Early Menopause.org

Bionovo, Inc.'s paper describing the mechanism of action of MF101, the company's lead drug candidate for menopausal symptoms, has been published in Endocrinology, a journal published by The Endocrine Society. The paper titled "Selective activation of estrogen receptor beta transcriptional pathways by an herbal extract" details how MF101 is selective to the estrogen receptor beta (ER-b) and does not affect estrogen receptor alpha (ER-a). This is a significant milestone toward the development of safe and effective drugs for menopause since it has been shown that the increased risk of breast and uterine cancers is associated with ER-a activation and that ER-b blocks the growth promoting effects on breast cancer cells.

"The results of our studies have demonstrated that MF101's ER-b selective estrogens may be a safer alternative to alleviate symptoms of menopause than traditional estrogens," said Dale Leitman, M.D., Ph.D., Center for Reproductive Endocrinology, University of California, San Francisco and member of Bionovo's Scientific Advisory Board. "Our findings suggest that targeting the ER-b will not only preserve the anti-inflammatory action potentially responsible for combating hot flashes and osteoporosis but will also be devoid of the proliferative effects of estrogens used in hormone therapy that are responsible for causing cancer."

Read More at Pharmalive.com