1 Recommendations
1.1 Somatrogon is recommended, within its marketing authorisation, as an option for treating growth disturbance caused by growth hormone deficiency in children and young people aged 3 years and over.
1.2 If people with the condition and their clinicians consider somatrogon to be 1 of a range of suitable treatments (including any preparation of somatropin) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the available treatments. After that discussion, if more than 1 treatment is suitable, choose the least expensive. Take account of administration costs, dosage, price per dose and commercial arrangements.
Why these recommendations were made
Growth disturbance caused by growth hormone deficiency is usually treated with somatropin, available in multiple preparations, which are already recommended in NICE's technology appraisal guidance on somatropin. Somatragon works in a similar way, but it is a weekly injection instead of a daily one.
Evidence from clinical trials shows that somatrogon is as effective as one preparation of somatropin (Genotropin).
The cost modelling used a range of dosages of somatropin (0.023 to 0.039 mg/kg per day), which clinical experts advised is the range of dosages used in the NHS.
Using this range of dosages, a cost comparison suggests the costs of somatrogon are similar to those of the somatropin preparations. So somatrogon is recommended.
For all evidence see the committee papers. To see what NICE did for somatropin, see the committee discussion in NICE's guidance on somatropin.