KaNDy, a spinout from GlaxoSmithKline, has raised $32 million to investigate its non-hormonal therapy.

For women suffering from severe symptoms of menopause, which can range from hot flashes to sleep deprivation and significant mood swings—which may last for several years, the only real treatment option available today is hormone replacement therapy. Many women elect to suffer the symptoms rather than choose this treatment option, because it can result in minor issues such as breast swelling to major problems, including increased cardiovascular risks.

UK company KaNDy Therapeutics is looking to give women another option. The biotech startup spun out from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is developing a non-hormonal approach. The firm’s neurokinin-1,3 receptor antagonist candidate NT-814 is a small-molecule drug that selectively switches off a group of neurons concentrated in the hypothalamus. Unlike hormonal treatments, which are systemic, this targeted solution is designed to shut down symptoms of menopause without causing unwanted side effects.

KaNDy, which was spun out of GSK spin-off NeRRe Therapeutics in 2017 to develop NT-814 and is a virtual company run by a lean team at NeRRe, just completed a successful funding round, raising $32 million. Participants included Advent Life Sciences, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Forbion Capital Partners and OrbiMed and Longitude Capital.

The money will be used to conduct a dose-finding Phase IIb study scheduled to launch in 2018 in the US, Canada and the UK. It will also, according to KaNDy CEO Mary Kerr, be used to develop chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) data in preparation for a Phase 3 study in mid-2020.

“At peak, the HRT market was one of the original blockbuster markets,” said Kerr. “A compound that works that is as effective as estrogen, but has a better safety profile has huge potential both in terms of value but also in the number of women who will benefit, not just in the US but also globally, because it’s a global phenomenon. It could well represent, when we look back on it, one of the biggest breakthroughs in women’s health — assuming that it’s safe in long term studies,” Kerr added.