There may be relief for women who suffer through hot flashes, night sweats, chills and other symptoms of menopause. 

The Food and Drug Administration approved Veozah (generic name: fezolinetant), which is a one-of-a-kind treatment for menopause symptoms. As a non-hormonal drug, it’s a boon for women who cannot use hormone-replacement therapy for hot flashes.

“It’s going to be completely game changing for a lot of women,” professor Waljit Dhillo, an endocrinologist at Imperial College London who was involved in early research into Veozah, told the Guardian.

“It’s like a switch. Within a day or two the flushes go away. It’s unbelievable how well these drugs work,” he added.

Veozah works by blocking the activity of neurokinin 3 (NK3), a chemical in the brain. NK3 helps regulate body temperature in the hypothalamus, sometimes called the brain’s “thermostat.”

Declining levels of estrogen during menopause disrupt the balance between NK3 and estrogen, causing the hypothalamus to send out signals indicating that the body is overheating, and the result is hot flashes and night sweats.

By blocking the activity of NK3, Veozah makes the hypothalamus stop overreacting, and the hot flashes end. Veozah is the first and only drug that works this way to help with hot flashes, according to the FDA.

During and after menopause, up to 75% of women have hot flashes, according to the North American Menopause Society, and almost one-fourth of them seek help from their doctor. 

But women with a history of cancer, blood clots, liver disease, vaginal bleeding, stroke or heart attack usually cannot use HRT to control the symptoms of menopause, leaving them with few choices.

“Women need options,” Annice Mukherjee, a consultant endocrinologist and visiting professor at the University of Coventry, told the Guardian. “If you can’t take HRT there isn’t much in the way of really effective options.”

Veozah, manufactured by Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc., is expected to be approved for use in Europe and the UK later this year.

“This is going to be a completely blockbuster drug,” Dhillo said.