Women's Health Innovations

Unlocking the mysteries of many women’s health concerns

Women's Health

Women all over the world should have the chance to live their best lives. And since good health is the best place to start, Roche is empowering women with the knowledge and tools they need to flourish.

All women should have control over their health, but they don’t always have the same access to healthcare—and access can be essential to saving or losing lives. Roche is therefore leading the way in the revolution for diagnostics that transform healthcare, making its reach more universal but its perspective more individual.

Our promise to women

We get closer every day to unlocking the mysteries of many women’s health concerns, but there have historically been gaps. Under the guise of modesty, female patients weren’t thoroughly examined, nor were women’s illnesses prioritized for study. Clinical trials focused mostly on men. And despite distinct male and female medical needs, even for sicknesses shared by both, gender-specific responses were disregarded when creating treatments and unraveling pathologies.

For these reasons, Roche is committed to innovations in diagnostics that enable women in their health journeys with the information they and their clinicians need to make treatment decisions that are right for them.

Preventive screening

Early detection

Guidance

We talk about taking care of a woman from an early age all the way to a mature age. Roche helps women as they go through life's progressions, because what happens in one phase will affect another.

Kristin Garvin, Senior International Product Manager

Real solutions to real problems

At Roche, we are achieving this goal by turning molecular research into tangible solutions. Our sequencing diagnostics have the power to generate vast amounts of personalized data, which can then be integrated with other patient information to provide a more complete health picture.

Providing physicians with decision support tools using this aggregated information can lead to intervention before symptoms present themselves and illness spreads.

Fertility testing

Because 1 in every 6 couples globally has trouble conceiving,¹ we created a non-invasive blood test that reveals approximately how many eggs remain in a woman’s ovaries. Our anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) fertility test empowers a woman to make decisions based on definitive information.

Prenatal care

For pregnant women, we have diagnostics solutions that can provide peace of mind and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations. For example, the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio of biomarkers is derived from a simple blood test. This ratio can help rule out symptomatic pregnant women who will not develop preeclampsia in the next one week with more than 99% certainty.² We also have a portfolio of prenatal diagnostics for checking in on the baby, including a blood test that can non-invasively define the risk of chromosomal abnormalities. Read more about our NIPT and preeclampsia solutions.

Personalized healthcare

Looking for certain biomarkers in cancer cells can help inform what treatment to choose. Some treatments are effective only for people whose cancer cells have specific characteristics. These treatments are often accompanied by “companion diagnostic tests” that look for information about a tumor to help predict whether it might respond well to the therapy. As new targeted therapies are developed and approved for breast cancer and endometrial cancer, companion diagnostic tests are key to help determine which patients are more or less likely to respond to these treatments.

Screening and cancer prevention

The discovery that human papillomavirus (HPV) causes 99% of all cervical cancers3 revolutionized the approach to prevention strategies. Screening women for the HPV virus can quickly identify who has one of the high-risk types, giving healthcare providers clear information to help guide patient management decisions.

In many patients, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be asymptomatic for a long time. If left undetected and untreated, certain STIs have the potential to cause serious complications in women, such as infertility or risk to pregnancy or newborn babies during childbirth. Screening is critical to catch STIs early. Read more about diagnostic assays for sexually transmitted infections.

Bridge to a healthier future

We believe women everywhere should have access to precise information about their health as early as possible. Roche is committed to transforming healthcare to serve the women who need it and to provide the right diagnostics and decision support solutions so women can take charge of their health at every stage of their lives.

The value of diagnostics shines through in the way it improves the lives of millions of women around the world. Preventive screening, early detection, and guidance for personalized treatments help women thrive and be their best selves.

References

https://www.eshre.eu/-/media/sitecore-files/Press-room/ART-fact-sheet-2020-data-2016.pdf?la=en&hash=AB68A67B4FEA7723F2125B02BCB93FB837139CD4
Zeisler H, Llurba E, Chantraine F, et al. Predictive Value of the sFlt-1:PlGF Ratio in Women with Suspected Preeclampsia. New England Journal of Medicine. 2016;374(1):13-22
Walboomers, J et al. Human Papillomavirus is a Necessary Cause of Invasive Cervical Cancer Worldwide. J of Pathology 1999

Innovations in Women’s Health

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