WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAG) today announced that together with Emmy®-nominated actress Cheryl Hines and leading family medicine and menopause expert, Marla Shapiro, MD, it is launching an integrated campaign to start an open dialogue about painful sex due to menopause, a topic that is often not talked about among post-menopausal women and their healthcare providers. Vulvar and vaginal atrophy, or VVA, affects approximately 50 percent of postmenopausal women in the United States, and painful sex is one of the potential symptoms.1 Unlike more commonly known symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, many women are not aware that painful sex is associated with menopause. This is further compounded by the fact that women are generally not comfortable talking about these symptoms with their partners, healthcare providers or friends. Through this campaign and other educational efforts, AMAG, Hines and Dr. Shapiro hope to give women the tools they need to recognize this condition and have a conversation with their healthcare provider about treatment options.
“Painful sex due to menopause is not an inevitable part of aging,” said Hines. “As women, we go through so many emotional and physical changes over the course of our lifetime. Before puberty and childbirth, we are prepared by our family members and healthcare providers about what to expect, but that isn’t the case with menopause. Painful sex due to menopause is often considered a taboo topic and I want to change that. I want to help be a voice for those women, including my friends that are living with it, and to help educate women, like me, who may experience this condition in the future. That’s why I am starting an open, honest and even light-hearted dialogue about this condition. Let’s get a conversation started and take away the shroud of secrecy that is often associated with painful sex due to menopause.”
“This condition took a toll on my relationship and eroded my self-confidence,” said Traciee, who suffered with painful sex due to menopause and shares her story as part of AMAG’s SHE Network. “It took me three years to get prescription treatment that gave me meaningful pain relief. I don’t want other women to go through what I did so now I’m talking to my friends, family and even the ladies at my church about this condition and encouraging them to speak to their healthcare providers.”
After menopause, hormonal changes can lead to VVA which causes a variety of physical changes to the vagina, such as the loss of vaginal tissue, lubrication, and flexibility. All of these changes can lead to symptoms like dryness, irritation, frequent urination, and painful sex. However, most women do not know what is causing their symptoms. According to survey data, 62 percent of post-menopausal women were not familiar with the condition of VVA, and even among those who were aware, only half became aware after they began to experience symptoms.2
“Unlike other menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats painful sex will not get better without treatment, and often it will get worse,” said Dr. Shapiro, Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. "Over-the-counter treatments like lubricants and moisturizers do not address the underlying cause of the condition and may not provide adequate pain relief for women with moderate to severe pain. I both encourage and urge women to talk to their healthcare providers and learn about available prescription treatment options that directly target VVA symptoms.”
To learn more about painful sex due to menopause including treatment options and a guide to discussing this condition with your healthcare provider, please visit www.PauseSexPain.com. There you will also learn more about the campaign including videos featuring Hines and Dr. Shapiro.
About AMAG
AMAG is a pharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative products to patients with unmet medical needs. The company does this by leveraging its development and commercial expertise to invest in and grow its pharmaceutical products across a range of therapeutic areas, including women’s health. In addition, AMAG seeks to collaborate on and acquire promising therapies at various stages of development, and advance them through the clinical and regulatory process to deliver new treatment options to patients. For additional company information, please visit www.amagpharma.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information about AMAG within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. Any statements contained herein which do not describe historical facts, including, among others, the ability of the campaign to help women recognize the condition and empower them to talk to their healthcare providers about treatment options are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements.
Such risks and uncertainties include those risks identified in AMAG’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 and subsequent filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Any such risks and uncertainties could materially and adversely affect AMAG’s results of operations, its profitability and its cash flows, which would, in turn, have a significant and adverse impact on AMAG’s stock price. AMAG cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.
AMAG disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals® is a registered trademark of AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACTS:
Investors:
Linda Lennox
908-627-3424
Media:
Sarah Connors
781-296-0722
1 Wysocki et al. Management of Vaginal Atrophy: Implications from the REVIVE Survey. Clinical Medicine Insights: Reproductive Health 2014:8 23–30 doi:10.4137/CMRH.S14498.
2 Kingsberg et al. “Vulvar and Vaginal Atrophy in Postmenopausal Women: Findings from the REVIVE (REal Women’s Views of Treatment Options for Menopausal Vaginal ChangEs) Survey.” J Sex Med 2013; 10:1790-1799.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e110c2d-d139-43c4-b531-c99dbd9056f4