A Canadian drugmaker may have found the antidote to hot flashes.
What happened: Vancouver biotech firm AbCellera Biologics saw its shares jump ~35% after it released encouraging clinical trial results for its hot flash treatment for menopausal women. One analyst called the trial data “practically off the chart on everything measured.”
AbCellera said participants who took the drug, called ABCL635, saw an 83% reduction in the number of hot flashes they experienced, while 37% said they experienced no hot flashes at all during the trial.
The drug also reduced the impact of hot flashes. On average, participants experienced a 58% reduction in severity, compared to just 12% in the placebo group.
Catch-up: Non-hormonal menopause treatments on the market can cause a number of side effects, most prominently gastrointestinal issues. AbCellera’s monthly drug has been shown to not only be more effective than current treatments, but also carry fewer of these health risks.
Why it matters: Menopause affects millions of Canadians who often have to make major personal and professional sacrifices to manage symptoms like hot flashes. A Deloitte study found that menopause costs Canadian women a total of $3.3 billion a year in lost income from having to reduce their hours or leave the workforce altogether due to their symptoms.
The same report found that menopause symptoms led to approximately 540,000 lost days of work and $237 million in lost productivity annually.
Yes, but: As with any drug in early stages, AbCellera’s clinical trial results should be taken with a grain of salt. Many promising drug candidates for everything from Alzheimer's to obesity have ended up on the cutting room floor after expanded late-stage trials.—LA
