Menopause, which occurs at the end of a woman’s reproductive years, brings about changes in body composition and heightened health risks, including bone density loss, insulin resistance and an elevated propensity for cardiovascular disease. Notably, women that naturally enter menopause after age 55 have better health outcomes and a longer lifespan than those experiencing earlier menopause. Researchers and industry stakeholders are actively investigating ways to postpone its onset.

Yale University has devised an experimental procedure originally developed to preserve fertility for women undergoing cancer treatments. It involves surgically removing the outermost layer of the ovary, which contains hundreds of thousands of immature eggs, when a woman is in her late 30s. The tissues are cryogenically preserved for reimplantation years later as menopause approaches.

Columbia University is studying how to delay ovarian aging through the administration of low doses of an immunosuppressant drug, thus inhibiting a cellular pathway implicated in the aging process. Gameto, a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing treatment options for women, is conducting animal testing on engineered young ovarian support cells derived from stem cells. Celmatix Therapeutics is working on a drug designed to slow ovarian reserve depletion. Other researchers are advancing senolytic drugs engineered to selectively target and eliminate old, damaged cells.