Trial set to investigate new fertility drug

Enrollment is under way for a national randomized study to assess the efficacy of a new fertility drug that would require one weekly injection rather than daily injections to stimulate the ovaries.

Women between 35 and 42 years of age may qualify for a cycle of in vitro fertilization at no cost, according to an announcement from the Women’s and Infant’s Hospital of Rhode Island in Providence, which is one of the centers participating in the trial. The hospital’s Center for Reproduction and Infertility is enrolling patients for the study in Providence, Boston, and 9 other locations.

“This new drug would require a single injection that lasts 7 days” to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs instead of the daily injections required by traditional infertility treatment, explains lead investigator Bala Bhagavath, MD.

“This is obviously much easier for the patient, and we’re hoping it will be equally, if not more, effective than the current drugs available,” Bhagavath says.

More information about the study is available from Patty Pursue at the Center for Reproduction and Infertility, (401) 453-7500, extension 8404.