Policy & regulation

India’s top court rejected a menstrual leave petition for women and female students, saying such a law could mean “no-one will hire women”. The two-judge bench, headed by chief justice Surya Kant, said mandatory leave would make young women think they were “not at par” with their male colleagues and would be “harmful for their [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track status to a new drug combination for BRCA-mutated advanced breast cancer. The designation covers ART6043, developed by Artios, used with the PARP inhibitor Lynparza, also known as olaparib. It applies to adults with germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have [...]

Women spend 25 per cent more of their lives in poor health than men due in part to disproportionately low investment, a new report has revealed. Collectively, women lose around 75 million years of healthy life each year, equivalent to a week of health lost per woman annually, the report found. Women and girls make [...]

Addressing women's health could unlock US$100bn by 2030 in the US alone, a new report has found. The World Economic Forum has published its Women's Health Investment Outlook to highlight undercapitalised opportunities in women's health. A Boston Consulting Group analysis cited in the report estimates that treating four major conditions that disproportionately affect women could [...]

China's birth rate has hit a record low in 2025, deepening a demographic crisis. Births dropped to 5.6 per 1,000 people in 2025, down from 6.4 in 2023, the lowest on record, according to Wind Information data dating to the 1950s. About 7.9 million babies were born last year, sharply fewer than 9.5 million a [...]

Two designer perfumes have been recalled over a banned chemical linked to fertility risk and harm to unborn children. Hello by Lionel Richie and Hot by United Colours of Benetton, both sold by discount chain Savers Health and Beauty, have been recalled in a notice from the Office for Product Safety and Standards. The products [...]

The Magtrace lymphatic tracer has become the latest Endomag device to receive EU Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) certification, marking the final step in securing approval across the full Endomag surgical platform. This announcement follows the approval of the Magseed marker in October 2025, meaning that all technologies across the Sentimag portfolio have now been [...]

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has proposed age-based thresholds for ovarian cancer screening to help identify women at higher risk earlier. Previously, testing has used a blood test for cancer antigen 125 (CA125), a protein marker linked to ovarian cancer, with women showing 35 IU/mL or above referred for checks regardless [...]

The US has approved guidance allowing at-home HPV testing for women aged 30 to 65 at average risk for the first time. The Department of Health and Human Services announced updated cervical cancer screening guidance on Monday, permitting women aged 30 to 65 at average risk to collect a vaginal swab at home and mail [...]

Vancouver forum brings policy, industry and health leaders together to tap Canada's US$37bn femtech opportunity. The 2025 Femtech Canada Forum brought together representatives from policy, academia, industry and global health organisations to address what organisers describe as a US$37bn economic opportunity for Canada's economy through women's health technology. Femtech Canada announced it will join the [...]