A lack of data specific to sex and gender has safety implications for women, according to the McKinsey Health Institute. Senior partner Lucy Pérez and coauthors find that since 1980, drugs are 3.5 times more likely to be withdrawn from the global market due to safety risks for women as compared with men. Further, a systematic lack of disease understanding contributes to the women’s health gap in terms of disability-adjusted life years.
Image description:
A bar graph shows the number global drug withdrawals from the market by type of health risk from 1980 to 2023. In that time there were 6 withdrawals because of risks to men’s health, 21 withdrawals because of risks to women’s health, 21 withdrawals because of risks that were not sex- or gender-specific, and 25 withdrawals with insufficient data. Since 1980, drugs were 3.5 times more likely to be removed because of safety risks for women compared with men.
Source: Pharmaprojects (global drug withdrawals from 1980–2023); McKinsey analysis.
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To read the report, see “Closing the women’s health gap: A $1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies,” January 17, 2024.