Merck Serono launches Saizen injection device

Merck Serono has announced the launch of the easypod growth hormone injection device for use with the company’s recombinant growth hormone deficiency therapy Saizen (somatropin).

The device has been developed in collaboration with healthcare professionals and patients in order to improve ease of daily use and reliability. It has been approved for use in Europe and is currently available in Germany, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

Operating in three steps, the easypod device delivers a once-daily dose to patients subcutaneously, enabling pre-set dosing levels with no dose adjustment by the patient, with the dosage confirmed following administration and recorded by the easypod to enhance patient compliance.

Saizen is therapeutically equivalent to growth hormones produced naturally by the body and is indicated for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency, in addition to Turner’s syndrome and chronic renal failure.

Hans Christian Rohde, head of endocrinology at Merck Serono, said: “This breakthrough technology reaffirms our commitment to innovation in metabolic diseases, especially in growth hormone deficiencies where compliance is a major limitation to treatment success.”

He added that this improvement in the company’s portfolio of drug delivery devices will differentiate it from those offering injection-based devices.

Saizen was made available in the US in January 2005.