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A treatment aimed at reducing the side effects of menopause, particularly hot flashes, has proven its worth in recent clinical trials. There is hope that it will be on the market within a year.
During menopause, women are subjected to a harsh test: hot flashes, sweating, night sweats that ruin their daily lives. But a new treatment could well put an end to these inconveniences, following the publication of two studies in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).
Hormone-free treatment, awaited by women
Elinzanetant, developed by the pharmaceutical laboratory Bayer, has in fact shown very good results in combating persistent symptoms of menopause in its clinical trials.
Elinzanetant reduced the frequency of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) after 4 weeks of treatment by more than 50% (versus 30 to 35% with placebo) and after 12 weeks by more than 65% (versus 40 to 45% with placebo). Efficacy was maintained with more than 80% of participants in the elinzanetant group achieving at least a 50% reduction in VMS frequency after 26 weeks of treatment.
Additionally, statistically significant improvements in sleep disturbances and menopause-related quality of life were reported by patients.
The big advantage of this treatment? It works without hormones. In fact, until now, the classic treatment consisted of taking hormones to compensate for the drop in estrogen levels. But studies in the early 2000s pointed out a possible increased risk of breast cancer, logically feared by women.
Elinzanetant works differently by directly targeting the neurons responsible for regulating body temperature.
““Elinzanetant will block the signaling pathway of these neurons, and by normalizing their activity, will modify this thermoregulatory zone and ensure that women will not have hot flashes.”explained to France Inter gynecologist Florence Trémollières, director of the menopause center at the Toulouse University Hospital (CHU).
A market launch within a year?
Thus, two phase 3 clinical trials, conducted on 700 patients aged 40 to 50, showed very encouraging results: 80% of them observed a “significant reduction in the frequency of symptoms such as hot flashes.”
The next step for Bayer is now to obtain marketing authorization. To do this, the pharmaceutical multinational will have to show the results of its clinical trials to the American and then European authorities. If the procedure goes smoothly, menopausal women could hope to benefit from this treatment within a year.
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