Title

A Randomized, Multicentre, Open Label, Evaluator Blinded Study to Evaluate Safety and Efficacy of Folitime® of Gemabiotech S.A., Versus Gonal-f ® of Merck Serono, in Patients With Infertility Undergoing ART
  • Phase

    Phase 3
  • Study Type

    Interventional
  • Status

    Completed No Results Posted
  • Study Participants

    106
This is an open-label, Phase 3, randomized, two arms, multicenter, prospective, experimental study of Folitime® (a new biosimilar formulation of r-hFSH, follitropin alfa) versus the original one (Gonal-f ®).
Follitropin alfa is a human follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) preparation of recombinant DNA origin, which consists of two non-covalently linked, nonidentical glycoproteins designated as the alfa- and beta-subunits. Similar to other glycoprotein hormones, FSH has a high degree of heterogeneity due to differences in the amount and/or composition of the carbohydrate residues, particularly sialic acid. FSH, the active component of r-hFSH is the most important hormone responsible for follicular recruitment and development. In order to obtain final maturation of the follicle and ovulation in the absence of an endogenous LH surge, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) must be given following the administration of r-hFSH when monitoring of the patient indicates that sufficient follicular development has occurred.

Secondary endpoints to be measured by the study are

Efficacy

Total dose of r-hFSH required,
Number of days of r-hFSH stimulation
Percentage of patients with need to increase or lower the dose of r-hFSH,
Number of treatment cycle cancellations and their reason
Fertilization rate
Number of fertilized oocytes
Number of good quality embryos
Number of embryos transferred
Implantation Rate
Biochemical pregnancy
Clinical pregnancy 10 weeks post embryo transfer
Pregnancy outcome

Safety

Incidence of

OHSS (and its severity)
Local reactions (pain, bruising, redness, itching, swelling)
Systemic drug adverse events

Tolerability

Frequency of patients who withdraw the study drug due to lack of tolerance
Frequency of patients who withdraw the study drug treatment due to any reason
Patient Reported Pain: measured by a Patients Visual Analog Scale (VAS)

Immunogenicity Measurement of possible antibodies against exogenous r-hFSH will be evaluated. Pharmacodynamics

Number and size distribution of follicles during treatment
Number and size distribution of follicles at the day of ovulation induction (uHCG)
Number of follicles >14 mm on the day of hCG injection.
Hormone parameters: serum levels of estradiol, luteinizing hormone and progesterone on the day of hCG injection
Metaphase II oocytes;
Number of good quality oocytes
Study Started
Apr 30
2015
Primary Completion
Dec 31
2016
Study Completion
Dec 31
2016
Last Update
Feb 24
2017

Drug FOLITIME®

  • Other names: Follitropin alfa (r-hFSH)

Drug Gonal-F®

  • Other names: Follitropin alfa (r-hFSH)

FOLITIME® Experimental

Therapy will be initiated in the early follicular phase (cycle day 2 or 3) subcutaneously at a dose of 225 IU per day, until sufficient follicular development is attained.

Gonal-F® Active Comparator

Therapy will be initiated in the early follicular phase (cycle day 2 or 3) subcutaneously at a dose of 225 IU per day, until sufficient follicular development is attained.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

18 to 38 years of age
Indication for controlled ovarian stimulation and IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
Regular menstrual cycles (25-35 days)
History of a maximum of two fresh cycle treatments in the present series of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) at the day of first screening (thawed cycles are not subject to that criteria)
Body mass index (BMI) ≥18 and ≤32 kg/m2
Basal FSH <10 IU/L (cycle day 2-5)
Antral follicle count (AFC) ≥8 to ≤18 follicles with a diameter of <10mm (sum of both ovaries) as measured on ultrasound (US) in the early follicular phase (day 1 of the stimulation cycle or of the last cycle previous to the treatment)
Documented history of infertility due to any of the following factors: tubal factor, male factor, unexplained infertility
Presence of both ovaries by ultrasonography and normal uterine cavity or abnormal uterine cavity without clinical significance according to the investigator's opinion (confirmed by hysterosalpingography, saline infusion sonography or hysteroscopy within 12 months before randomization) and normal uterine cavity by transvaginal ultrasound within 3 months of treatment
Male partner with semen analysis that is at least adequate for ICSI within 6 months prior to patient beginning down-regulation (invasive or surgical sperm retrieval, donor and/or cryopreserved sperm may be used)
Willingness to participate in the study and to comply with the study protocol
Signed informed consent prior to screening

Exclusion Criteria:

Presence of pregnancy
History of or active polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
AFC >18 follicles with a diameter of <10 mm (both ovaries combined) as measured on US in the early follicular phase (menstrual cycle day 2-5) or during
History of >2 unsuccessful fresh ART retrieval cycles
History of poor response to gonadotropin treatment (defined as fewer than 5 oocytes retrieved in a previous attempt)
Any hormonal treatment within 1 month before the start of the FSH treatment, with the exception of levothyroxine)
Egg donor
Intrauterine leiomyomas ≥5 cm or otherwise clinically relevant pathology that could impair embryo implantation or pregnancy continuation
Previous history of OHSS
Ovarian cyst or enlargement of undetermined origin
History of recurrent spontaneous abortion (3 or more, even when unexplained)
Presence of endometriosis or hydrosalpinx
Neoplasia, including tumors of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland
Abnormal genital bleeding of undetermined origin
History of extrauterine pregnancy in the previous 3 months
Sex hormone dependent tumors of the reproductive tract and accessory organs.
Uncontrolled thyroid or adrenal dysfunction or presence of uncontrolled endocrine disorder
Known allergy or hypersensitivity to FSH preparations or one of their excipients or progesterone or to any of the excipients of the additional study medications
Clinically significant abnormal findings at Visit 1 that, in the opinion of the investigator, can affect trial resulkts or subject's safety
Administration of other investigational products within the previous month or concomitant participation in another study protocol
No Results Posted