Los Angeles, California: At the 2025 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, former First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Chair of Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network emphasized the urgent need to prioritize women’s health research, calling on businesses and private industry to develop innovative solutions and tailored products for women.
“What is more important than health? You can have all the power in the world. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have your health, you have nothing,” Dr. Biden said during the session titled “Catalyzing the Next Era of Health,” held on May 5th at the Beverly Hilton. The session was moderated by Executive Vice President of Milken Institute Health, Esther Krofah.
Dr. Biden urged companies to take bold action. “Have a little audacity and just come out and say, Hey, we got you, we got you. We’re going to solve this. We’re going to put money in this.”
She pointed out that women were excluded from clinical research studies until 1993, and that it was only in 2016 that the U.S. began conducting research on female animals. “And I thought that was a little shocking, that in this past decade, it took that long that they were doing research on both sexes,” she said.
Dr. Biden explained that the biological differences between men and women have long been overlooked in medical research. For example, while heart disease is the leading cause of death for both sexes, she noted that men typically experience heart attacks due to large artery blockages, whereas women suffer from small vessel disease.
“Well, they didn’t know that there were these differences. So, they hadn’t studied small vessels. So that’s why women don’t feel like this crushing pain when you have a heart attack. We feel it like nausea or different symptoms,” she said.
She reiterated that women’s health must be addressed comprehensively – not limited to reproductive health or menopause. Diseases like osteoporosis, though affecting both sexes, impact women differently and require dedicated study.
Recalling the origins of her involvement in women’s health research, Dr. Biden said it began with a quiet Saturday morning at the White House while she was grading papers. She came across a report stating that menopause-related issues cost businesses over $2 billion annually due to lost productivity. Around the same time, she received a call from California’s First Lady, Maria Shriver, who wanted to discuss the critical need for more research in women’s health.
That conversation, she said, catalyzed federal action.
“I’m an educator. I’m not a doctor. But I knew that there had to be a way to convene people and to do it through the White House,” Dr. Biden said. “So, one of the things we did was we got to work right away. And Joe said, let’s infuse, really, the federal government with money. So, in one year, put in $1 billion to advance women’s research.”
She added that the National Institutes of Health began disaggregating data by sex, and the Department of Defense also invested heavily in research focused on women.
Highlighting progress, Dr. Biden mentioned that conditions like endometriosis, which historically take an average of 10 years to diagnose, are now being more accurately detected through a newly developed blood test. She also noted ongoing research into why women suffer more frequently from migraines than men.
“So I’m really proud of the work that we did, and I hope that work continues, and the research continues, because really, there are so many questions that we need to find answers,” she said.
Reflecting on her participation in the newly-launched Milken initiative, Dr. Biden framed the current moment as a turning point, urging the private sector to seize the opportunity, especially as federal momentum may wane.
“So we need to look at this as a challenge, but also as an opportunity. Mike Milken is known for doing something fast and quick and efficiently, and we intend to set up a digital platform to bring together all this information,” she said.
Related posts:
Secretary Bessent Touts Trump Economic Agenda as “Engineered” for Long-Term U.S. Investment at Milken Global Conference
International Women’s Day 2025: Leading Experts on Maximizing Women’s Health and Rights
The Silent Epidemic: Why South Asians Face a Higher Risk of Heart Disease
Tony Blair Warns Uncontrolled Immigration Fuels Populism, Urges Clear Policies and Modern Progressive Vision
