Mij
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Aug 10, 2026 (Reuters)
AbCellera (ABCL.O), opens new tab said on Monday its experimental menopause treatment significantly reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes in a mid-stage trial, sending its shares up nearly 40% in early morning trading.
The drug, ABCL635, is being developed for women with moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms, commonly known as hot flashes, associated with menopause.
The data could bolster the drug's prospects as a non-hormonal alternative to hormone therapy and as a potential rival to currently available therapies, including Astellas Pharma's (4503.T), opens new tab oral treatment Veozah.
In the 92-patient study, a single 600-mg dose of ABCL635 significantly reduced the frequency and severity of moderate-to-severe hot flashes compared with placebo after four weeks.
Patients treated with ABCL635 reported an 83% reduction in moderate-to-severe hot-flash frequency after four weeks, or 8.8 fewer hot flashes per day from baseline, compared with a 33% reduction, or 3.5 fewer events per day, in the placebo group.
ABCL635 also improved symptom severity, sleep and patients' overall assessment of improvement.
The most common side effects reported in patients treated with ABCL635 were headache, fatigue and injection-site reactions.
Long-ACTING TREATMENT
The non-hormonal antibody therapy is being developed as a long-acting, once-monthly injection that targets the neurokinin 3 receptor, which helps regulate body temperature.
Sarah Noonberg, AbCellera's chief medical officer, said the once-monthly sub-q injection could appeal to women already accustomed to self-injecting medicines, including breast cancer survivors and users of weight-loss drugs, and may improve adherence compared with daily pills.
AbCellera Announces Positive Top-Line Phase 2 Clinical Trial Results for ABCL635, Demonstrating Significant Reduction in Frequency and Severity of Vasomotor Symptoms and a Favorable Tolerability Profile
“These positive results represent a significant milestone for women’s health and for AbCellera,” said Sarah Noonberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of AbCellera. “By successfully targeting the NK3 receptor with an antibody, we have demonstrated potential best-in-class vasomotor symptom relief over four weeks with a single subcutaneous dose. These data indicate that ABCL635 could offer menopausal women a well-tolerated, long-acting treatment that has the potential to markedly improve their quality of life.”
AbCellera (ABCL.O), opens new tab said on Monday its experimental menopause treatment significantly reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes in a mid-stage trial, sending its shares up nearly 40% in early morning trading.
The drug, ABCL635, is being developed for women with moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms, commonly known as hot flashes, associated with menopause.
The data could bolster the drug's prospects as a non-hormonal alternative to hormone therapy and as a potential rival to currently available therapies, including Astellas Pharma's (4503.T), opens new tab oral treatment Veozah.
In the 92-patient study, a single 600-mg dose of ABCL635 significantly reduced the frequency and severity of moderate-to-severe hot flashes compared with placebo after four weeks.
Patients treated with ABCL635 reported an 83% reduction in moderate-to-severe hot-flash frequency after four weeks, or 8.8 fewer hot flashes per day from baseline, compared with a 33% reduction, or 3.5 fewer events per day, in the placebo group.
ABCL635 also improved symptom severity, sleep and patients' overall assessment of improvement.
The most common side effects reported in patients treated with ABCL635 were headache, fatigue and injection-site reactions.
Long-ACTING TREATMENT
The non-hormonal antibody therapy is being developed as a long-acting, once-monthly injection that targets the neurokinin 3 receptor, which helps regulate body temperature.
Sarah Noonberg, AbCellera's chief medical officer, said the once-monthly sub-q injection could appeal to women already accustomed to self-injecting medicines, including breast cancer survivors and users of weight-loss drugs, and may improve adherence compared with daily pills.
AbCellera Announces Positive Top-Line Phase 2 Clinical Trial Results for ABCL635, Demonstrating Significant Reduction in Frequency and Severity of Vasomotor Symptoms and a Favorable Tolerability Profile
“These positive results represent a significant milestone for women’s health and for AbCellera,” said Sarah Noonberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of AbCellera. “By successfully targeting the NK3 receptor with an antibody, we have demonstrated potential best-in-class vasomotor symptom relief over four weeks with a single subcutaneous dose. These data indicate that ABCL635 could offer menopausal women a well-tolerated, long-acting treatment that has the potential to markedly improve their quality of life.”