BioMed X Advances Women’s Health Innovation at Inaugural XFem Labs Pitch & Connect Event – Joint Event with bioRN
- The event marked the launch of BioMed X’s new Women’s Health R&D Accelerator, supported by the Gates Foundation, and featured final pitch presentations on “New Strategies for Female-Controlled Non-Hormonal Contraception.”
Heidelberg, Germany, 17 February 2026 - BioMed X, a leading innovation hub for pharma headquartered in Heidelberg, hosted the first XFem Labs Pitch & Connect event on February 13th in Heidelberg, marking the official launch of XFem Labs, its new Women’s Health R&D Accelerator established with support from the Gates Foundation. The purpose of this initiative is to build a world-class women’s health innovation hub in Heidelberg that advances early-stage research into scalable solutions for women in need around the world, including low- and middle-income countries.
The Pitch & Connect event showcased the final presentations of the first five teams focusing on “New Strategies for Female-Controlled Non-Hormonal Contraception”. The winning team will use the $2 million grant made available to BioMed X by the Gates Foundation to advance their proposal. In the coming months, the researchers will be relocated to the vibrant biomedical research ecosystem in Heidelberg and develop a proof-of-concept for a new generation of contraceptives.
Despite the availability of various contraceptive methods, significant unmet needs remain for non-hormonal, female-controlled alternatives. The diverse approaches presented at the Pitch & Connect event reflected this urgency and underscored the potential for novel biological targets, mechanisms, and delivery modalities that extend beyond current options, with a particular focus on solutions that are scalable, affordable, and feasible for use in low- and middle-income countries.
The event attracted a select community of investors, sponsors, strategic partners, and thought leaders committed to advancing innovation in women’s health R&D. Participants engaged in discussions on the future of women’s health and opportunities for collaboration and co-investment.
“It is so good to see that there’s a whole initiative about the women’s health that is taking the industry, basic research and startup together to work on this important cause. I really appreciate BioMed X and the Gates Foundation for taking this initiative.”
Amrita Jain, Investment Director, DeepbrightVC
“Today is a very important event to address not only Women’s Health issues but going even beyond that. Considering the teams have met 4 days ago and had about 3 days to come up with the whole concept, it was very fascinating to see such well scientifically developed and thought through concepts.”
Markus Dietrich, Senior Investment Associate, Hadean Ventures
“Today has been truly inspiring. Women-controlled, non-hormonal contraception offers meaningful choice, autonomy, and empowerment, addressing a critical unmet need in health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. I am encouraged to see BioMed X and other partners investing in this space, and I am hopeful that the discussions today will help advance at least one of the promising concepts presented toward implementation.”
Nyaradzo Mgodi, University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
“It’s great to be here today and hear all the exiting pitches from these young researchers. This creates a great opportunity for Heidelberg to become a leading scientific hub in Europe for Women’s Health”.
Pabla van Heck, Insight Researcher & Creative Strategist for Inclusive Innovation/ Business & Human Rights/ Social Innovation
This event was a joint initiative of BioMed X and the bioRN Life Science Cluster, based in Heidelberg, one of the most vibrant life science ecosystem in Europe with more than 180 members.
About XFem Labs
XFem Labs is a Women’s Health R&D Accelerator based in Heidelberg, Germany, supported by the Gates Foundation. Its purpose is to establish a world-class women’s health innovation hub that advances early-stage research into scalable solutions for women in need around the world, including low- and middle-income countries.
About BioMed X
BioMed X is a leading innovation hub for pharma. With our global network of research institutes at top universities and incubators within pharmaceutical companies, we bridge the gap between academia and industry. We are pioneers in applying the principles of design thinking and crowdsourcing to drug discovery and development. With our unique model, we identify key challenges across all therapeutic areas, recruit top academic talent, and co-create tailored solutions with our pharma partners. In our stimulating ecosystem, early-career researchers grow into future scientific leaders. They perform exploratory research, deliver industry-grade results, and pave the way to next-generation therapies. At BioMed X, we value curiosity, diversity, and purpose. Our goal is to serve as a vital catalyst for innovation in global health for the benefit of all patients.
