• by Les Luchter , June 11, 2024

It wasn’t until June 10, 1993 that the U.S. first required women to be included in clinical research studies.

Now, 31 years later, “women are still diagnosed on average four years later than men across hundreds of diseases,” says Evvy, marketer of an at-home vaginal microbiome health test. “They're more likely to die from heart attacks, react poorly to prescription drugs, and have their pain and symptoms dismissed by doctors.” 

To balance the playing field, for the past three years, Evvy has marked each June 10 as the centerpiece of an Equal Research Day campaign.

This time around, the company launched a $59, limited-edition, 240-page coffee table book, “100 Effed Facts About the Gender Health Gap,” available only through the Equal Research Day website.

Evvy is donating all proceeds from book sales to the nonprofit Women's Health Access Matters (WHAM), which works to accelerate research and funding for women’s health.

The company will also donate $1 to WHAM (up to $1,993, a nod to 1993) for every Instagram post tagging @Evvy and #EqualResearchDay through the end of June.

"’100 Effed Facts on the Gender Health Gap’ is more than a book—it's a call to action," Laine Bruzek, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Evvy, said in a statement. “We hope to raise awareness for the systemic and widespread barriers to equal healthcare, and to motivate our community to demand the equal research that women and people with vaginas deserve."

Helping Evyy promote the book are 46 health tech partners, along with social media influencers, Bruzek tells Marketing Daily, adding that since an in-person launch event in New York a few days ago, “we have sold hundreds of copies already, and are near to selling out our first printing.” 

The book, designed with black & white holes on each page to “represent the gaps in our scientific and medical understanding of the female body,” covers 100 facts in 12 categories: autoimmune disease, brain/mental health, cancer, endometriosis, fertility, maternal health, heart health, hormonal health, medical gaslighting, menopause, menstrual/sexual health, and vaginal/urinary health.

That last category includes Evvy’s at-home vaginal microbiome test, which launched in 2021 and tests for over 700 bacteria and fungi via a single swabbing. Conditions covered include bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections and recurrent urinary tract infections. The test is sold only at Evvy.com, for $129 per test or $99 each with a four-test annual membership.

Last year, Evvy expanded into a platform that provides end-to-end clinical care.

Along with test results, Evvy buyers can partake of a free coaching call with a healthcare provider and can also order prescription treatment programs.

The company remains “focused on discovering how biomarkers in the vaginal microbiome can be used to improve women’s outcomes beyond vaginal health such as IVF success, preterm birth, cervical cancer progression, STI acquisition and more,” Bruzek says.