PCOS.
PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It involves elevated androgens, irregular or absent ovulation, and polycystic ovaries. Presentations range from lean women with menstrual irregularity to those with severe insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. It is the leading cause of anovulatory infertility worldwide.
PREVALENCE
6 to 12% of reproductive-age women
CLINICAL IMPACT
Leading cause of anovulatory infertility
APPROVED THERAPY
None FDA-approved for PCOS
| Total signals indexed | 21 |
| Strong-tier | 3 |
| Moderate-tier | 4 |
| Emerging-tier | 8 |
| Exploratory-tier | 6 |
FIGURE A · TIER DISTRIBUTION
Signals per confidence tier
The largest single group is the Emerging tier (8); 3 of the 21 indexed signals reach Strong, the tier reserved for the most robust, replicated evidence.
FIGURE B · ARM COMPOSITION
Where each signal originates
Pathway contributes the most signals (13); Community the fewest (2). Each evidence arm applies its own inclusion threshold.
BIOLOGY
Biological context
Elevated LH drives excess androgen production in the ovaries, impairing ovulation. Insulin resistance, present in up to 70% of patients, amplifies androgen production and worsens the hormonal loop. Chronic low-grade inflammation and gut microbiome changes are increasingly recognized contributors.
RESEARCH & FUNDING
Research landscape
Costs the US healthcare system over 4 billion dollars annually. NIH funding for PCOS-specific research was approximately 5.8 million dollars in 2019. The condition's heterogeneity has complicated both research design and clinical trial development.
REPURPOSING SIGNALS
21 signals indexed.
The breakdown above shows how those 21 signals grade out by confidence tier and where each one originates. The candidates themselves, the specific approved drugs with their verbatim-verified evidence across the direct, pathway, and community arms for pcos, sit behind access while Whel is in research preview.
Explore the candidates.
Each candidate carries its full evidence trail: scored across five dimensions, graded from strong to exploratory, with every source and date attached so it can be checked. Every candidate is open to read in full.
ALSO TRACKED
Tracked, but not graded as single-agent candidates.
These are recorded for pcos but kept out of the graded repurposing index: multi-agent combination regimens (legitimate clinical regimens, not single-agent repurposing candidates) and supplements or herbals (reported as complementary context). Neither is scored on the five-dimension rubric.