NEW DRUG HELPS MAKE CHANGE OF LIFE SAFER, MORE COMFORTABLE
By Adnews Staff
A new drug that should encourage more menopausal women to take hormone replacement therapy is now being marketed by Montreal-based Schering Canada. Medical journal advertising for the new prescription drug Prometrium is being handled by Academie-Ogilvy Communications in Montreal while Toronto-based NATIONAL PharmaCom is doing public relations. Prometrium is the first and only natural-source oral progesterone approved in Canada, says Schering. It has been shown to have fewer of the unpleasant side effects that make women shun estrogen treatment. Progesterone is added to estrogen therapy to prevent harmful side effects, including cancer, associated with the use of estrogen alone. Estrogen is recommended by doctors for menopausal women to relieve symptoms such as mood swings and hot flushes, and to reduce the risk of heart disease and fractures from osteoporosis.