What Is Elinzanetant (BAY3427080)?
Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) is an investigational drug currently under study for the treatment of symptoms caused by hormonal changes. Researchers are looking for a better way to treat people who experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and other vasomotor symptoms. These symptoms commonly occur in women during menopause, but can also be caused by other hormonal shifts or medical treatments like adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer.
Before a new treatment can be approved for patients, clinical studies are conducted to thoroughly understand its safety and how it works in the body. Elinzanetant is administered orally, and various doses are being investigated in these trials. The goal of its development is to provide a new option for managing the discomfort and impact of these hormone-related symptoms.
Uses and Conditions Under Study
Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) is being investigated for several conditions primarily related to hormonal changes and their associated symptoms. The majority of studies focus on vasomotor symptoms, which are physical reactions to changes in blood vessel diameter.
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Hot Flashes and Vasomotor Symptoms: Elinzanetant is extensively studied for hot flashes and general vasomotor symptoms. These include conditions like hot flashes (11 trials), vasomotor symptoms as a sex hormone-dependent disorder in women and men (11 trials), vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause (3 trials), menopause-related hot flashes (1 trial), and menopause (1 trial). Researchers are exploring how Elinzanetant might reduce the frequency and severity of these disruptive symptoms, which are often linked to hormonal shifts during menopause.
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Sleep Disturbances: The drug is also being investigated for sleep disturbances associated with menopause (1 trial) and night waking (1 trial). These sleep issues are often a direct consequence of hot flashes and night sweats, and improving vasomotor symptoms could indirectly alleviate sleep problems.
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Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients: One trial is specifically examining vasomotor symptoms caused by adjuvant endocrine therapy in women with, or at high risk for developing, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. This highlights a potential use for patients who may not be able to use traditional hormone replacement therapies.
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Healthy Volunteers: Elinzanetant has also been studied in healthy volunteers (4 trials). These studies typically assess the drug's safety, how it is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body, and how different doses affect these processes.
Dosing
Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) is administered orally, typically as a capsule. Clinical trials have explored various strengths and dosing regimens to determine the most effective and safe treatment approach.
Different strengths of Elinzanetant have been studied, including single and multiple doses. Investigated strengths include 40 mg, 80 mg, 120 mg, and 160 mg. One common regimen under investigation involves taking 120 mg of Elinzanetant orally once daily for a duration of 12 weeks.
Studies have also examined how Elinzanetant interacts with other medications, such as moxifloxacin and rosuvastatin. Furthermore, research has been conducted to understand how the drug's effects might differ in participants with moderate or severe renal impairment compared to those with normal renal function. These studies help to establish appropriate dosing guidelines for a broad range of patients.
Side Effects
In clinical trials involving patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080), the most commonly reported side effects were:
- Headache: 7.5% of patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced headache, compared to 5.5% on placebo. This data was collected across 6 trials involving 3958 patients in the drug arm.
- Arthralgia (joint pain): 6.3% of patients on Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reported joint pain, compared to 3.9% on placebo. This was observed in 3 trials with 2740 patients in the drug arm.
- Somnolence (drowsiness): 6.2% of patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced drowsiness, compared to 2.2% on placebo. This data comes from 4 trials with 2468 patients in the drug arm.
- Fatigue: 5.4% of patients on Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reported fatigue, compared to 2.2% on placebo. This was seen across 6 trials with 3958 patients in the drug arm.
- Diarrhea: 4.5% of patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced diarrhea, compared to 2.7% on placebo. This was reported in 3 trials with 2155 patients in the drug arm.
- Depression: 4.0% of patients on Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reported depression, compared to 1.0% on placebo. This was observed in 1 trial with 1948 patients in the drug arm.
- Urinary tract infection: 3.9% of patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced a urinary tract infection, compared to 1.0% on placebo. This data comes from 2 trials with 207 patients in the drug arm.
- Back pain: 3.8% of patients on Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reported back pain, compared to 2.5% on placebo. This was observed in 2 trials with 2003 patients in the drug arm.
- Asthenia (lack of energy): 3.7% of patients taking Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced asthenia, compared to 1.6% on placebo. This was reported in 1 trial with 1948 patients in the drug arm.
Clinical Trial Results
Clinical trials have investigated the effectiveness and safety of Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) in treating vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) in post-menopausal women and women with breast cancer receiving anti-cancer therapy. The results below focus on key efficacy and patient-reported outcomes.
Hot Flash Frequency and Severity
In a study (NCT03596762) of post-menopausal women, Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) significantly reduced the frequency and severity of moderate to severe hot flashes compared to placebo. At Week 12:
- Patients on 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) experienced a mean reduction of 7.91 hot flashes per day from a baseline of 13.54, compared to a 4.49 hot flash reduction on placebo from a baseline of 11.82.
- For hot flash severity, 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) led to a mean reduction of 0.56 units on a scale from a baseline of 2.54, compared to a 0.41 unit reduction on placebo from a baseline of 2.54.
Responder rates at Week 12 in this study showed that 61.5% of patients on 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) achieved at least a 50% reduction in daily hot flash frequency, compared to 37.0% on placebo. Furthermore, 30.8% of patients on 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) achieved at least an 80% reduction, compared to 17.4% on placebo.
Similar reductions in moderate to severe hot flash frequency were observed in other trials, typically with greater reductions for Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) compared to placebo at Week 12:
- In NCT05030584, Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reduced hot flashes by 5.40 per day (baseline 6.71), versus 3.50 per day for placebo (baseline 6.81).
- In NCT05042362, 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reduced hot flashes by 8.74 per day (baseline 13.38), versus 5.53 per day for placebo (baseline 14.26).
- In NCT05099159, 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reduced hot flashes by 9.96 per day (baseline 14.66), versus 7.24 per day for placebo (baseline 16.16).
- In NCT05587296 (women with breast cancer), Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) reduced hot flashes by 7.76 per day (baseline 11.41), versus 4.20 per day for placebo (baseline 11.52).
Sleep Disturbances
Improvements in sleep disturbance were also noted. At Week 12:
- In NCT03596762, 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) led to a mean reduction of 6.12 units in the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score (baseline 12.63), compared to a 1.95 unit reduction on placebo (baseline 12.43).
- In NCT05042362, 120 mg Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) showed a mean reduction of 10.8 T-score units in the PROMIS Sleep Disturbance Short Form 8b (PROMIS SD SF 8b) (baseline 61.0), compared to a 5.0 T-score unit reduction on placebo (baseline 60.2).
- Boston, Massachusetts
Currently Recruiting Trials
Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) is currently being investigated in clinical trials to understand its potential benefits for patients. These studies aim to gather more information about how the drug works and for whom it might be most effective.
One such study, titled "Finding Links Between Hot flASHes and CardioVascular Disease," is identified as NCT07077395. This Phase 2 clinical trial, sponsored by Massachusetts General Hospital, is designed to explore whether elinzanetant can improve blood vessel health in women who experience moderate to severe hot flashes related to menopause. Participants in this study will receive elinzanetant at a dosage of 120 mg daily for a period of 12 weeks. The trial aims to enroll up to 80 participants to help answer key questions about the drug's impact on cardiovascular health in this population.
Where to Participate
Participation in the currently recruiting clinical trial for Elinzanetant is focused in a specific geographic area. The study, NCT07077395, is being conducted at 2 sites within a single city and state.
The primary location for this research is:
To be eligible for this particular study, participants must meet specific criteria. Individuals must be female and fall within an age range of 40 to 65 years. The trial is not open to healthy volunteers or children, as it specifically targets women experiencing menopause-related hot flashes.
Development Timeline
The development journey for Elinzanetant (BAY3427080) began on July 24, 2018, with Bayer as the primary driving force behind its research, sponsoring 17 out of 18 trials. Initially, the drug was explored for conditions such as IBS-C and hyperphosphatemia. Over time, the research pipeline significantly expanded.
Elinzanetant's development progressed through various phases, with 11 trials conducted in Phase 1, 3 trials in Phase 2, and 4 trials reaching Phase 3. The scope of conditions under investigation broadened to include healthy volunteers and, notably, a strong focus on menopause-related symptoms. This expansion encompassed vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, sleep disturbances associated with menopause, and hot flashes. Furthermore, its potential was explored for vasomotor symptoms caused by adjuvant endocrine therapy in women with, or at high risk for developing, hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, and night waking.
To date, a total of 18 clinical trials have been initiated for Elinzanetant, collectively enrolling approximately 2,611 participants. The latest trial is projected to conclude by July 22, 2025, indicating ongoing and active research into the drug's therapeutic applications. Massachusetts General Hospital has also contributed to this research, sponsoring one of the trials.