Long-acting FSH analogue: Corifollitropin-α to sustain multifollicular growth during controlled ovarian stimulation

Abstract

Different gonadotropin preparations containing FSH are used for ovarian controlled stimulation prior to IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The two most common forms used are urinary human menopausal gonadotropin (containing FSH and LH activity) and recombinant FSH (containing FSH without any LH activity). Owing to the relatively short half-life of all currently used FSH preparations (32 ± 12 h) clinical protocols for induction of multifollicular development in women stimulated for IVF require daily injections. Site-directed mutagenesis and gene transfer techniques were used to develop a longer acting gonadotrophin preparation. Corifollitropin-α (NV Organon, a part of the Schering-Plough Corporation, Oss, The Netherlands) was designed as a sustained follicle stimulant containing the α-subunit of human FSH and a hybrid subunit composed of the sequence of the α-subunit of human FSH and the C-terminal peptide part of the α-subunit of hCG. This molecular structure includes O-linked carbohydrate chain...