‘Concerning’ lack of female-only medical trials in UK, say health experts

Health experts are calling for more UK clinical trials to focus on finding new treatments for women, as “concerning” data reveals they are severely under-represented, with 67% more male-only studies than female-only.

Details of thousands of studies were collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the University of Liverpool. The evidence shows the UK is a hub for pioneering research, with one in eight trials testing humans for the first time, and cutting-edge treatments such as gene therapies becoming a new growth area.

But a review of the data by the Guardian found that women were significantly under-represented. Both sexes were included in most trials (90%), but male-only trials (6.1%) were nearly twice as common as female-only studies (3.7%). Pregnant and breastfeeding women were especially under-represented – involved in just 1.1% and 0.6% of trials respectively.

Women’s health experts expressed alarm over the figures, which they said meant women and their doctors were having to make decisions about whether to take a drug in a “vacuum of evidence”. Some areas of research are dominated by men at all levels – funders, researchers, consultants and patients – and as a result there could be a “reluctance” to fund female-only trials, the experts added.

Dr Amy Brenner, an assistant professor in the clinical trials unit at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said: “It is particularly concerning that there are more male-only trials than female-only trials as, while they may be disease-specific, it is certainly not true that there are more male-only than female-only diseases.”

The gender gap had serious implications, Brenner said. “This under-representation means there is a lack of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of many interventions in women.” There was an “urgent need” to correct the disparity in order to improve women’s health outcomes, she added.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 May 2025

Further reading on the hub:

• Medicines, research and female hormones: a dangerous knowledge gap