VEOZAH: Medical Breakthrough Gives Women+ More Hot Flash Treatment Options

FDA-approved non-hormonal hot flash medication

Are you tired of hot flashes interrupting work discussions, meetings, exercise, sleep, conversations with friends and family, energy levels, and sex? The sudden rush of heat felt by many menopausal women+ can be disruptive and bring on other symptoms like light-headedness and heart palpitations. Some women also experience cold flashes, which may follow hot flashes.

VEOZAH™ is a first-of-its-kind treatment method approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2023. This new class of drugs is known as a neurokinin 3 (NK3) receptor antagonists. It has been dubbed a medical breakthrough because it targets the area of the brain responsible for thermoregulation and subsequently hot flashes in the body. This is the first neurokinin receptor antagonist to receive FDA approval; another one is in clinical trials.

It’s important to note that fezolinetant does not stop hot flashes altogether. However, it reduces their frequency and severity.

Like all medications, there are potential side effects and complications. One concern related to VEOZAH is the possibility of liver damage. Consequently, bloodwork will be required for the first few months of use to help identify any issues early.

VEOZAH™ clinical results

Women+ take one 45-milligram pill each day, with or without food, to relieve hot flashes.

After 12 weeks of use, clinical study participants saw hot flashes reduce by about 60%.

In the placebo group, hot flashes were reduced by about 45%.

In the study, women+ also saw the severity of their hot flashes improve as well as their quality of sleep.

Side effects

Possible side effects include:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Back pain
• Hot flash
• Increased liver blood test values (hepatic transaminase elevation)

Before starting this medication, your doctor will perform baseline bloodwork and then additional lab testing at the following intervals: 3, 6, and 9 months after you start the medication.

Tell your doctor if you have these symptoms, as they may indicate liver damage:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)
• Pain in the right upper stomach (abdomen)

Who should not take it?

You should not use VEOZAH, due to contraindications if you have:

• Known cirrhosis
• Severe kidney problems (renal impairment) or failure (end-stage renal disease)
• Take medications called CYP1A2 inhibitors

Tell your doctor about any herbal medicines, supplements, vitamins, prescription medication, or other over-the-counter medications you’re taking. 

VEOZAH™ can affect how the other medications work, and those other medications may also affect how VEOZAH™ works.

How VEOZAH™ works

VEOZAH™ works by working with the brain chemical neurokinin B (NKB) and your brain’s thermoregulator. 

Before menopause, neurokinin B (NKB) and estrogen are balanced. When balanced, they regulate the body’s temperature control in the brain.

As hormones fluctuate and drop during menopause, estrogen and NKB are thrown off balance. That can cause hot flashes.

VEOZAH™ helps to bring back that balance in the body by blocking NKB to reduce the number and intensity of hot flashes.

The Menopause Society talked about how this new medication works and why this is a significant moment in women’s health.

A woman’s research helped lead to this hot flash treatment

Targeting this part of the brain to help hot flashes dates back to a study by Dr. Naomi Rance at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in the 1990s. The physician and researcher was at work when she first experienced a hot flash. Until that point, Rance had been studying how estrogen influences reproduction and then decided to turn her attention to hot flashes. 

Rance noticed post-menopausal women had larger brain cells (neurons) than pre-menopausal women, which she noted was unusual because things typically get smaller with aging. 

She later found those neurons impact how estrogen changes body temperature. Further studies developed methods that block symptoms like the protein neurokinin-3 receptor, reducing hot flashes.

Listen as Dr. Rance talks about her research and becoming an expert on estrogen and thermoregulation, which she said in a 2017 interview should be more highly studied.

Treating hot flashes

VEOZAH™ is one option to treat hot flashes. Women can also ask their doctor about hormone replacement therapy or these non-hormonal medications:

• Brisdelle®– first non-hormonal FDA-approved hot flash medication
• Anti-depressants
• Gabapentin and Lyrica– anti-seizure medications used off-label
• Clonidine– high blood pressure medication used off-label

You can also try cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT, which again focuses on your brain to reduce hot flashes. 

Nutrition also plays a role. Certain foods and alcohol can trigger hot flashes. 

VEOZAH™ is a breakthrough in medicine, and it highlights the fact that women+ have choices to treat menopause symptoms. Know your options and do what’s best for your body.