Easy Ovarian Stimulation with Corifollitropin alfa

The new follicle stimulation therapy with corifollitropin alfa makes things easier for women seeking to achieve pregnancy through an IVF protocol.

Instead of seven injections to stimulate the ovaries in order to produce enough mature eggs for a successful IVF treatment, now a single injection is enough.

What is Corifollitropin alfa?

It’s a new type of the recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (rFSH), the hormone produced naturally in a woman’s body, which stimulates the production of oocytes in the ovaries. The crucial difference being that in a natural menstrual cycle only one mature egg is produced, whereas in assisted reproduction technology (ART) more eggs are opted for to ensure the maximum success rates. The major advantage of the new ovarian stimulation treatment is that 1 dose lasts for 7 days.

Is it as effective as the daily dose rFSH?

In the largest double-blind fertility agent trial in IVF run to date (Engage trial), it was shown that the rate of ongoing pregnancies achieved with the single-dose, 7-day lasting rFSH preparation, in combination with a GnRH antagonist protocol, was at least as effective (38.9%) as the daily dose preparation (38.1%). Other findings worth mentioning were a high number of eggs and good-quality embryos.

Advantages of the new rFSH

• Easier fertility therapy
• Although a COS therapy with corifollitropin alfa must always be under the supervision of an infertility specialist, the patient may be trained to administer the injection herself or with the help of her husband.
• Minimized risk of error in dose
• Less stress related to the time of the day the injection is administered Combined with a GnRH antagonist protocol, corifollitropin alfa may reduce the number of injections up to 70% within a fertility therapy cycle.
• One out of three patients may not require another corifollitropin alfa injection after the initial one.