Claire Williams
Women’s Health Initiative Lead, NWEH
Clinical trial technology provider discusses female underrepresentation in clinical trials, and how they’re addressing it through targeted surveys and the development of a national women’s research registry.
Medicines have historically been developed following testing in men. Hence, they were found to be suboptimal or even unsafe for women, who are nearly twice as likely to experience adverse drug reactions.1
Invisible scandal in modern medicine
For Claire Williams, Women’s Health Initiative Lead, NWEH, this disconnect represents an ‘invisible scandal’ in modern medicine.
“Women are underrepresented in health research,” explains Williams. “Only 5-14% of trials analyse women’s outcomes separately. Hence, we don’t truly know if medicines are safe and effective for women whose physiology is more complex, with differences in hormonal cycles, body fat composition and blood plasma levels affecting how women respond to medicines.”
Concerns surrounding female participation in clinical trials may have stemmed from the potential risk to foetal health, combined with practical barriers from being the primary caregiver. Also included are complex variables that could complicate trial design and methodology, including menstrual cycles and menopause. And while female participation has increased, gaps exist in how research is being conducted.
“This gap in evidence has real-world consequences,” implores Williams. “There’s a lot of talk about inclusivity and diversity in research, but we need to see actionable steps to improve women’s health.”
Everyone deserves to be heard, especially when it comes to health
Shaping the future for women’s health
NWEH, a clinical trial technology provider with two proprietary platforms, FARSITE and ConneXon, focuses on female-focused research and innovation.
“Everyone deserves to be heard, especially when it comes to health,” explains Williams. “That’s why we’re launching our Women’s Health Initiative, a national campaign to gather real stories, lived experiences and insights from women across the country.”
The initiative aims to raise awareness, gather critical insights through its Women’s Health Survey and develop a National Women’s Research Registry, creating a secure, consent-based platform allowing researchers to access female health data in a governed way and champion female participation in clinical trials.
“Success won’t only look like more female-focused research, but also a clear recognition from regulatory bodies of women-specific trial outcomes and sex-disaggregated data.”
By sharing your voice, you can help shape research that truly understands the health experiences of women, for better care, representation, and outcomes. Help shape future research: https://www.nweh.co.uk/womens-health/.
[1] Zucker, I. & Prendergast B. (2020). Sex differences in pharmacokinetics predict adverse drug reactions in women. Biology of sex.
