
Abstract Context Growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy improves longitudinal growth and adult height in children with GH deficiency (GHD). GH stimulates insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I release, the biomarker used for monitoring GH activity during treatment. Objective This study aims to provide model-based insights into the dose–IGF-I responses of once-weekly somapacitan, a novel long-acting GH, compared with daily GH in children with GHD. Methods Analyses included dosing information and 1473 pharmacokinetic samples from 210 somapacitan-treated pediatric patients with GHD across 3 trials, including phase 1 (NCT01973244), phase 2 (NCT02616562; REAL 3), and phase 3 (NCT03811535; REAL 4), as well as 1381 IGF-I samples from 186 patients with GHD treated with somapacitan in REAL 3 and REAL 4. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling to characterize somapacitan dose–IGF-I response and predict the response to dosing day changes. Results Relationships were established between somapacitan dose, exposure, change from baseline IGF-I SD score (SDS), and height velocity (HV). A linear model permitted the development of a tool to calculate estimated average weekly IGF-I exposure from a single IGF-I sample obtained at any time within the somapacitan dosing interval at steady state. In practice, the use of this tool requires knowledge of somapacitan injection timing relative to IGF-I sample collection timing. IGF-I SDS simulations support flexible dosing day changes while maintaining at least 4 days between doses. Conclusion We characterized the dose–IGF-I response of somapacitan in children with GHD. To support physicians in IGF-I monitoring, we present a practical guide about expected weekly average IGF-I concentrations in these patients and provide insights on dosing day flexibility.
Clinical Research Article
Clinical Research Article
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 14 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 10% |
