Trials show Wyeth drug ‘could change menopausal therapy’

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has announced that data from phase II trials into its menopausal therapies could potentially lead to a change in the way doctors approach such treatment.

The manufacturer recently submitted data relating the use of the bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens (BCEs) complex in postmenopausal women to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Wyeth states that BCEs could be the first in a new kind of menopausal therapies known as tissue selective estrogen complexes (TSECs), which it says relate to a decrease in hot flashes, amenorrhea rates and no increase in endometrial thickness in comparison with placebos.

Gary Stiles, managing director of Wyeth, commented: “If confirmed in phase III clinical trials, we believe the TSEC class may have the potential to change the way women and physicians approach menopausal therapy.”

Vivian Lewis, managing director of the University of Rochester, added that the research “could provide new options” to doctors on menopausal therapy.

TSEC is a new class of drugs developed that partners a selective estrogen receptor modulator with estrogen, with phase III trials currently underway to determine the safety and efficacy of the BCE complex.

Meanwhile, a recent study of Wyeth’s new pill, Lybrel, found that the drug resulted in a “significant improvement” in mood and pain in a study of 100 women.

The pill is billed as a “continuous contraceptive” and could reduce some of the symptoms associated with monthly hormonal changes.