May 31, 2011
Deanne Canieso

Research is underway to expand the pipeline of innovative new drugs for diseases that disproportionately affect women. A report released May 2011 from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) highlights medicines specifically for women that are in clinical trials or awaiting review by the Food and Drug Administration.

More women than men report having a chronic medical condition and do not receive specific recommended preventive care. All the while, the prevalence of obesity among women rose from 25 percent in the 1990s to approximately 35 percent today. Diabetes, a disease strongly associated with obesity and heart disease, is on the rise and is stubbornly positioned as the seventh cause of death among women.

For diabetes, pharmaceutical intervention has been an effective way to treat the disease. The May 2011 PhRMA report highlights over 20 drugs that address Type 1 diabetes specifically. Among the potentially new diabetes treatments in development include an autoimmune diabetes vaccine and a daily insulin skin patch.

In a separate report, PhRMA has found 299 medicines for heart disease and stroke, conditions that are considered co-morbid diseases to diabetes. According to the report, many of the potential medicines use innovative scientific technologies such as human stem cell and gene therapies. Despite heart disease being the number one cause of death for women, only 13 percent of women view it as a health threat. The research promises to continue the momentum of drug discoveries that contributed to a cut in stroke and heart disease deaths by 28 percent between 1997 and 2007.

To access the full report visit: http://www.phrma.org/sites/default/files/1200/medicinesindevelopmentforwomen2011.pdf.