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How is Follistim® AQ Cartridge administered?

Follistim® AQ Cartridge is administered as a subcutaneous injection (under the skin) using the Follistim Pen®. You load a pre-mixed, pre-filled Follistim® AQ Cartridge containing the medication into the Follistim Pen®, dial up your exact dose and give yourself an injection.

Convenient and precise dosing

Follistim® AQ Cartridge makes the administration process convenient because the cartridge holds more medication than a vial, so you don’t have to replace it as often. One Follistim® AQ Cartridge holds 300 IU, 600 IU or 900 IU of medication so, depending on your prescription, you can use it multiple times before having to change it (learn more about the new 900 IU presentation here). If you have previously used gonadotropins, your dose may be different with Follistim® AQ Cartridge (follitropin beta injection). Your doctor will decide the dose based upon your medical history.

SAFETY INFORMATION

• Your healthcare professional will decide on the dose of Follistim® AQ Cartridge to be given. This dose may be increased or decreased as your treatment progresses depending on your individual type of treatment. If you have previously used gonadotropins, your dose may be different with Follistim® AQ Cartridge. Again, your healthcare professional will decide the dose based upon your medical history.

• Always follow your healthcare professional’s dosing instructions when administering Follistim® AQ Cartridge. Your healthcare professional has individualized the dose to be administered based on your medical history. Do not change your dose unless instructed by your healthcare professional.

• Follistim® AQ Cartridge, like all gonadotropins, is a potent substance capable of causing mild to severe side effects including OHSS, with or without pulmonary or vascular complications.

• Follistim® AQ Cartridge should be prescribed only by physicians who are experienced in infertility treatment and should advise their patients of treatment risks, including OHSS and multiple births.
   
  Please see accompanying Physician Prescribing Information.

Efficacy of Follistim® AQ Cartridge

Clinical studies have shown that therapy with Follistim® AQ Cartridge has positive effects on the production of eggs and pregnancy rates in ART procedures. In patients undergoing COH for IVF the biochemical pregnancy rate was 56.7% per attempt.¹  In women undergoing ovulation induction, Follistim® AQ Cartridge has led to successful ovulation in 95.3% of women, and a biochemical pregnancy rate of 34.9% per attempt. ² 

In an observer questionnaire, designed to assess the “Ease of Use” of Follistim® AQ Cartridge with the Follistim Pen®, subjects rated their experience with the Follistim Pen®.^1,2  Subjects undergoing ART and OI rated their injection experience in two separate studies. On Day 6 in the ART group, more subjects rated the overall experience as “very good” as compared to Day 2, 54 subjects (90%) versus 49 subjects (81.8%), respectively, and only one subject (1.7%) had a “neutral” response. In the Ovulation Induction group, the experience rating of “very good” increased from 90.7% on Day 2 to 95.2% on Day 8.

Results of these studies have shown that self-injection with Follistim® AQ Cartridge, for use with Follistim Pen®, is safe, convenient and well tolerated by patients.
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1 Pang, S. et al. Administration of recombinant  human FSH (solution in cartridge) with a pen device in women undergoing ovarian stimulation.” RBM online 7(3): 319-326, 2003.

2 Kettel LM. et al. “Evaluation of a pen device for self-administration of recombinant human FSH in clomiphene citrate-resistant anovulatory women undergoing ovulation induction.” RBM online 9(4): 373-380, 2003.