Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has launched a $100 million initiative to address the severe underfunding of women's health research, her firm, the Pivotal Ventures, announced on Sept. 10.
$100 Million Push Into Women's Health
French Gates said Pivotal will invest $50 million in a women’s health fund, alongside the non-profit Wellcome Leap, according to Reuters. The partnership brings the total commitment to $100 million. The initiative aims to accelerate development in women’s health research, focusing on conditions such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, and mental health, according to a joint press release from Wellcome Leap and Pivotal.
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"We have chronically underfunded these areas," French Gates told Reuters, adding that women's health had always been treated as a side issue.
Closing a Vast Research Gap
Only 1% of pharmaceutical research funding in 2024 went toward women’s health outside of cancer, while just 7% of pharma R&D focuses on conditions that exclusively affect women, according to the World Economic Forum.
The announcement follows a $2.5 billion pledge in August from the Gates Foundation to support women's health through 2030. French Gates told Reuters that she welcomed the move and hopes the efforts align with other partners.
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Women Bear the Burden of Misdiagnosis
"We start from a truth that should trouble us all: Women experience health issues differently, disproportionately, and uniquely," Wellcome Leap CEO Regina Dugan said in Pivotal's announcement. She noted that women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health despite living longer, face higher risks of misdiagnosis in cardiovascular disease, account for 80% of autoimmune patients, and make up two-thirds of Alzheimer's patients.
"For too long, women have been told to endure what should be treatable, to normalize pain and disability that could be prevented, to accept conditions as "mysteries" rather than problems worth solving," Dugan said.
Next Steps
Wellcome Leap, which has invested $150 million across three women's health programs since 2020, said in the statement that the partnership will select two major projects by 2026 and aims to deliver results within three to five years.
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