Women’s Health PAC Launches: Transforming Research and Care

The formation of the bipartisan Women’s Health PAC marks a critical stage in the movement to promote women’s health on the national political stage. Historically, this field was underfunded and neglected, leading to large knowledge gaps and fragmentation of health care. However, the country’s situation is changing for the better with increased government funding, targeted initiatives, and increasing interest from business investors.

Despite this progress, significant challenges persist. PAC’s mission is to ensure women’s health as a national priority, to ensure that there are adequate funds for the development of treatments. This progress, fueled by recent government action and strong corporate involvement, promises to drive significant progress in women’s health research and outcomes.

The ultimate goal is to achieve comprehensive health care that addresses the unique needs of all women while unlocking an annual economic opportunity of $1 trillion.

Women’s Health PAC Fights for Fundraising

A group of women’s health leaders recently launched the first-ever bipartisan Women’s Health PAC, which aims to make women’s health a national political priority. Candace McDonald, Jodi Neuhauser, and Liz Powell formed the team.

Primitive women’s health research is risky but potentially rewarding. Government funding bridges the gap, allowing researchers to explore promising but uncertain avenues with a high chance of success. Investors often look for first-hand information before receiving money, creating a catch-22.

Although women represent more than half of the population, the National Institutes of Health allocated only $4,466 million—10.8% of its budget—to women’s health research. Historically underfunded, women’s health research suffers from knowledge gaps and health care disparities. US government funding must focus on neglected areas, ensuring that research addresses the health needs of all citizens, including disadvantaged and underserved groups.

The majority of financial decision makers are men. In general, they should be more familiar with women’s health problems. “I spend a lot of time explaining things, which is very difficult,” said Elizabeth Garner, OB/GYN and Gynecologic Oncologist. Seventeen years ago, he left medicine and entered the pharmaceutical industry. He is currently chief scientific officer at Ferring Pharmaceuticals. “We need more education!”

Stigma surrounds women’s lives, from periods and periods that only affect women to diseases that commonly affect women, such as autoimmune disease and Alzheimer’s, and diseases such as cardiovascular disease that affect women in a different way than men. Regulations on women’s health discourage open discussion, trivialize these issues and hinder research funding.

Another fact: Joanna Strober, CEO and founder of Midi Health, shows that estrogen is related to the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, osteoporosis and osteoporosis. The company provides real care to women 35 to 65. Because of its status as a generic drug, estrogen provides little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to investigate its potential benefits. may be present for these diseases. Testosterone plays a role in women’s bone health, libido, and brain health. Also, it is a generic drug with a lower profit margin than the patented drug. There is no research investigating how estrogen and testosterone can be used to improve women’s health as they age.

Government grants act as seed money, helping researchers gather valuable data, develop simulations, and demonstrate proof of concept, paving the way for subsequent private and philanthropic investment.

Women are underrepresented at all stages of product development, including R&D, data collection, clinical trials, founding companies, and being VCs. The result is that diseases affecting women receive less federal research funding than those affecting men.

The Women’s Health PAC will ensure that politicians remain focused on women’s health across racial and ethnic lines. It will organize grassroots events, lead media awareness campaigns, provide financial support to bipartisan candidates who support women’s health, raise political and financial influence, and remain focus on women’s health.

Closing the Women’s Health Gap Creates a $1 Trillion Opportunity

Momentum continues to address the disparity in women’s health research. The Biden administration has announced several initiatives to accelerate growth:

• The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Sprint for Women’s Health was announced on February 21, 2024. The initiative commits $100 million to women’s health research and development.
• Twenty new roles and government agency commitments were announced on March 18, 2024. These agencies included the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Science Foundation. Foundation. Importantly, this includes the launch of a new NIH plan that will allocate $200 million in fiscal year 2025 for research into women’s health.
• The effort is a key step toward the $12 billion Women’s Health Transformation Fund, which the President has urged Congress to invest in.

On May 9, 2024, seventeen bipartisan senators and Halle Berry announced the Menopause Care Advancement and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, a $275 million bill to strengthen federal research , physician training and public awareness about menopause.

Attention to the unique health care needs of women and the opportunity to innovate in this area is increasing. Reports demonstrating this potential have strengthened the influence of inclusive health care.

• Investing $300 million in women’s health research could generate an economic benefit of $13 billion—a 43-fold increase. (Women’s Health News is hosted by the RAND Corporation)

• Women around the world spend far more of their lives in poorer living conditions than men. Closing this gap could improve the lives of millions of women and unlock a huge economic opportunity of $1 trillion annually by 2040. (McKinsey)
• There has been a 314% increase in VC investment in women’s health since 2018. Innovation in Women’s Health by 2023 believes that the sector is on the verge of significant growth due to the growing awareness of the unique health needs of women and the opportunity to innovate in this area (PitchBook and SVB). No matter what health sector a company focuses on, Christina K. Isacson, Ph.D., a partner at Lightstone Ventures, a VC firm that invests in medical breakthroughs, asks its founders what how they include gender in pre-medical and clinical work, and product profiles. . The report notes that more than 76% of VC-backed women’s health companies have at least one female co-founder, a much higher percentage than other sectors. Companies founded by women tend to be valued and represent an opportunity for higher profits. The great success made by women’s health companies has demonstrated the investment potential of this sector. Midi Health, a company targeting women ages 35 to 65, has raised $100 million. Lifting the first and second gears was tough, Strober said. The company relied on funding from women’s microfinance. The third round of funding came from larger VCs, but the lead investors were women.
• PitchBook’s review of femtech—defined as a range of health devices and technology-enabled products that cater to the needs of women’s biology and the role of women’s health—reveals the incredible growth of established companies they are women. From 2013 to 2023, funding grew:

1. 5829% to $450 million for companies founded only by women.
2. 2633% to $713.8 million for companies with at least one female founder.
3. 114% to $124.6 million for companies founded by men.

“I encourage male founders to be open-minded to the possibilities presented by gender-based medicine,” Isacson said.

The launch of the bipartisan Women’s Health PAC marks an important moment in the fight to put women’s health at the forefront of the national political conversation. Despite historical underfunding and persistent stigma, the landscape of women’s health research is changing. Increased government funding, focused research efforts, and rising investor enthusiasm suggest that exciting medical advances are just around the corner. Realizing the economic benefits and breaking down barriers to inclusive research paves the way for a future where all women can access health care that addresses their unique needs.