Teva UK has launched its fertility treatment Ovaleap in the UK, offering a biosimilar alternative to Merck Serono’s Gonal-f.
Ovaleap (follitropin alfa, r-hFSH) is licensed in the country for the treatment of anovulation and the stimulation of follicular development in women alongside assisted reproductive technologies or with a luteinising hormone, and also for the stimulation of spermatogenesis in men.
The drug was approved in Europe in September 2013 with the same indication as Gonal-f, and has a comparable efficacy and safety profile, Teva noted. Phase III trials showed no difference between the two treatments in the number or quality of eggs retrieved from the ovaries, or in the number of babies born.
In the UK, around one in seven couples will experience infertility issues, and Christophe Pelletier, vice president of Women’s Health Europe at Teva, said he hopes that “by providing a r-hFSH alternative, more people facing infertility will be able to access and benefit from treatment”.
