Evaluation of efficacy and safety of long-acting PEGylated recombinant human growth hormone (Jintrolong) for patients with growth hormone deficiency

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to compare the efficacy, safety and metabolic effects of once-weekly pegylated human growth hormone (PEG-rhGH) with daily rhGH in patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). DESIGN: 48 patients enrolled in this 12-month single-center, open-label, prospective, randomized controlled trial is allocated to PEG-rhGH 0.12 mg/kg/w and 0.20 mg/kg/w treatment. Besides, the control group allocated 23 patients treated with daily rhGH 0.28 mg/kg/w matched with sex, age, and baseline IGF-1 levels. The primary endpoint included height velocity (HV) and IGF-1 increase at the end of treatment. Other parameters associated with growth, metabolism and safety were also monitored. RESULTS: In terms of HV increase, the efficacy of PEG-rhGH dosed at 0.12 mg/kg/w and 0.20 mg/kg/w was comparable to that of daily rhGH dosed at 0.28 mg/kg/w after 3, 6 and 12 treatment (p>0.05). IGF-1 concentration and IGF-1 SDS were both elevated significantly at 3, 6 and 12 months (p=0.000) into normal range following PEG-rhGH treatment. BMI SDS elevated after PEG-rhGH treatment for 3, 6 and 12 months (p=0.000). HbA1c elevated after 3 and 12 months (p=0.009) and METS-IR elevated after 6 months (p=0.019) compared with baseline. The differences of other metabolic indexes (such as blood glucose, blood lipid, etc.) have no statistical significance (p>0.05). No severe adverse event was observed among the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: The efficacy and safety were promising and comparable between once-weekly PEG-rhGH and daily rhGH injection within 12 months. The negative influence on glucose homeostasis needed attention and monitoring.