In February 2013, the US FDA approved ospemifene (also referred to as FC1271a), for the treatment ofmoderate to severe dyspareunia, a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy (VVA), due tomenopause. It is estimated that there are 150 million postmenopausal women worldwide with 40–70% suffering from VVA. Ospemifene is a selective estrogen receptor (ER) modulator (SERM) and the first nonhormonal, nonestrogen for the treatment of moderate to severe dyspareunia in women with menopausal VVA. It binds to ERα (IC50～800 nM) and ERβ (IC50～1600 nM) with tissue-specific estrogenic agonist/antagonist effects. Treatment with ospemifene increases the thickness of the vaginal tissue thereby decreasing fragility of the tissue and reducing potential for pain during sexual intercourse.
