is not just the scale of investment, but the model:

• Thousands of women investors come together to fund the change they want to see.
  
• Members participate in pitches, bring their lived experience and professional expertise into discussions, and help shape which innovations receive capital.
  
• Many investors have personally experienced perimenopause, surgical menopause, or related health challenges, giving them a deep understanding of the problems being solved.
  

When investors deeply understand the challenges, capital flows toward solutions that are not only high-potential growth businesses but also meaningfully improve women’s lives.

Menopause Innovators in Portfolia’s Portfolio: Innovation in Action

Within Portfolia’s broader women’s health portfolio are groundbreaking companies specifically focused on menopause care and related solutions. These companies represent the cutting edge of menopause innovation, addressing everything from symptom management to workplace support to holistic care.

1. Madorra: Non-Hormonal Relief for Menopausal Women

What they do

‍Madorra is developing the first effective, non-hormonal, home-use medical device designed to treat vaginal dryness—one of the most common and least-addressed symptoms of menopause.

How they’re innovating

‍Instead of relying on hormonal therapies, Madorra’s device stimulates natural vaginal lubrication by improving blood flow and tissue health. It provides a meaningful alternative for women who cannot, or prefer not to, use estrogen-based products.

Why it matters

‍More than half of postmenopausal women experience vaginal dryness, yet treatment options are often limited, stigmatized, or inaccessible. Madorra empowers women with a safe, comfortable, clinically backed solution they can use discreetly at home.

Impact

‍By expanding non-hormonal options in a category with massive unmet need, Madorra is helping redefine menopause care—improving quality of life, sexual wellness, and long-term vaginal health for millions of women.

2. Gameto: Reinventing Reproductive Longevity and Ovarian Health

What they do:

Gameto is a biotechnology company modernizing reproductive medicine through cell engineering. While known for its breakthrough IVF technology, Gameto’s platform also targets ovarian aging, a central driver of the hormonal shifts that lead to menopause.

How they’re innovating:

Gameto’s engineered ovarian cell lines are designed to improve egg maturation, hormone regulation, and overall ovarian function. This opens the door to earlier detection, improved fertility outcomes, and better management of the transition into perimenopause.

Why it matters:

Ovarian aging is at the root of numerous women’s health challenges, from infertility to the onset and severity of menopause symptoms. Gameto’s approach addresses biology at the source, not just symptoms.

Impact:

With nine babies already born using Fertilo™ and a platform attracting global attention, Gameto is reshaping the future of reproductive and menopause-related medicine, offering hope for healthier, more supported transitions across a woman's lifespan.

3. Maven Clinic: Comprehensive, Virtual Care for Every Stage of Women’s Health

What they do

‍Maven Clinic is the world’s largest virtual clinic for women and families, offering 24/7 access to specialists across fertility, maternity, postpartum, and menopause.

How they’re innovating

‍Maven’s menopause program connects women to OB/GYNs, menopause specialists, mental health experts, and nutritionists in one seamless digital experience. Personalized care plans help women navigate hot flashes, sleep disruption, anxiety, metabolic changes, and more.

Why it matters

‍Most women enter menopause with little guidance and even less clinical support. Maven fills this care gap with culturally competent, accessible, expert-led virtual care that meets women wherever they are—at home, at work, or on the go.

Impact

‍By normalizing menopause as a supported life stage rather than a problem to be silently endured—Maven is improving patient outcomes, reducing employer healthcare costs, and elevating the standard of care for midlife women globally.

4. Joylux: Empowering Women’s Intimate Wellness from Motherhood Through Menopause

Joylux focuses on helping women navigate menopause with more comfort and confidence through science-backed, at-home intimate wellness tools. Their vFit device combines red-light technology, gentle heat, and sonic vibration to support vaginal tissue health, natural hydration, and pelvic floor strength from home, giving women a non-hormonal option to address dryness, discomfort, and changes in intimacy that often show up during midlife.

Why the Timing Is Now: A Cultural Shift in Menopause Care

The conversation around menopause is finally changing.

Celebrities such as Halle Berry are speaking openly about their experiences. The first-ever White House Conference on Women’s Health Research was held in December 2024, putting menopause squarely on the national agenda. Women are increasingly refusing to suffer in silence.

Signs of progress include:

• New ARPA-H funding commitments focused on women’s health conditions
  
• Expanded coverage for fertility preservation and IVF within federal employee health benefits, signalling broader lifecycle thinking in benefits design
  
• Women under 50 are much more likely to use digital health tools for menopause management than in past decades
  
• Patients increasingly initiate conversations about HRT and menopause treatment with their physicians
  
• 40% of women say funding for women’s health research influences how they vote
  
• More than 60% of women report they are more likely to purchase from brands investing in menopause research
  
• 95% of women believe OB/GYNs should be required to learn about menopause in medical school
  

Yet challenges remain. Only 31% of OB/GYN residencies offer any menopause curriculum. The education gap extends beyond medical training. Most women still enter menopause completely unprepared, in part because 94% received no education about it in school.

For innovators and investors, these cultural and policy shifts act as tailwinds: more women seeking care, more employers and policymakers paying attention, and more openness to solutions that improve midlife health.

From Stigma to Solutions: Menopause as a Core Opportunity in Women’s Health Investing

Menopause represents one of the largest opportunities in women’s health. With 1.1 billion postmenopausal women globally by 2025, a $24 billion market projected by 2030, and growing recognition of the economic and human cost of under-serving this life stage, momentum for change is building.

But this isn't just about market opportunity; it's about justice. Women deserve healthcare solutions that match the scale of their needs. They deserve workplaces that support them through biological transitions. They deserve research funding that reflects the prevalence and impact of their health challenges.

Portfolia's approach represents a new model for healthcare innovation: one where the people funding solutions deeply understand the problems, where thousands of women investors pool their capital and expertise to back founders addressing real needs, and where the inclusive nature of the investing experience ensures diverse perspectives shape which innovations receive support.

With 46 women’s health companies and 100+ investments, Portfolia is building an ecosystem of innovation. From menopause symptom management to workplace solutions to novel therapies, the companies in Portfolia’s portfolio are pioneering the future of menopause care.

Join the Movement: Invest in the Future of Menopause Care

If you’re an investor who cares about both meaningful returns and the realities of women’s lives at midlife, menopause care innovation isn’t a niche; it’s a core part of the future of healthcare.

Connect with our team to explore Portfolia’s women’s health funds and current opportunities to back menopause solutions. We’ll walk you through how our collaborative model works and what the right next step looks like for you.

Together, we’re not just funding companies—we’re fueling the change we want to see in women’s health.