Elinzanetant: A Safe and Effective Nonhormonal Treatment for Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms, According to Clinical Trial Results Published in Menopause

A clinical trial of Bayer’s selective neurokinin-1,3 receptor antagonist elinzanetant for menopausal vasomotor symptoms (VMS) found that both 120-mg and 160-mg doses achieved significant and rapid reductions in VMS frequency compared to placebo. The study, called SWITCH-1, involved 199 postmenopausal women aged 40 to 65 years, who experienced moderate to severe VMS episodes more than seven times per day. The results, published in the Menopause journal, demonstrated that elinzanetant is a safe and effective nonhormonal treatment for menopausal VMS. Pending FDA approval, this drug could provide multiple choices for safe and effective treatment of the three most common symptoms of menopause, including hot flushes, night sweats, and disturbed sleep. The study’s principal investigator, James A. Simon, MD, praised elinzanetant’s incorporation of new knowledge about the protein kisspeptin, the peptide neurokinin B, and the opioid peptide dynorphin (KNDy) neuronal system for the benefit of patient care.