Over time, I’ve heard a lot of remarks echoing the same tune:
“She’s always sick.”
“We both took the same meds, I’m fine now, but she’s not.”
“Someone needs to invent a medicine just for her.”
And the list goes on.

Recently, someone I know said something similar, and it hit me how little awareness there is about a critical fact: until 1993, women were sidelined from clinical trials. That’s the short of it.

Back in the day, medical research centered only on men, assuming whatever worked for them would work for women too. Hormonal complexities and ethical concerns led to women getting left out, ignoring the big differences between our genders.

This led to a massive impact on healthcare. By excluding women from trials, we messed up diagnoses, treatments, and even how meds hit us. For instance, women’s heart disease symptoms are different, resulting in delayed diagnoses and less effective treatments. Even the medicine doses prescribed are often based on studies mostly done on men, which might not be the ideal doses for women.

But there’s a positive shift happening. Regulatory bodies, research, and pharma companies are finally pushing for inclusive research and actively trying to bridge the gender gap in clinical trials.

When I did my initial preclinical studies in mice, focusing on just male cohorts was a common practice to simplify experiments. Now, the landscape has evolved. People understand the necessity of studying gender differences. The female body’s complexity does make experiments and trials intricate, but that’s precisely why their inclusion is crucial.

I hope for increased awareness and not to hear a lot of such remarks in future. And yes, let’s champion inclusive research for a healthier, more informed future!