Usage of gonadotropins in assisted reproductive technologies significantly improves outcomes

The U.S. infertility specialty has empirically incorporated greater amounts of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) into stimulation protocols, according to a new review article, "Gonadotropins in the Treatment of Infertility" by George T. Koulianos, MD, published in a recent issue of US Obstetrics & Gynecology, supported by an educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The article reviews the wealth of clinical evidence supporting this trend, and demonstrates how the use of gonadotropins in the treatment of infertility, especially in assisted reproductive technologies, has significantly improved outcomes.

"Gonadotropins...have been especially important in improving the efficiency of in vitro fertilization," said Dr. Koulianos.  "The many large, complex studies conducted over the past decade demonstrate the unique attributes of hMG, especially highly purified hMG, that lead to better outcomes.  The study results parallel the steady increase in the use of hMG, indicating that the field has empirically chosen hMG as its base of stimulation."

Here are highlights from the article:

• For the approval of MENOPUR® (menotropins for injection, USP) (HP-hMG), based on results of the largest IVF trial ever conducted (EISG)(2), trends favored hMG over recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) in pregnancy rates, although there was no statistical significance.  A post-hoc analysis of the study by Platteau et al.(3) suggested that hMG outperformed rFSH in IVF, and when intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was used, the two treatments appeared to be equivalent.  In this post-hoc analysis, lower pregnancy rates were seen in patients with lower serum hCG levels.
  

• The Menotrophin versus Recombinant FSH in vitro Fertilization Trial (MERiT), the most extensive IVF study ever performed to date, with 731 patients, demonstrated significant differences in endocrine profile, a more natural stimulation with hMG, and greater capacity for pregnancy and live births from hMG-stimulated oocytes.

SOURCE Ferring Pharmaceuticals