Rationale for long-acting growth hormone therapy and future aspects

Abstract

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, such as legal representatives or guardians of children in institutional care. Challenges associated with daily treatment may result in missing several doses but 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 (LAGH) formulations with extended half-life may be administered less frequently and aim 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.