The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month approved a new indication for somapacitan-beco injection 5 mg, 10 mg, or 15 mg for the treatment of children aged 2.5 years and older who have growth failure due to inadequate secretion of endogenous growth hormone. Novo Nordisk is marketing the treatment as Sogroya® The FDA approval...
The Importance of Symptom Control: A Holistic Approach to Treating Acromegaly
Despite successful medical intervention, people with acromegaly don’t always share their clinician’s optimistic outlook. Eliza B. Geer, MD, director of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Multidisciplinary Pituitary & Skull Base Tumor Center, takes us through a holistic approach to treating this often-confounding condition and how a team-based methodology is frequently the key to success. Recently, I was...Growth Spurt: How Pegvisomant Could Be a Promising Solution to a Big Problem
An excess of growth hormone in infancy leads to the rare yet confounding phenomenon of X-linked acrogigantism, which is known to be resistant to conventional pituitary tumor treatments in the pediatric population. However, new data suggests that pegvisomant could not only be a treatment option for these patients, but it could also improve quality-of-life measures....
Sex, Race, and Measuring Tape: Health Disparities and Growth Hormone Deficiency
Racial and gender disparities in healthcare begin early — including among children who could benefit from treatment for short stature. New research seems to show that white children — especially boys — are offered growth hormone stimulation tests at a significantly higher rate than girls or Black and Hispanic children. The racial, ethnic, and gender...
Leveling Up: Pediatric Growth Hormone Deficiency Treatment Advances Show Promise
As the desire for a less frequently administered growth hormone treatment intensifies, clinicians are looking to researchers for the latest data on safety and efficacy. Luckily, as more studies are undertaken patients and clinicians may soon have a wealth of options. Since 1985, children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) have been prescribed somatropin – recombinant...
Positive Clinical Data for Oral Treatment of Acromegaly Presented at ENDO
ENDO 2022 saw the presentation of positive clinical data from the open-label extensions (OLEs) of two of the Phase 3 trials of oral octreotide for patients with acromegaly. Amryt is marketing the drug as Mycapssa. Data presented in a late-breaking poster presentation of the 2nd year of the OLE of OPTIMAL (NCT03252353), a randomized, double-blind...
What Is the Role of “Growth Hormone” When You Have Stopped Growing? Growth hormone clearly plays a key role in development during youth, but research in adults implicates it as an agent in cellular aging processes. Shlomo Melmed, MD, ChB, the first recipient of the Transatlantic Alliance Award, co-sponsored by the Endocrine Society and the...
Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency Increases Medical Costs, Risk of Additional Health Conditions
Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) among adults is associated with greater medical costs and an increased rate of other health conditions compared with those without GHD, according to industry-sponsored research presented at ENDO 2022 in Atlanta. Researchers led by Alden Smith, PharmD, Global Head of Health Economics and Outcomes Research at Ascendis Pharma in Palo Alto,...
