Bayer has achieved an important study success with its drug hopeful Elinzanetant for the relief of menopausal symptoms.

The drug was able to alleviate hot flushes and sleep disorders in two pivotal Phase III trials, the Leverkusen-based pharmaceutical and agricultural company announced on Monday. In both studies, the main objective of reducing the frequency and severity of vasomotor symptoms, also known as hot flushes, was achieved. The positive results would "underline the potential of the active substance as a new non-hormonal treatment in the management of menopause".

Elinzanetant is one of the greatest hopes in Bayer's pharmaceutical pipeline. The company is confident that the active ingredient will generate peak sales of more than one billion euros annually. Most recently, Bayer suffered a serious setback in drug development with its greatest hope, the anticoagulant asundexiane. In the race to develop non-hormonal drugs to alleviate menopausal symptoms, the Group is lagging behind its Japanese rival Astellas.

(Report by Christian Götz and Ludwig Burger, edited by Scot W. Stevenson; if you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).