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Research roundup: the latest developments in women’s health
Femtech World explores the latest research developments in the world of women’s health.
Apple embarks on collaboration to understand if data can improve women’s health
Tech giant Apple is launching the Apple Health Study in collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to further understand how technology can play a role in advancing and improving physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing.
The study will explore relationships between various areas of health, such as mental health’s impact on heart rate, or how sleep can influence exercise.
Apple has said that the study builds on learnings from the Apple Women’s Health Study, the Apple Hearing Study, and the Apple Heart and Movement Study, and aims to understand how data from technology can be used to predict, detect, monitor, and manage changes in participants’ health.
UCL receives significant gift to advance women’s health
UCL has reported that it has received a significant gift that will support women’s health education and research at UCL by helping drive forward advancements in areas such as reproductive health, maternal care and gender disparities in healthcare.
The gift will establish The Professor Seang Lin Tan, Dr Grace Tan and Originelle Fertility distinguished Chair in Women’s Health, a role that will be held by Anna David, Professor in Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine and Director at the Institute for Women’s Health.
“By supporting our work at the Institute, Professor and Dr Tan are supporting the health of future generations,” said Professor David.
“Thanks to them, we can make a tangible difference to the health of women, babies and their families in the UK and internationally. It will ensure that UCL continues to be a world-leader in clinical practice, research, education and training in women’s health.”
Does the brain produce oestrogen to control appetite?
Although a woman’s ovaries produce the most oestrogen, various types of oestrogen are also synthesised throughout different tissues in the body, including the brain’s neurons. New research now indicates that such neuro-oestrogens help suppress appetite.
Knowing that the enzyme aromatase is important for the production of oestrogens, investigators depleted or knocked out the gene encoding aromatase in mice, so that the animals were unable to synthesise oestrogens in a systemic or body-wide manner.
The mice demonstrated increased food intake and body weight compared with their aromatase-expressing counterparts. Restoring aromatase expression specifically in the brain reduced food intake and increased sensitivity to leptin, the “fullness” hormone, confirming that neuro-oestrogens can influence appetite.
To further investigate the role of neuro-oestrogens independently of ovarian oestrogen involvement, the researchers removed the ovaries in female mice. The brain’s hypothalamus (the central hub for appetite signals) in ovariectomised mice showed increased expression of the gene encoding aromatase, and these mice decreased their food intake.
Women have a 60 per cent higher risk of infections after heart surgery
According to new research, one in five older adults gets an infection up to six months after heart surgery – with women far more likely to develop one.
The two studies examined thousands of cases involving Medicare beneficiaries who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting, also known as CABG or heart bypass, or aortic valve replacement.
The findings revealed that women had 60 per cent greater odds of developing postoperative infections, the three most common being urinary tract, pneumonia and sepsis.
The researchers say that the investigations highlight persistent disparities in outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery that will require multidisciplinary efforts to correct.
Research collaboration on prenatal genetic screening to launch in Indonesia
A new collaboration will focus on the extended Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT-Pro) and Copy Number Variation Sequencing (CNVseq) to advance prenatal genetic screening technology in Indonesia.
The collaboration is between BGI Genomics, PT Naleya Genomik Indonesia (NGI), and Rumah Sakit Anak dan Bunda – National Women and Children Health Center (RSAB) Harapan Kita.
The collaboration team say that the research is designed to apply NIPT-Pro, a genetic test based on massively parallel sequencing technology, for detecting chromosomal aneuploidy and Copy Number Variations (CNV) among pregnant women in Indonesia.
In its implementation, high-risk NIPT-Pro results, along with ultrasound findings indicating potential risks, will be further confirmed using CNV sequencing (CNVseq) technology on the amniotic fluid of the respective pregnant women.
Taking vitamin E during pregnancy may decrease peanut allergy in children
Supplementing maternal diet with α-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E, can reduce the development of food allergy and anaphylaxis in newborn mice, shows new research.
The study shows the potential for α-tocopherol in prenatal vitamins during pregnancy and lactation to address this alarming increase and reduce development of food allergy early in life.
The study found that pups born to mice fed a diet supplemented with α-tocopherol during pregnancy and nursing showed reduced development of IgE antibodies to the food allergen and reduced peanut induced anaphylaxis. This sweeping improvement in outcomes was attributed to increased α-tocopherol levels in the pups of mothers taking the supplement, compared to those who were not.
The Scottish government has launched a national review into whether NHS IVF access should be extended to single women.
The review will also consider whether wider access should be offered to couples who have children from previous relationships.
Health secretary Angela Constance said: “Access to NHS IVF treatment should be fair, timely and reflect the way people’s lives and families look today.”
Most single women are not currently eligible for NHS IVF treatment in Scotland.
Campaigners have welcomed the review.
Katie Rollings of Fertility Action said: “It’s an essential and long-awaited decision that will impact a huge number of people who are struggling to grow their families.
She said there is “no evidence” that having two parents rather than one determines whether a child will thrive.
She added: “What matters is whether a child is loved, safe, supported and has stable, positive relationships around them.”
Figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority show Scotland is the only UK nation where NHS-funded IVF cycles outnumber privately funded cycles.
In 2024, more than 6,000 cycles of fertility treatment were carried out among more than 4,000 patients in Scotland. Both figures were slightly lower than the record highs recorded in 2022.
The past 20 years have also seen a rise in the number of same-sex female couples and single women receiving fertility treatment.
In 2024, 625 IVF cycles were carried out for women in same-sex couples in Scotland, with more than one third funded by the NHS.
There were 330 cycles involving single women, of which 50 were NHS-funded.
In England, single women can access IVF through the NHS, although eligibility varies according to the local health trust’s policy.
Current Scottish rules state that couples are eligible if they have been living in a stable relationship for two years and neither partner has been sterilised.
Couples where one partner already has a child can be eligible, but those where both partners have children from previous relationships are not.
Eligibility rules also require a body mass index above 18.5 and below 30, and state that couples must not smoke, drink alcohol or take drugs during treatment. The mother must be under 42.
The Scottish government said the review would also examine consistency of access to fertility preservation, including during cancer treatment, as well as reducing waiting times for donor eggs and sperm.
Same-sex female couples already have access to NHS IVF, but they can face long waits for donor eggs or sperm, as can heterosexual couples who require donor treatment.
The National Fertility Group will lead the review and make “costed, demand-modelled recommendations”, which are due to be published by early summer 2027.
The group will include fertility experts from Scotland’s four NHS-assisted conception units in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.
Prof Sarah Martins Da Silva, an NHS consultant and chair of fertility medicine at Dundee University, said there were questions to be answered in a resource-stretched NHS.
“As a fertility specialist I’m never going to be disappointed if the criteria is widened,” she said.
“But with single people, as an NHS clinician looking at the competing demands we have, I’d ask the question about whether being single is a health condition that needs to be funded.”
Da Silva said NHS waiting lists were full of couples who require donated eggs or sperm because of medical conditions including cancer and could face longer waits.
“It’s slightly a disservice to them,” she said.
“There would need to be a real investment and resource without making everybody wait an extraordinary long time.
“With the current financial environment we work in, if you’re talking about new money, where would that come from?”
She said she would welcome changes that encouraged more people to donate eggs or sperm and questioned whether arguments about children needing two parents were necessarily relevant to the debate.
“On the one hand bringing up a child is quite an expensive process, and if you don’t have that support, it can be very difficult.
“But on the other hand, many people start off as a couple and divorce.”
Da Silva also welcomed plans for the review to consider eligibility for couples who already have children, describing the move as “fantastic”.
The FDA has granted accelerated approval to AstraZeneca drug Etcamah for certain adults with advanced breast cancer carrying an ESR1 mutation.
Etcamah, also known as camizestrant, was approved in combination with a CDK4/6 inhibitor, either abemaciclib, palbociclib or ribociclib.
The treatment is for adults with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer when an estrogen receptor-1 (ESR1) mutation is detected during aromatase inhibitor and CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy using an FDA-authorised test.
ESR1 mutations are acquired resistance mutations that tumours may develop during treatment with aromatase inhibitors, a type of endocrine therapy commonly used as a front-line treatment for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
Fewer than 5 per cent of patients have the mutation when HR-positive metastatic breast cancer is diagnosed, according to the FDA. After disease progression on an aromatase inhibitor, nearly 40 per cent have the mutation.
Acting FDA commissioner Kyle Diamantas said: “Women living with metastatic breast cancer face an uphill battle as their tumors continuously evolve to escape treatment.
“We owe them every weapon in our arsenal.
“Today’s approval delivers a win to these patients by granting them a targeted therapy designed specifically to overcome resistance, giving them more time before their disease progresses.”
The accelerated approval programme allows earlier approval of drugs that treat serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need based on surrogate or intermediate endpoints.
For Etcamah, approval was based on how long patients lived without their disease worsening, measured from when the resistance mutation was first detected in their blood.
The FDA said it has not yet been confirmed whether intervening when the mutation is detected, rather than waiting until disease progression is confirmed, results in a clinically meaningful benefit. Confirmatory studies are therefore required to verify and describe clinical benefit.
Angelo de Claro, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, said: “I commend both the FDA and the sponsor for their commitment to advancing cancer care and securing this accelerated approval.
“This marks the first FDA approval of a cancer therapy guided by the detection of a resistance mutation in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) before imaging tests show that the disease is progressing.
“But additional evidence is needed to confirm clinical benefit.”
Circulating tumour DNA, or ctDNA, consists of small pieces of tumour DNA released into the blood and can allow earlier molecular detection of resistance mutations.
The FDA also authorised the Guardant360 CDx assay as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with breast cancer who have ESR1 mutations for treatment with camizestrant.
Efficacy was assessed in a clinical trial comparing a switch to Etcamah plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor with continued treatment using an aromatase inhibitor plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor.
Estimated median progression-free survival was 16 months in the Etcamah group, compared with 9.2 months in the aromatase inhibitor group.
Etcamah’s prescribing information includes a boxed warning about the risk of irregular heart rhythm when taken with certain other medicines. It also includes warnings about an abnormally slow heart rate and potential harm to an unborn baby.
The FDA convened its Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee for the application on 30 April 2026.
Entrepreneur
Last chance to save on Women’s Health Week and Women’s Sport Summit: Early Bird pricing ends 11 September
Early bird pricing for W Group’s two flagship October summits – Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 and Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026 – closes on 11 September.
Both events take place at Emirates Stadium, London, bringing together founders, investors, corporates, and industry leaders shaping the future of women’s health and sport.
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026
7-8 October | Emirates Stadium, London
This year’s edition will be Women’s Health Week Europe biggest one yet: with 700+ attendees, 80+ speakers, and 20+ sponsors, it will also feature two stages – a Global Stage covering market trends and policy, and a Scale Stage focused on company-level growth and commercialisation. WHW takes place across two days of content, business matchmaking, and dealmaking.
Agenda highlights include:
- Where Capital Flows: Funding Trends in Women’s Health – with Merete Clausen (EIF), Ekaterina Gianelli (Calm/Storm), Henriette Hessen (Verdane), Jemma Day (British Business Bank), Ravit Warsha Dor (Telus Global Ventures), Tim Davis (LSEG)
- Six Feet Under-funded: Surviving the Valley of Death in Women’s Health – with Patric Stenberg (Gesynta Pharma), Valentina Milanova (Daye), Amber Vodegel (28x)
- The Women’s Health Label – Gift or Curse? · Live Debate – with Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira (organon), Marissa Fayer (DeepLook Medical), Christian Lautner (Heal Capital), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Ida Tin (Clue)
- Passport to Scale: Taking Your Women’s Health Business Global – with Vanessa Carpenter (Femtech Across Borders), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Victorine Lançon (Daya Ventures), Dr Mridula Pore (Peppy)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| Startups, Scaleups, Investors, Non-Profits, Government | £599 + VAT | £699 + VAT |
| Corporates, Payors & Providers | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £3,299 + VAT | £3,499 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Health Week Europe | See the full agenda for WHW
Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026
6 October | Emirates Stadium, London
The first-ever Women’s Sport Summit expands W Group’s expertise in connecting key decision-makers to the sports industry.
WSS brings together rights holders, brands, investors, athletes, and media to accelerate commercial growth across the sector.
Agenda highlights include:
- From capital to crowd: the women’s sport cycle at scale – with Omar Shaikh (Arsenal FC), Nicole McWilliams (Google), Kerstin Lutz (Mercury13), Jo Currie (BBC Sport)
- Women’s sport through the investor lens: what gets funded – and why – Hugo Sever (APEX Capital)
- Rethinking ROI: what are we measuring that doesn’t actually matter? – Fi Watherston (Metro Bank), Silvia Keiser (Billie Jean King Cup), Gabriel Akin-Odujobi (Crux Football), Tammy Parlour (WST)
- Beyond the 90 minutes: matchday as a commercial product, not just a fixture – Maggie Murphy (Aston Villa Women FC), Sam Feasey (Diageo/Guinness), Molly Miller (OneFootball), Megan Feringa (The Athletic/The New York Times)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| General Pass | £299 + VAT | £399 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Sport Summit Europe | See the full agenda for WSS
Attending both events?
For group tickets or to attend both summits this October, contact Callum, W Group’s Client Success Lead, at [email protected].
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