The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment, developed by Canadian firm Theratechnologies and marketed exclusively in the U.S. by Rockland-based EMD Serono, for excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy.
The treatment, called EGRIFTA (tesamorelin for injection), is the only therapy for abdominal lipohypertrophy, according to a news release from EMD Serono. Tesamorelin is an analogue of the human growth hormone releasing factor. EGRIFTA’s long-term cardiovascular safety has not been studied, but two Phase 3 clinical trials have shown patients’ waist circumference and visceral adipose tissue were reduced in those taking EGRIFTA, as opposed to placebo.
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