The Missed Vital Sign

The Missed Vital Sign — Execution

Funds United Kingdom women-centered health projects improving vital-sign linked maternal and child outcomes.

The Missed Vital Sign is a $50 million Wellcome Leap program targeting heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), a condition that affects roughly one in four women yet takes an average of five years to receive a diagnosis or effective treatment. The program is structured as a time-bound, outcomes-focused initiative in which Wellcome Leap acts as a program director rather than a passive grant-maker, setting specific technical goals and selecting performer teams to achieve them. The program pursues three parallel thrust areas: improving identification of HMB in clinical and community settings, developing better diagnostic tools, and advancing non-hormonal treatment options.

Thirteen performer institutions and individual researchers have been selected through a competitive solicitation process that is now closed. Eligible applicants included universities, nonprofits, for-profit companies, and research organizations; individuals were not eligible to apply directly. Award amounts are not disclosed per performer, but the total program pool is $50 million distributed across all thirteen selected teams. The program operates through cooperative agreements under Wellcome Leap governance, with performers accountable to milestones defined in the original solicitation.

Because the solicitation is closed and performers are in active execution, no new applications are being accepted at this time. Organizations seeking future Wellcome Leap funding in women's health should monitor wellcomeleap.org for announcements of successor programs. Teams positioned to win future Leap solicitations typically combine multi-disciplinary expertise — clinical medicine, engineering, and data science — with credible plans to deliver measurable, time-bound results rather than incremental research advances. Contact for the program is themissedvitalsign@wellcomeleap.org.