FDA Approval of Sogroya May Change Prescribing in GH Class
When the FDA approved Novo Nordisk, Inc.’s Sogroya (somapacitan-beco) for the replacement of growth hormone in adults with growth hormone deficiency on Aug. 28, it became the only long-acting agent on the market (RSP 9/20, p. 8). A survey by Zitter Insights shows that many endocrinologists expect to shift prescribing to such agents from the short-acting growth hormones. And many payers say they expect to manage at least one long-acting agent at parity with short-acting growth hormones.
There are seven short-acting growth hormones currently available to treat adults with growth hormone deficiency, all of them branded forms of somatropin:
✦ Genotropin from Pfizer Inc.;
✦ Humatrope from Eli Lilly and Co.;
✦ Norditropin from Novo Nordisk Inc.;
✦ Nutropin AQ from Genentech USA, Inc., a member of the Roche Group;
✦ Omnitrope from Sandoz Inc., a Novartis unit;
✦ Saizen from EMD Serono, Inc., a business of Merck KGaA; and
✦ Zomacton from Ferring B.V.
