Published on August 30, 2024 at 11:03 a.m.
Elinzanetant could be on the market within a year to combat the side effects of menopause (illustrative image). – ©MStudioImages/iStock
Hot flashes, redness, night sweats… What if these effects of menopause were soon behind us? A new treatment has just shown encouraging results.
This is news that raises great hopes. A new treatment against the side effects of menopause has just shown encouraging results, reports this Friday, August 30 France Inter. Its name: elinzanetant. Developed by the pharmaceutical laboratory Bayer, it has passed clinical trials and is now awaiting marketing authorization.
Several treatments already existed to combat hot flashes and night sweats specific to menopause, but all consisted of taking hormones, in order to compensate for the drop in estrogen. However, various studies have pointed out a possible risk of breast cancer in recent years, turning women away from these treatments.
Read also >> Hormone treatment for menopause: why do so few women use it?
A treatment that could be available within a year
Elinzanetant works without hormones. The molecule acts instead on the neurons responsible for regulating body temperature. “Elinzanetant will block the signaling pathway of these neurons, and by normalizing their activity, will modify this thermoregulation zone and ensure that women will not have hot flashes,” Florence Trémollières, director of the menopause center at Toulouse University Hospital, explained to France Inter.
Two phase 3 clinical trials, which were conducted on 700 patients aged 40 to 50, have in fact shown very good results. 80% of them reported having observed a “significant” reduction in symptoms related to menopause.
To obtain marketing authorization, Bayer must now present its clinical trials to the American and European authorities. If all goes well, menopausal women will benefit from the treatment within a year.
