- Vincent Goffin: Inserm Unit 584, Hormone Targets, Faculty of Medicine Necker, 156 rue de Vaugirard, 75730, Paris Cedex 15, France. goffin@necker.fr
Pfizer (formerly Pharmacia), in collaboration with its wholly owned subsidiary Sensus, has developed and launched pegvisomant, a pegylated, genetically modified human growth hormone (hGH), for the treatment of acromegaly. Pegvisomant, in contrast to classical somatostatin analogs which lower hGH synthesis, exerts its anti-hGH action by preventing GH receptor activation. This drug is now available in the US and Europe for the treatment of acromegaly.