International Women's Day

International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action

Andrea_Puletto — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 12:49:54 +0000

International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action

Marie Teil, Special Patient Populations

Andrea_Puletto Fri 07/03/2025 - 13:49

International Women's Day is more than a celebration; it is a global call to #AccelerateAction and to acknowledge strategies, resources and activities that positively impact women's advancement. At ��ֳ�, we embrace this wholeheartedly, particularly when it comes to ensuring that women of childbearing age have equitable access to clinical research and, ultimately, the best possible care.

Historically, women, particularly those of childbearing age, pregnant, or breastfeeding, have been underrepresented in clinical trials. This gap in research has significant implications, limiting understanding of how treatments affect these populations and leaving many women without clear information on the risks and benefits of their medications.i It is imperative that we #AccelerateAction to address these disparities and drive meaningful change in clinical research, ensuring women are adequately represented.

In the past year, we’ve delved deeper into the experiences of women of childbearing age living with chronic diseases, shedding light on critical gaps in their healthcare journey. Through a social listening study analyzing over 1.2 million posts from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA, we identified 2,600 posts from women navigating pregnancy and chronic illness. The results of the analysis highlighted four key areas of unmet need: lack of patient support, inadequate specialist discussions, suboptimal coordination of care pathways and the greater need for empowering these patient populations. We concluded that to bridge these gaps, ongoing collaboration is essential to:

Establish moderated online and in-person support services to reduce misinformation and provide platforms for communication between patients and healthcare professionals
Develop educational resources for patients and healthcare professionals
Create tools to enable discussion between women of childbearing age with chronic diseases and their healthcare professionals.

These partnerships and actions are instrumental in driving forward our shared goals so that all women have access to evidence-based healthcare. Collaboration is key to accelerating action. We are proud to partner with patient communities, scientific communities, regulators and policymakers to promote the inclusion of women in clinical trials. Within our work supporting women living with chronic diseases during their reproductive years, we successfully collaborated with the Epilepsy Foundation, HS Connect, IFPA, MG Holistic Society, Living Well with Epilepsy and Lupus Europe to support the development of a discussion guide to promote open discussions about reproductive health between these women and their healthcare professional. It includes background information and key conversation starters to support these discussions to help everyone involved prepare for the future. To read more, visit: /sites/default/files/2024-12/20598_��ֳ�_WoCBA_Discussion_guide%20B_AW0_0.pdf

Looking to the year ahead, the ICH E21 Guideline for Inclusion of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Individuals in Clinical Trials is expected to be available for public comment later this year. Additionally, we look forward to continued collaboration with the BRIDGE Commission (Better Research, Information and Data Generation for Empowerment) to provide administrative and communications support.

In my role at ��ֳ�, I am personally committed to this cause. I believe that by working together to champion the inclusion of women in clinical trials, we are not only advancing scientific knowledge but also honoring the fundamental principles of health equity.

On this International Women's Day, let us unite in our efforts to create a world where women receive the care and treatment they deserve. Together, we can make a lasting impact on women's health and wellbeing.

Follow me, @MarieTeil, on LinkedIn, and stay connected with ��ֳ�’s social channels for ongoing updates on our progress.

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International Women’s Day 2024: Inspiring Inclusion

Andrea_Puletto — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 13:13:42 +0000

International Women’s Day 2024: Inspiring Inclusion

Marie Teil, Women of Childbearing Age Department

Andrea_Puletto Thu 07/03/2024 - 14:13

On 8 March, International Women’s Day (IWD), ��ֳ� will rally behind the global call to “Inspire Inclusion” – an important message that we proudly support across our organization. When we take a step back to think about what it means to be inclusive – one critical area that is lacking is the inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials. Current research tells us that an underrepresentation of women in clinical trials overall can have a significant negative impact on women’s health.

At ��ֳ�, we are steadfast in our commitment to closing the pregnancy gap and accelerating progress in the care of pregnant and breastfeeding women with chronic diseases. In partnership with clinical teams, we strive to address knowledge gaps, collaborate with and inspire physicians and patients around the world to identify potential educational needs.

I was honored to connect with key external stakeholders this past year on behalf of ��ֳ� at different medical congresses, industry events and panels, including the opportunity to provide feedback on the FDA’s proposed Pregnancy Safety Study Framework workshop.

As advocates for women living with chronic diseases who are navigating life changing moments for themselves and their families, we understand how important it is to resolve the lack of understanding about pregnancy and breastfeeding treatment decisions, ensuring women can make better informed decisions based on facts and inclusivity.

On a personal note, I feel very fortunate to be leading such an important initiative as ��ֳ�’s Global Head of Women of Childbearing Age, and every day I am driven to #InspireInclusion and contribute to meaningful progress in this space. Alongside a devoted team, I am embracing this IWD by advocating for and working towards a future where the inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in clinical trials is the norm. In time, we hope that women can make more informed decisions and feel empowered at all ages and stages of their life.

As I look to the year ahead, I am pleased to share that I will be bringing this important conversation to DIA Global in June. I'm eager to talk about our work towards early data generation for pregnant and lactating women living with chronic diseases.

Also, as co-chair of the global independent commission, BRIDGE (Better Research, Information and Data Generation for Empowerment) – I look forward to continuing to help elevate these important conversations and deliver practical and action-oriented solutions to overcome information gaps that affect women’s health — the first of which will be detailed in a report due in early 2024.
Follow me, @MarieTeil, on LinkedIn as well as ��ֳ�’s social channels for more updates.

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Immunology WoCBA International Women's Day

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#EmbracingEquity in clinical trials for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with chronic diseases

Vanco Vlastimil (��ֳ� S.A.) — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 14:09:34 +0000

#EmbracingEquity in clinical trials for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with chronic diseases

Marie Teil, Women of Childbearing Age Mission

Vanco Vlastimi… Tue 07/03/2023 - 15:09

On March 8, millions will unite to observe International Women’s Day (IWD) with its theme #EmbraceEquity – encouraging us to take strides to address gender disparities and create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world.

A vivid example is the collection of clinical data and research. A recently published paper in the US by researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that women were underrepresented in clinical trials, which can negatively impact women's health. This lack of equity in clinical trials is even more pronounced for pregnant and breastfeeding women. during and after pregnancy. The COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrated this “pregnancy gap” in data and information with only 1.7% of clinical trials including pregnant women.

��ֳ� is committed to closing the pregnancy gap and #EmbracingEquity in the care of pregnant and breastfeeding women with chronic diseases. In partnership with clinical teams, we strive to address knowledge gaps, collaborating with physicians and patients around the world to identify potential educational needs.

And, in 2023, our collective effort involves working with experts – as part of a new global commission – to resolve the lack of understanding about pregnancy and breastfeeding medication decisions, ensuring women can make decisions based on facts.

On this IWD, we are #EmbracingEquity in clinical trials for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with chronic diseases, advocating for a future where there is parity in care and outcomes for all.

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International Women's Day WoCBA Women of Childbearing Age Equity

Comment:

Posted by Jean-baptiste MIQUEL, 8 March 2023

Thanks Marie and the Team - What a real gap and unmet needs!

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International Women's Day

International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action

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International Women’s Day 2024: Inspiring Inclusion

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#EmbracingEquity in clinical trials for pregnant and breastfeeding women living with chronic diseases

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