Although the menopause is part of every woman’s life, there is still a clear taboo surrounding it to this day. Innovative players from the pharmaceutical industry trying to change this are getting more and more acclaim. As a result, the quality of life of many women is increasing visibly.
Girls who are menstruating for the first time or starting contraception are generally given the opportunity to talk about this. These events are seen as an important milestone in their lives. That does not apply to menopause. Very little is said about this in practice. However stopping menstruation has a major impact on women’s lives. For example, no less than 77 percent of women indicate that their quality of life is negatively affected by this1. In addition, the postmenopausal period takes on average a third of a woman’s life. Anyone who claims that this is a footnote in life is clearly dishonoring the truth.
The fact that there is still a taboo surrounding this is partly due to the fact that women are generally less likely to share their concerns with those around them. In addition, certain treatment methods for women in the menopause suffer from a negative perception. This is mainly due to a large-scale study of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) published in the early 1990s, which indicated that hormonal treatments would increase the risk of breast cancer. In the meantime, however, many more recent studies have shown that this alleged increase in risk is unjustified. Today, there is scientific evidence that the lack of hormonal therapy increases the risk of certain conditions such as heart disease and osteoporosis.
However, because of the large-scale media coverage this study received at the time, combined with the lack of additional framing, the impact of this study lives on to this day. For example, there are still countries where hormonal therapies are simply not prescribed for women in the menopause. Nevertheless, there is an unmistakable trend and the treatment of women in their menopause is becoming more and more common. This is also necessary, because although women no longer produce estrogen after menopause, they do need it to function optimally.
Ultimately, what we want to achieve is for women to take ownership of their potential treatment.
“You can actually compare such a treatment with administering insulin to diabetes patients,” explains Anne-Sophie Lesceu, country lead at pharmaceutical company Theramex, a company that has a large share in this evolution. This pharmaceutical player offers therapies in four domains: contraception, fertility, osteoporosis and menopause. This last part is receiving more and more attention. “We have a wide range of products around the menopause, ranging from hormone patches to oral hormonal and non-hormonal treatments. We are a relatively small player, but we still try to generate an impact with our innovative products,” says Lesceu.
The figures that Theramex can present prove that this approach works. The company, which started as a stand-alone entity just four years ago, is today already active in more than 80 countries. “We have already been able to help more than six million women,” Lesceu says proudly. “By expanding our range and launching new therapies every year, we hope to further increase this number. The fact that we are a smaller player plays to our advantage here. Because it allows you to switch quickly when opportunities arise.”
And there is more: the company wants to use this growth to further increase social awareness about this theme. With that in mind, Theramex is launching an awareness campaign together with the Belgian Menopause Association (BMS) on the impact of menopause on women’s lives. “What we ultimately want to achieve is that women themselves ownership of their possible treatment and can choose for themselves which option they want to go for. We strongly believe in that,” concludes Lesceu.
- Depypere, Herman et al. “Coping with Menopausal Symptoms: An Internet Survey of Belgian Postmenopausal Women.” MATURITAS 90 (2016): 24–30