This overlooked corner of women's health could be a $350 billion market opportunity

After years of being ignored, menopause has entered the public conversation.

Celebrities from Drew Barrymore to Naomi Watts have opened up about symptoms and promoted products. Yet despite the increased chatter, there is a long way to go when it comes to treating symptoms — and a lot of opportunities for companies to step in to fill the gap.

In fact, menopause is among the female health conditions with the highest unmet need and has "enormous potential for innovative treatments," according to a recent McKinsey report.

The management consultant estimates the global market potential to treat symptoms ranges from $120 billion to as much as $350 billion globally.

Menopause occurs when women have gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. While that happens, on average, at around age 51, women can have symptoms for years beforehand in what's known as perimenopause. Symptoms can also continue in the postmenopausal phase.

Those symptoms include hot flashes, anxiety, weight gain, vaginal dryness, mood changes, sleep problems and changes in skin conditions. More than 450 million women worldwide are affected by menopause and perimenopause symptoms, according to McKinsey.

There is also a big unmet demand for menopause products and services, said Anna Pione, a partner at McKinsey who leads the firm's research on the future of wellness.

Menopause is "underserved, underfunded, underpaid attention to," she said. "That would apply to women's health in general, and then specifically and acutely to menopause in particular."

Hormone therapy was the typical menopause treatment for decades. However, it got a bad rap in 2002 after a Women's Health Initiative study found estrogen plus progestin therapy increased a woman's risk of breast