Though 2025 has only just begun, scientists and researchers are already concerned that looming funding cuts to the U.S. National Institutes of Health could impact crucial research. At a time when relying on government-funded grants feels unstable, venture capitalists, universities and foundations are continuing to invest in scientific discoveries and early stage companies.
One venture organization, the Catalytic Impact Foundation (CIF), operates differently from the rest. In an ecosystem obsessed with returns on investments, CIF has a simpler goal: to do well by doing good.
An Evergreen Investment System for a Healthier World
Whereas typical venture capital firms invest money into new and upcoming companies with an eye on return for partners and investors, CIF is part of a growing sector of venture philanthropy funds that invest for social good. CIF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and reinvests profits from companies that do well into future investments.
“It’s an evergreen system,” said Richard Lipkin, CIF’s founder and current board director. “If we put $1 into a company and it doesn’t work out, we can write it off like a grant.”
But if the company finds success through an IPO or acquisition, the CIF team takes a small percent of the resulting funds to run the program, and invests the rest in future companies.
“We call it regenerative philanthropy,” Lipkin said.
Through this evergreen system CIF has funded nearly 60 companies to date, primarily in the spaces of children’s health, women’s health, brain health, rare disease, aging and health equity.
Rachel Butler, president and board director at CIF, said the fund often invests in therapeutic areas that are deemed too risky by other investors. In areas like brain health and children’s health, traditional investors might shy away from funding early-stage companies until therapeutics are further along and more of a safe bet.
This phenomenon is known colloquially in the life sciences sector as the “valley of death” — the time between a scientific discovery and adequate funding for commercialization. While this time can spell doom for many new companies, at CIF it’s the sweet spot for investment.
“Many excellent, very promising technologies go by the wayside,” Butler said. “Cures, therapeutics, and new ways to diagnose don’t make it because they just don’t get the funding.”
CIF wants to prove that not only is investing in this phase of companies important for a healthier world, but it’s lucrative, too. In the approximately ten years since CIF was founded, seven of its companies have exited, with two companies reaching a market cap of over $1 billion.
According to the organization’s 2024 annual impact report, this has led to a 44 percent increase in the fund’s portfolio. “The main thing we’re aiming for is impact on patients and people who need help,” Lipkin said, “but it’s also profitable.”
The Investment Case for Women’s Health
Investments in women’s health companies are a top priority for CIF. “There's a tremendous amount of unmet need in women's health,” Butler said, “mostly because it has been underfunded and understudied.”
Butler pointed out that women aren’t just “smaller men” — women react to drugs differently, are more prone to certain diseases, and have some diseases that exclusively impact women. Yet women weren’t included in clinical trials until 1993, so the majority of health data is based on men.
Recently, investors have been more interested in funding women’s health companies. In fact, 2024 was the strongest year on record for women’s health companies. A recent benchmark report from Cure and Deerfield found that investors are particularly interested in women’s health companies that focus on neurology, immunology and oncology.
Unfortunately, there is still a substantial funding gap. Just 2 percent of the $41.2 billion in venture funding in 2023 went to women’s health, according to a report from Deloitte.
CIF has a long history of backing women’s health companies and companies that are founded by women. Instead of 2 percent, roughly 20 percent of their funding has gone to women’s health companies, and half their portfolio companies are run by women, Butler and Lipkin said, noting that only 2.5 percent of venture capital funding goes to women-led companies in the US.
“It’s an important area to raise up, to talk about and to educate people about,” Butler said.
Power of X: New Health Impact Challenge Launched
Last year, Cure and CIF began to discuss how they could collaborate to continue making a difference in the women’s health space. An innovative idea emerged: the Power of X: Women’s Health Impact Challenge.
Early-stage startups in the field of women’s health can apply and be eligible to win an equity investment from CIF of $50,000 - $100,000, to be awarded at Cure’s Power of X: Health of Women Summit this March. In addition to the equity investment, winners will receive legal counsel valued up to $10,000 from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and strategic mentorship and access to Cure’s extensive network of industry leaders and investors.
“Our goal is to bring together many companies that are doing really innovative things,” Butler said. “Doing something like this is a way we can get out there and shout it off the rooftops.”
Lipkin agreed. “It’s elevating the whole idea that investing in women’s health is a good thing to do,” he said.
As for what specific types of companies they are looking for, Butler and Lipkin said that they are looking for companies that address health issues that impact women exclusively, differently or predominantly.
That could include diseases like migraines or autoimmune disorders which affect women at a much higher rate than men, or treatments for ovarian cancer, which only impact women. The main filter, Lipkin said, “is there a legitimate unmet need?”
Other questions they consider, Butler said, include, “What's the improvement over standard of care that this technology would offer?” and “How accessible is it?”
Regardless of which company wins, Butler and Lipkin said that continuing to invest in women’s health is essential. “There's a lot of talk,” when it comes to investing in women’s health, Butler said, “but doing this challenge is a way to take action.”