Macimorelin (

INN Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

) – or Macrilen (trade name) – is a drug that was developed by Aeterna Zentaris for use in the diagnosis of adult

growth hormone deficiency Growth hormone deficiency (GHD), or hyposomatotropism, is a medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (GH). Generally the most noticeable symptom is that an individual attains a short height. Newborns may also present low blood ...

. Macimorelin acetate, the salt formulation, is a synthetic growth hormone secretagogue receptor agonist. It is a

growth hormone secretagogue receptor Growth hormone secretagogue receptor(GHS-R), also known as ghrelin receptor, is a G protein-coupled receptor that binds growth hormone secretagogues (GHSs), such as ghrelin, the "hunger hormone". The role of GHS-R is thought to be in regulating en ...

(ghrelin receptor) agonist, causing release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Macimorelin acetate is described chemically as D-Tryptophanamide, 2-methylalanyl-N- 1R)-1-(formylamino)-2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethylacetate. Macimorelin (Macrilen) was invented and first synthesized at

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

, Centre National de la Recherche Scientitifique (

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

), France. This transpired from a long-lasting research collaboration with Aeterna Zentaris. Aeterna Zentaris later in-licensed macimorelin as a development candidate from the CNRS and proceeded with the pre-clinical and clinical development of the compound. As of January 2014, it was in

Phase III clinical trials The phases of clinical research are the stages in which scientists conduct experiments with a health intervention to obtain sufficient evidence for a process considered effective as a medical treatment. For drug development, the clinical phases ...

. The phase III trial for growth hormone deficiency is expected to be complete in December 2016. As of December 2017, it was FDA-approved as a method to diagnose growth hormone deficiency. Traditionally, growth hormone deficiency was diagnosed via means of

insulin tolerance test An insulin tolerance test (ITT) is a medical diagnostic procedure during which insulin is injected into a patient's vein, after which blood glucose is measured at regular intervals. This procedure is performed to assess pituitary function, adren ...

(IST) or glucagon stimulation test (GST). These two means are done parenterally, whereas Macrilen boasts an oral formulation for ease of administration for patients and providers. The US

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(FDA) considers it to be a

first-in-class medication A first-in-class medication is a prototype drug that uses a "new and unique mechanism of action" to treat a particular medical condition. While the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research tracks first-in-class medic ...

References

{{Portal bar , Medicine N-Acyltryptamines Formamides Ghrelin receptor agonists Growth hormone secretagogues Peptide therapeutics

See also

References