Medherant raises £3m to develop world’s first testosterone patch for menopause

University of Warwick spinout Medherant has raised almost £3 million to develop a testosterone patch for women suffering adverse symptoms from the menopause, in a funding round led by Mercia Asset Management.

Founder and Chemistry Professor David Haddleton hopes to bring the pioneering treatment to clinical trials this autumn, with an aim to secure approval for clinical use. If successful, Medherant’s product would become the only testosterone patch available worldwide.

Although oestrogen and progesterone HRT patches are already on the market, there is currently no transdermal patch for the delivery of testosterone to women suffering from low libido and reduced zest for life as a result of the menopause.

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Professor Haddleton said: “This is a very exciting development for us – the potential of this technology to improve women’s lives is huge. The work we’re doing at Medherant and at Warwick isn’t just theoretical, but instead aimed at a problem women are facing which can drastically affect their everyday lives and jobs.

“This could deliver a product that is much needed and is just not available. With the technology already proven to work we can use our new patch to remove needless misery from women’s daily lives.

“We hope this will transform life for those suffering from post-menopause issues nationally, and indeed globally.”

Since 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended through its Menopause Guidelines that testosterone supplementation be considered for those with low sexual desire in cases where hormone replacement therapy is ineffective.

However, such a product does not yet exist. Women currently seeking treatment for low libido stemming from the menopause cannot be prescribed testosterone on the NHS, and often resort to gels approved only for use on men.

Medherant CEO John Burt said: “Having the funding in place for the first clinical trial of our testosterone patch for post-menopausal people will enable Medherant to take a major step towards registration of the product, and be able to address this significant gap in the options available for those in this very important stage of their lives.”

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