Merck Sharpe and Dohme receives approval for fertility drug ELONVA

Merck Sharpe and Dohme has received a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMPS) for its fertility treatment ELONVA (corifollitropin alfa injection).

The drug has been recommended for use as a treatment for the development of multiple follicles in women enrolled in an assisted reproductive technology programme.

It has been shown to provoke and sustain multiple follicale growth within the space of a week and, if approved, the firm will be authorised to market the product with unified labelling valid in all European Union member states.

Mirjam Mol-Arts, senior vice-president at Merck Research Laboratories, stated: “ELONVA will reduce the burden of injections for women experiencing difficulty conceiving, and the positive opinion is an important step toward a European approval.”

This news follows an announcement made last week that the firm’s therapy Cozaar (iosartan potassium) was shown to significantly reduce the risk of death or hospitalisation due to heart failure.