New Organon Fertility Drug Unveiled

Puregon (recombinant follicle stimulating hormone), a new fertility drug from Akzo Nobel's Organon division, was unveiled before clinical and scientific infertility specialists at the 12th annual meeting in Maastricht of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.

In what is said to have been the world's largest, randomized prospective study ever undertaken in in vitro fertilization, women treated with Puregon had more eggs for collection and more embryos for transfer and storage than those treated with a traditional fertility hormone. The end result, said the investigators, is that women undergoing IVF following controlled ovarian stimulation with Puregon are likely to benefit from higher pregnancy rates after one cycle of egg collection than those treated with a traditional hormone. Currently, around one in five women undergoing one cycle of IVF has a baby, and the studies suggest this rate could increase to one in four in women treated with Puregon.