The US Food and Drug Administration have given the nod to Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharm’s non-hormonal pill Veozah to treat hot flushes linked to menopause.
Hormonal changes during menopause make the body more sensitive to fluctuations in body temperature, causing so-called vasomotor symptoms, or hot flushes and night sweats.
Currently, reports Reuters, hormone replacement therapy is used to treat the symptoms but it can increase the risk of breast cancer and blood clots.
The approval for Veozah was based on a late-stage study showing it helped reduce the frequency and severity of the hot flushes and improved patients’ quality of life over the treatment period.
Anti-depressant paroxetine was the only FDA approved non-hormonal option available to patients until Veozah was approved.
Veozah carries a warning for higher liver enzymes or liver injury, and the FDA has asked that women taking the pill be tested for liver damage or infection, with routine bloodwork done every three months for the first nine months of using the medication.
Reuters article – US FDA approves Astellas Pharma pill for menopause hot flashes (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
HRT should be given earlier as menopause ‘reshapes the brainʼ – Nature Scientific Reports
Early menopause may raise dementia risk later – UK study of 150,000 women
New estimates of breast cancer risks associated with HRT