Author Affiliation: IQVIA, The Point, 37 North Wharf Road, London W2 1AF

Executive Summary: Key Trends Shaping the Women's Health Market

The UK women's health landscape is evolving rapidly. National policy focus, rising public awareness of menopause, improved access to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and updated clinical guidance are increasing attention on menopause care, prevention, healthy ageing and long-term outcomes.^[1,4,6]

Four trends are reshaping the market. IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Data (LPD)^[9] shows growth in GP-recorded menopause events and HRT prescribing over the five years to March 2026. Within the population of patients with a recorded menopause event, patients with a prescription for an HRT-related treatment now outnumber those with no recorded HRT prescriptions, indicating a shift in how menopause is recognised and managed in routine primary care.

Treatment patterns are also changing. IQVIA Prescription Based Services (PBS) data^[14] shows the HRT market has expanded in both volume and value, with growth concentrated in oestrogen-only therapies. IQVIA LPD^[9] also shows a clear transition towards transdermal formulations, particularly oestrogen gels and patches, alongside more flexible treatment regimens. Together, these shifts are consistent with a move towards more tailored and personalised menopause management.

The demographic profile of menopause care is changing too. IQVIA LPD^[9] shows that the population of women under 50 with a recorded menopause clinical event has more than doubled over five years, suggesting menopause is being recognised and managed earlier in the patient journey.

Finally, menopause is increasingly being viewed within the broader context of healthy ageing. Osteoporosis is an important long-term consideration following menopause, linking symptom management with bone health preservation and preventative care.^[15,17] Supplement use has also become increasingly mainstream among UK women, adding a consumer-led dimension that is often not visible in traditional healthcare datasets.^[21,22]

Together, these trends point to a more proactive, personalised and prevention-focused women's health market. Building on IQVIA's 2023 review of the future of menopause care,^[25] this article examines how the women's health market has continued to evolve, with menopause increasingly recognised as part of a broader healthy ageing journey that connects HRT use, osteoporosis prevention and consumer-led health behaviours. These developments are creating new opportunities to better understand patient journeys, treatment pathways and market dynamics.

Women's Health is Moving Up the Healthcare Agenda

Women's health is evolving into a strategic priority for healthcare systems, policymakers and industry as set out in the Renewed Women's Health Strategy for England published in April 2026[1]. Menopause affects approximately 13 million women in the UK, with symptoms that can significantly impact quality of life, productivity and wellbeing^[2].

Over the last few years, public awareness of menopause has increased substantially. Celebrity advocacy, media coverage^[3], public debate, and national initiatives such as the Women's Health Strategy have helped normalise conversations around menopause and encouraged more women to seek support and treatment^[4].

Clinical confidence in HRT has also improved following a wider re-evaluation of the evidence that shaped practice after the Women’s Health Initiative hormone therapy trials. For more than 20 years, concerns arising from the original interpretation of these findings contributed to a substantial reduction in HRT use, with many women advised to discontinue or avoid treatment. More recent analyses have helped clarify that risks and benefits vary by age, timing of initiation, formulation and individual patient profile, supporting a more balanced and personalised approach to prescribing.^[26] Updated evidence and clinical guidance now reinforce the role of HRT as the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms in appropriately selected patients^[5]. NICE guidance continues to recommend HRT as first-line treatment for vasomotor symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats^[6]. The result is a fundamental shift in how menopause is viewed, not only as a quality-of-life issue but also as a long-term health consideration with implications for cardiovascular health, cognitive wellbeing and bone health^[6,7,15].

HRT Demand is Accelerating Across the UK

The growing focus on menopause is translating directly into increased treatment uptake. NHS HRT prescribing has increased more than fourfold since 2015, reflecting rising awareness, greater acceptance of treatment and improved access pathways^[8].

IQVIA LPD^[9] shows that GP-recorded menopause events and HRT prescribing have increased significantly over the five years to March 2026. The total patient population with a recorded menopause event grew by 64%, from 1.63 million to 2.68 million patients. Within this recorded-menopause population, patients prescribed HRT treatment increased by 161%, from 585,000 to 1.53 million, and now outnumber those with no recorded HRT prescription. Across all patients, regardless of whether they have a recorded menopause event, recorded HRT prescriptions issued doubled from 1.03 million to 2.09 million patients. Women aged 40-49 represent the fastest-growing segment prescribed HRT treatment, indicating a trend towards earlier diagnosis and treatment of menopausal symptoms.

Several factors have contributed to this growth. The introduction of the HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC)^[10] has reduced treatment costs for patients, while increased GP engagement and the expansion of menopause services have improved access through primary care. Greater availability of patches, gels and sprays has also increased treatment choice and flexibility^[11].

Policy support has further accelerated uptake. The 2022 Women's Health Strategy^[12] and its 2026 renewal^[1] have established menopause care as a key national healthcare priority, with continued policy focus on improving awareness, access and support. Menopause is increasingly embedded within routine healthcare interactions and clinical management pathways. NICE NG23[6] and British Menopause Society guidance^[5] continue to reinforce evidence-based use of HRT and promote greater consistency of menopause care across the NHS.

Despite this progress, a substantial treatment gap remains. Although HRT prescribing has increased markedly in recent years, population-level evidence suggests that only a minority of women of menopausal age receive sustained HRT prescriptions, with prescribing varying by ethnicity, deprivation and region, indicating significant unmet need and inequity in access across the UK^[13]. IQVIA LPD^[9] prescribing data indicate that five years ago the majority of women with a menopause event had no recorded menopause-related prescriptions. While prescribing records do not confirm that treatment was taken, they show a steady increase over time, with prescribed patients now representing a growing proportion of the menopause population.

Treatment Patterns Are Evolving

Growth in HRT is not simply a story of more patients. The HRT market is undergoing both rapid expansion and structural change, with treatment preferences evolving alongside increasing uptake. Recent launches of non-hormonal treatments for vasomotor symptoms also signal a broadening treatment landscape beyond HRT.

IQVIA LPD^[9] shows that oestrogen-only therapies account for the majority of HRT prescribing, with approximately 77% of patients prescribed HRT treatments being issued with an oestrogen-only prescription, increasing by more than 130% over the last five years. Over the same period, the number of patients prescribed progestogen therapy has risen approximately 286%, suggesting growing use of separate oestrogen and progestogen regimens. Patients prescribed testosterone represent a relatively small population but continue to grow. Patients prescribed combined HRT products have experienced comparatively modest growth.

A clear shift in formulation preference is also emerging. IQVIA LPD^[9] shows patient numbers associated with transdermal HRT therapies have increased substantially: women prescribed oestrogen gels grew by 377% and those prescribed combined patches by 311% over the five years to March 2026. Transdermal products accounted for 76% of patients prescribed total HRT in the year to March 2026, compared with 37% in the year to April 2021.

IQVIA PBS^[14] data reinforce these trends. Retail market volume increased approximately 2.4-fold, while market value grew 2.8-fold over the five years to March 2026. Oestrogen-only therapies contributed almost 90% of incremental volume growth and have become the largest HRT value segment, whereas combined HRT products showed more modest expansion.

These changing treatment patterns are consistent with a more personalised approach to menopause management, with greater use of tailored regimens and transdermal options supported by current clinical guidance.^[5,6] For life sciences organisations, this creates opportunities to better understand treatment initiation, switching behaviour, persistence, adherence and adoption across different formulations and patient populations.

Menopause and Osteoporosis Are Part of the Same Patient Journey

Menopause is increasingly being recognised as an important entry point into a broader women’s healthy ageing pathway that includes osteoporosis risk management and fracture prevention. Declining oestrogen levels contribute both to menopausal symptoms and accelerated bone loss, making the menopause transition a critical opportunity to address long-term bone health and fracture risk. Clinical guidelines recognise menopause-related oestrogen deficiency as a major factor in the development of osteoporosis and associated fractures.^[15]

Growing HRT adoption is occurring alongside increasing recognition of bone health risks. In England, national figures report more than 2.8 million women received HRT during 2024/25, with 14.7 million HRT items prescribed, reflecting continued growth in menopause diagnosis, treatment and awareness.^[16] At the same time, osteoporosis remains a significant public health challenge, with around half of women aged over 50 expected to break a bone due to osteoporosis during their lifetime.^[17] Together, these trends highlight the growing importance of viewing menopause care not only as symptom management, but also as an opportunity to support long-term healthy ageing and bone health. Evidence from the Women's Health Initiative hormone therapy trials indicates that menopausal hormone therapy can reduce fracture risk in postmenopausal women, supporting the role of HRT as one component of long-term bone health management where clinically appropriate.^[18] NICE guidance also recognises the role of HRT in reducing fracture risk while treatment continues,^[19] and UK osteoporosis guidance reinforces the importance of fracture-risk assessment and preventative management in postmenopausal women and adults at risk of fragility fracture.^[20]

IQVIA LPD^[9] identifies approximately 3.6 million patients prescribed an osteoporosis-related treatment during the 12 months to March 2026. Within this population, vitamin D therapies and RANKL inhibitors continue to show growth, while traditional calcium-based therapies are declining, reflecting evolving clinical practice and treatment approaches.

The overall picture suggests that many women entering menopause today represent the osteoporosis population of tomorrow. Understanding this progression has important implications for prevention, earlier risk identification and long-term health outcomes.

Rather than representing separate therapeutic areas, menopause and osteoporosis can be viewed as successive stages within a broader healthy ageing journey. The ability to identify at-risk women earlier, optimise treatment pathways and support preventative care strategies will become increasingly important as populations age.

Beyond Prescription Medicines: The Rise of Consumer-Led Prevention

Another important trend is emerging outside traditional healthcare settings. Supplement use is now a common health behaviour in the UK, although estimates vary depending on how usage is defined, with recent sources suggesting that a substantial proportion of adults report using supplements.^[21,22] Women tend to report higher supplement use than men, with consumer health categories such as general wellbeing, beauty, skin health and healthy ageing often overlapping with broader prevention behaviours.^[23]

These behaviours are often not visible in GP records or NHS prescribing datasets. IQVIA Consumer Health therefore provides a complementary perspective by tracking retail and e-commerce sales across over-the-counter (OTC) categories, including Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS). This can help identify category growth, channel dynamics and consumer behaviours that sit alongside, but outside, prescribed treatment pathways.^[24]

The same visibility gap can apply to privately accessed or self-pay obesity medicines, including digitally delivered weight management programmes, where prescribing and outcomes may sit outside routine NHS data flows. The DiCE REALM study, commissioned by nine UK private digital health providers from the DiCE Network and conducted in collaboration with IQVIA, was designed to address this evidence gap by evaluating real-world outcomes from medication-supported obesity management programmes among self-pay patients.^[27] Emerging evidence suggests that women represent approximately 76% of users of privately accessed obesity medicines ^[28], highlighting the importance of understanding how these treatments fit within broader women's health and prevention pathways.

Many consumers appear to be taking a more active role in preventative health, combining prescribed treatments with vitamins, bone health supplements, lifestyle changes and digital health information. For manufacturers, this creates both an evidence gap and a strategic opportunity: to understand how consumer-led behaviours interact with treatment choices, symptom management and longer-term healthy ageing needs across pharmaceutical and consumer health markets.

Strategic Questions for Life Sciences Organisations

As the women's health market continues to evolve, several important strategic questions emerge.

Which patient populations will drive future HRT growth, and how large is the remaining untreated opportunity? How early are women entering the menopause treatment pathway, and how are they moving between different formulations and therapies?

As healthcare systems place greater emphasis on prevention, organisations must also consider how menopause pathways can be used to identify future osteoporosis risk and where opportunities exist for earlier intervention. This should also include adjacent self-pay health behaviours, such as privately accessed obesity medicines, where weight loss, nutritional intake and preservation of muscle and bone mass may have implications for osteoporosis prevention, frailty risk and longer-term healthy ageing.^[15,20,29]

In parallel, understanding wider consumer health behaviour is becoming increasingly important. How do supplement use, self-care routines and digital health behaviours influence treatment decisions and outcomes? Which preventative health behaviours remain invisible within traditional healthcare data sources?

Finally, the impact of NHS policy changes, service redesign and evolving clinical guidance will continue to shape future market opportunities and access dynamics.

How IQVIA Supports Women’s Health Market Intelligence

IQVIA's integrated market intelligence offerings provide a comprehensive view of women's health across the UK. By combining prescription, patient, provider, policy and supply chain data, IQVIA can help organisations understand market dynamics, identify opportunities and generate actionable insights.

Key data assets include PBS and LPD for market sizing and demand tracking, IQVIA’s Supply Chain Manager (SCM) for supply chain visibility, OneKey and Synmetrics for healthcare professional targeting and segmentation, Healthcare Discovery Platform and UK Healthcare Insights for policy intelligence, and IQVIA Medical Research Data (IMRD), LPD and Medical Data Index (MDI) for real-world evidence, patient journey analysis and disease profiling. Additionally, IQVIA Consumer Health provides retail and e-commerce market intelligence across OTC categories, including Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements (VMS), providing visibility into self-care, prevention and wellness activities that are not routinely captured within clinical records.

Together, these solutions support market forecasting, treatment adoption monitoring, competitive landscape assessment, patient journey analysis, omnichannel engagement planning and real-world evidence generation.

Conclusion

The UK women's health market is entering a period of sustained transformation. Rising awareness of menopause, accelerating HRT uptake, changing treatment preferences, greater focus on bone health and increasing consumer investment in preventative health solutions are reshaping the landscape. Menopause is becoming an important entry point into a broader healthy ageing pathway, connecting symptom management, osteoporosis prevention, prescribed therapies and consumer-led wellness behaviours.

For life sciences organisations, the opportunity extends beyond menopause therapies alone. Success will increasingly depend on understanding connected patient journeys spanning menopause, osteoporosis prevention, healthy ageing and consumer health behaviours. Organisations that integrate clinical and real-world evidence, prescribing and consumer insights will be better positioned to identify unmet need earlier, support preventative intervention and develop more patient-centred strategies for women as they move across healthcare, self-care and long-term prevention.

References

[1] Department of Health and Social Care. Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England. London: GOV.UK; 2026.

[2] All-Party Parliamentary Group on Menopause. APPG on Menopause Inquiry: Concluding Report. London: APPG on Menopause; 2022.

[3] Orgad S, Rottenberg C. The menopause moment: the rising visibility of ‘the change’ in UK news coverage. Eur J Cult Stud. 2023.

[4] Department of Health and Social Care. Major NHS update brings menopause into routine health checks. London: GOV.UK.

[5] British Menopause Society. BMS HRT Guide. London: British Menopause Society; 2026.

[6] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Menopause: identification and management. NICE guideline NG23. London: NICE.

[7] British Menopause Society. Menopause: identification and management – from NICE guideline to practice. London: British Menopause Society; 2025.

[8] NHS Business Services Authority. Hormone Replacement Therapy: England, April 2015 to June 2025. Newcastle upon Tyne: NHSBSA.

[9] IQVIA. Longitudinal Patient Data (LPD). London: IQVIA.

[10] Department of Health and Social Care. Introducing the HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate: equality impact assessment. London: GOV.UK.

[11] North East London Integrated Care Board. Menopause management guideline. London: North East London ICB.

[12] Department of Health and Social Care. Women’s Health Strategy for England. London: GOV.UK; 2022.

[13] Inequalities in hormone replacement therapy prescribing in UK primary care. BMJ Med. 2025;4:e001349.

[14] IQVIA. Prescription Based Services (PBS). London: IQVIA.

[15] British Menopause Society. Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. London: British Menopause Society.

[16] NHS Business Services Authority. New report highlights 14.7 million hormone replacement therapy items prescribed to 2.8 million patients in England. Newcastle upon Tyne: NHSBSA.

[17] Royal Osteoporosis Society. Media toolkit: key facts and statistics. Bath: Royal Osteoporosis Society.

[18] Lorentzon M, Cauley JA, Song J, et al. Menopausal hormone therapy reduces the risk of fracture regardless of falls risk or baseline FRAX probability: results from the Women’s Health Initiative hormone therapy trials. Menopause. 2022.

[19] National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Hormone replacement therapy: prescribing information. London: NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries.

[20] National Osteoporosis Guideline Group. Clinical guideline for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Sheffield: NOGG; 2024.

[21] Which?. Are you supplementing safely?. London: Which?.

[22] YouGov. Collagen, ashwagandha, mushroom powders: what’s driving supplement use in the UK?. London: YouGov.

[23] Worldmetrics. UK supplements industry statistics: 2026 market report. Worldmetrics; 2026.

[24] IQVIA. Consumer Health: market measurement and consumer health solutions. Durham (NC): IQVIA.

[25] IQVIA. Time for a change on “the change”: the future of menopause care. IQVIA; 2023.

[26] Manson JE. New Analysis of Women's Health Initiative Data Aims to "Clear the Air" Over Menopausal Hormone Therapy. JAMA Network. 2024

[27] DiCE REALM. Landmark DiCE REALM Study, Delivering World's Largest Real-World Evidence on Digital Obesity Care. https://digitalclinicalexcellence.com/press-releases

[28] Prof Stuart Flint, PhD, University of Leeds, DiCE REALM: Real-World Evidence for Analysis Lifestyle and Medication-based Weight Management through Digital Providers. Presented at the International Congress on Obesity; 2026.

[29] Henney AE, Wilding JPH, Alam U, Cuthbertson DJ. Obesity pharmacotherapy in older adults: a narrative review of evidence. International Journal of Obesity. 2025;49:369–380. doi:10.1038/s41366-024-01529-z.