#8: The U.S. is (Finally) Investing in Women’s Health
Breaking down the new White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
A year after Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) introduced a resolution to close gaps in sex-based biomedical research, the White House announced a first-ever Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
First Lady Jill Biden and Director of Yale University’s Women’s Health Research, Dr. Carolyn Mazure, will spearhead the initiative by:
1) Coordinating agencies across the federal government
Agencies include the HHS, Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Office of Science and Technology Policy.
2) Delivering recommendations to advance women’s health research
Experts involved will have 45 days to recommend actions that the Biden administration can take to improve research efforts and maximize investments.
3) Creating a targeted, high-impact approach
Funding will be allocated based on “high-priority” areas within women’s health determined by initiative stakeholders.
4) Exploring public-private partnerships
The administration will engage academic institutions, the private sector, and philanthropic communities.
Women have been understudied and underrepresented since the beginning of modern medicine. It wasn’t until 1993, with the NIH Revitalization Act, that women were required to be included in clinical trials. As a result, they are frequently at odds with our current medical system, facing issues in diagnoses and care.
Conditions that only affect women, like ovarian cancer and endometriosis, receive inadequate funding. Out of the $48b National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, just 10.8% is spent on women’s health right now and only $5b is expected to be spent in 2024. There is also less than $20m and $30m in research funding allocated toward endometriosis and fibroid tumors, respectively.
Beyond sex-specific issues, chronic conditions like heart disease and multiple sclerosis disproportionately affect women. They are twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety and make up two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients.
A recent analysis shows that conditions primarily affecting women attract less funding compared to the burden they exert. Chronic fatigue syndrome research, for example, has a burden-to-funding ratio of 0.04. In contrast, HIV/AIDS—which disproportionately affects men—has a ratio of 15.6.
With so little funding, it’s unclear how to treat and manage conditions specific to women as well as diseases that affect them more than men. The current system has failed women, as they spend 38% more on healthcare during their lifetime, yet suffer worse health outcomes.
“The bottom line is that we can’t treat or prevent them from becoming sick if we have not invested in funding the necessary research.”
~ Maria Shriver, former First Lady of California
In 2022, the Women’s Health Access Matters organization commissioned the RAND Corporation to study the impact of doubling NIH investments in Alzheimer’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and coronary artery disease for women. The report models the health outcomes and economic impacts of increased research funding. Metrics include disease burden, life expectancy, productivity, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and cost outcomes.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
QALY: 16,000 additional full life-year equivalents
Decrease in Disease Burden: 5,500 fewer life years with AD
Societal Cost Savings: $932m
Return on Investment (ROI): 224%
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
QALY: 48,000 additional full life-year equivalents
Decrease in Disease Burden: 40,000 fewer life years with CAD
Societal Cost Savings: $1.9b
Return on Investment (ROI): 9,500%
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
QALY: 223,000 additional full life-year equivalents
Decrease in Disease Burden: 61,600 fewer life years with RA
Societal Cost Savings: $10.5b
Return on Investment (ROI): 174,000%
Investing $350m in women’s health will generate $14b for the U.S. economy over the next 13 to 25 years, indicating a tremendous opportunity for public and private stakeholders.
As Jill Biden seeks guidance and involvement from the private sector, women’s health-focused VC firms are poised to answer the call:
Atlanta-based SteelSky Ventures manages $73 AUM, investing in consumer and digital solutions for women’s health
FemHealth Ventures invests in companies improving conditions that appear Only in women, Mostly in women, and Differently in women.
Coyote Ventures focuses on innovative wellness and diagnostic products for women.
Investors must continue to invest in women’s health solutions, specifically ones addressing the glaring U.S. maternal mortality crisis. We have the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country in the world, and Black women are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
“Every investor should be opening their eyes to solutions in this space given that governments and states across the nation are actively trying to find ways to solve it.”
~ Jess Schram, Director of Investments and Incubations at Remedy Product Studio
Between the new White House initiative and Dr. Monica Berganollie’s confirmation as the second-ever woman to become Director of the NIH, women’s health is finally being recognized on the national stage. The next few years will reveal if funding more research and innovation can transform our current healthcare system into one that better serves women.
This week’s health roundup:
Fresh produce access boosts health outcomes among diabetes patients and those on Medicaid in recent studies, Stat
NYC launches new free tele-mental health service for NYC teens, FOX 5 New York
WHO makes loneliness a global health priority with new Commission on Social Connection, CNN
The Cost of Not Getting Care: Income Disparities in the Affordability of Health Services Across High-Income Countries, The Commonwealth Fund
Will Ozempic Craze Hit Fitness Stocks? Here’s What Analysts Predict., Forbes
Impressive stats!
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