What is Pergoveris? and what is it used for?
Pergoveris is a fertility medicine used in women to stimulate the development of follicles, the structures inside the ovaries that contain an egg. Pergoveris is for adult women who have low levels of two hormones that stimulate the ovaries – follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH). The medicine contains the active substances follitropin alfa and lutropin alfa.
How is Pergoveris used?
Pergoveris is available as a solution for injection in a pre-filled pen or as a powder and solvent to be made up into a solution for injection. Pergoveris is injected under the skin once a day until the patient has developed a suitable follicle, as assessed using ultrasound scans and by measuring blood oestrogen levels. This may take up to 5 weeks. The recommended starting dose is 150 International Units (IU) of follitropin alfa and 75 IU of lutropin alfa once a day, but this should be tailored to the patient’s response. Using less than the recommended starting dose may not be sufficient to stimulate development of a follicle. If necessary, the dose of follitropin alfa can be increased by adding it as a separate medicine, with 7 to 14 days between each dose increase.
The first injection must be given under direct supervision of a doctor who has experience in the treatment of fertility problems, but the patient can inject herself if she wants to, provided she has been properly trained and has access to expert advice.
The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription. For further information see the package leaflet.
