Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. is buying Belgium's Ogeda SA for €500 million (US$532.7 million) up front and up to €300 million in milestone payments tied to the clinical and regulatory advancement of fezolinetant, a midstage nonhormonal treatment for menopause-related vasomotor symptoms (MR-VMS). If successful, it could potentially broaden the options for women seeking an alternative to estrogens and progestogens, which though commonly used to treat MR-VMS, have been associated with heightened risks of breast cancer, stroke and thromboembolism.