J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. Ahead of Print: JCRPE-70298 | DOI: 10.4274/jcrpe.galenos.2024.2023-11-8

Long-acting Growth Hormone Therapy, Rational and Future Aspects

Semra Çetinkaya¹, Erdal Eren², Furkan Erdoðan³, Feyza Darendeliler^4
1University Health Sciences Turkey, Dr Sami Ulus Childrens Health And Disease Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
²Uludað University, Bursa, Turkey
³Pfizer, Turkey
⁴American Outpatient Medical Centre, formerly Istanbul University Medical Faculty, Ýstanbul, Turkey

Recombinant growth hormone (GH) is administered as daily subcutaneous injections. Daily treatment can be challenging for children/adolescents as well as for parents and/or caregivers (legal representatives, guardians of children in institutional care). Challenges associated with daily treatment may result in missing several doses and non-adherence with treatment leads to inadequate growth response. As an inadequate growth response does not meet criteria for continuing treatment, payers (commercial or public) may decide to end reimbursement. Novel long-acting GH formulations (LAGH) with extended half-life can be administered less frequently and target to improve patient convenience and consequently to improve adherence and responses to treatment. LAGH formulations can restore growth velocity and body composition as effectively as daily treatment, without unexpected adverse effects as reported in randomized clinical trials.

Keywords: Recombinant growth hormone, long-acting growth hormone, treatment adherence, review, future aspects

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