ESPE Abstracts

Background: Growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy usually requires daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections that can be burdensome for patients and their caregivers. Long-acting GH formulations aim to establish a less burdensome dosing regimen that is as safe and efficacious as daily GH to potentially improve adherence and clinical outcomes. Somapacitan, a long-acting reversible albumin-binding GH derivative, is in development for once-weekly s.c. administration...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a non-malignant, embryological brain tumour in the sellar and parasellar region. Hypothalamic damage is common and accompanied by development of obesity in at least 50% of cases. Mechanisms underlying hypothalamic obesity in craniopharyngioma patients however remain unclear and treatment options are invasive and limited. This feasibility study included a novel application of functional neuroimaging, an established method in obe...

Introduction: Post-marketing surveillance registries provided extensive information about the safety and efficacy of daily growth hormone (GH) therapy during treatment. With the availability of novel long-acting GH (LAGH) therapies, it is important to determine whether the novel molecules or the different pattern of GH exposure lead to changes in the efficacy and safety profile. Therefore, new surveillance registries of LAGH are warranted.<p class="abstext...

Background: Somavaratan, a novel long-acting rhGH fusion protein with t1/2>100 h, previously demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in height velocity (HV) and IGF-I in prepubertal GHD children (Moore JCEM 2016).Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate maintenance of somavaratan treatment effects in the 2nd treatment year.Method: After subcutaneous pediatric doses were evaluated in a single dose PK/PD study (<e...

Background: VRS-317, a novel fusion protein of rhGH, was safe and well tolerated in single dose studies of adults and children with growth harmone deficiency (GHD).Objectives: Conduct a 6-month study to determine the safety, tolerability, height velocity and IGF1 response in GHD children.Methods: 64 subjects were randomized into three arms to evaluate monthly, semi-monthly and weekly dosing.Results: At VRS-31...

Background: VRS-317, a novel fusion protein of rhGH exhibiting delayed clearance, serum half-life generally >100 h, and potential for once monthly dosing, was previously evaluated in a 6-month phase 1b/2a study of weekly, twice monthly or monthly dosing (5.0 mg/kg per month) in prepubertal GHD children (n=64).Objective and hypotheses: We evaluated whether increased VRS-317 dose from 12 to 18 months can offset the decrease in height velocitie...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a rare, suprasellar tumour, which, together with associated surgery or radiotherapy, results in damage to the hypothalamus and severe obesity in approximately 50% of cases. The multi-factorial mechanisms underlying the development of obesity in craniopharyngioma are not well understood. Hypothalamic damage in craniopharyngioma has been associated with dysfunctional parasympathetic nervous system activity leading to altered gluc...

Background: Use of recombinant human growth hormone (somatropin) is recommended for children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) to normalize adult height and avoid extreme short stature. Prior research conducted among small study samples, across different study populations and health care systems, has suggested an association between adherence to somatropin and clinical outcomes, including height velocity. There is a need for further research, using real-wor...

Daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of growth hormone (GH) to treat GH deficiency (GHD) in children is burdensome for both patients and caregivers. Somapacitan (Novo Nordisk) is a long-acting reversible albumin-binding human GH derivative in development for once-weekly s.c. administration in children with GHD, and aims to overcome the treatment burden of daily injections. REAL4 is a multi-national, randomised, open labelled phase 3 trial with a 52-week main phase followed by ...

Growth hormone (GH) stimulates insulin like growth factor I (IGF I) release. IGF-I is the standard biomarker for monitoring GH effects during treatment and to achieve optimal long-term safety, and to a limited extent, monitor efficacy in children with GH deficiency (GHD). The IGF I profile during treatment with a long acting GH (LAGH), such as once weekly somapacitan (Novo Nordisk), differs from the daily GH profile by exhibiting larger peaks and troughs over the dosing interv...