Background: GH treatment currently requires daily sc injections, resulting in suboptimal compliance. A GH regimen with fewer injections may offer patients and caregivers a less arduous option. LB03002 is a novel sustained-release GH formulation for once-weekly dosing.
Patients and methods: GH-deficient, GH-naive prepubertal children were randomized to four groups who received 0.2 mg/kg/wk LB03002 for 12 months, followed by 0.5 mg/kg/wk for another 24 months (n=13); 0.5 mg/kg/wk LB03002 for 36 months (n=13); 0.7 mg/kg/wk LB03002 for 12 months, followed by 0.5 mg/kg/wk for another 24 months (n=13); or daily GH 0.03 mg/kg/d for 24 months, switched to 0.5 mg/kg/wk LB03002 for 12 months (n = 12).
Results: Height velocity increased in all groups; the increase was less for the 0.2 mg/kg/wk LB03002 group at 12 (P = 0.008) and 24 months (P = 0.030), with no statistically significant differences at any time for the 0.5 mg/kg/wk and 0.7 mg/kg/wk LB03002 groups, vs. daily GH. Height sd score gain at 12 months was significantly (P = 0.023) less for the 0.2 mg/kg/wk group (1.05 ± 0.38) than daily GH (1.47 ± 0.29), but with no statistically significant difference for the 0.5 mg/kg/wk (1.37 ± 0.39) and 0.7 mg/kg/wk (1.50 ± 0.44) LB03002 groups vs. daily GH. There were no significant differences in height sd score gain between any groups at 24 and 36 months. Bone maturation did not differ for any LB03002 dose compared with daily GH. Serum IGF-I concentrations increased as expected, with no long-term differences between groups. Mean fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations did not exceed normal ranges for any treatment group at any time.
Conclusion: LB03002 at doses of 0.5 mg/kg/wk and 0.7 mg/kg/wk was shown to be effective and safe with once-weekly dosing in GH-deficient children, and 0.5 mg/kg/wk LB03002 was chosen as the optimal dose for long-term assessment.