New book unveils all the answers from the Menopause Experts

Emeryville, Calif. — March 1, 2006 — Three leading menopause experts, from Bionovo, Inc., address all the questions lingering in the minds of menopausal and peri-menopausal women in a new book titled  The New Menopause Book (Avery, March 2006, Paperback). With the looming prospect of varying degrees of hot flashes, mood instability, weight gain, brittle bones, an increased chance of heart disease, and sexual problems such as pain and vaginal dryness, menopause is more than a nuisance for 75% of women who reach this stage of life.  Less than five years ago, physicians were prescribing hormone replacement therapy, which has become highly controversial. Compiled by Dr. Isaac Cohen, Bionovo’s CEO and Dr. Mary Tagliaferri, Medical Director and Chief Regulatory Officer, along with Dr. Debu Tripathy, Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, this anthology addresses, chapter by chapter everything related to menopause.

“Women need to understand that there are many different treatments for menopausal symptoms out there, including safe, natural approaches which they may not be aware of,” said Dr. Tagliaferri.  “This book will help them make informed decisions as to which treatment is best for them.”

The 300-page book helps clarify many of the issues faced by women leading up to and during menopause, including the pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy, various ways to prevent osteoporosis, and alternative treatments for relief of every symptom.  Each chapter outlines a different approach for treating the adverse effects of menopause and features valuable insights from experts in that specific area.

The New Menopause Book features expert advice from:

- GAIL SHEEHY, on "the second adulthood"
- TORI HUDSON, on natural hormone therapy
- MIRIAM NELSON and REBECCA SEGUIN, on beating osteoporosis
- AMANDA McQUADE CRAWFORD, on herbal therapy
- MARY TAGLIAFERRI, on medical treatments
- ISAAC COHEN, on traditional Chinese medicine
- LINDA SPARROWE and PATRICIA WALDEN, on yoga
- JANIS LUFT, on managing incontinence

Drs. Cohen and Tagliaferri, with their company Bionovo, have developed a drug called Menopause Formula 101, or MF101, that is intended to treat some of the most prominent symptoms of menopause. MF101 is currently in Phase II clinical trials at four leading academic medical centers, under the directorship of noted researcher Dr. Deborah Grady, the Director of the Women’s Health Clinical Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco.

Bionovo, Inc.
Bionovo is a drug development company focusing on the discovery of novel pharmaceutical agents for cancer and women’s health. The company is working simultaneously on two distinct discovery approaches, one focusing on pro-apoptotic agents for cancer and a second, in the area of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS) to treat severe menopausal symptoms. The company’s lead candidate drug, MF101 is in Phase 2 clinical testing and a second drug, BZL101, designed to treat advanced breast cancer is ready to enter Phase 2. The company is developing its products in close collaboration with leading U.S. academic research centers including the University of California, San Francisco; University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; University of California, Berkeley; and the University of Texas, Southwestern.