Lanreotide Acetate

Lanreotide acetate, an octapeptide somatostatin analog, reached its first worldwide market in France for acromegaly when surgery or radiotherapy have failed to restore normal growth hormone secretion. Lanreotide is a selective inhibitor of growth hormone and reduces the secretion of growth hormone, thyrotropin, motilin and pancreatic polypeptide in humans. Lanreotide has antiproliferative properties and is reportedly in clinical trials for the prevention of restenosis following coronary artery angioplasty, for diabetic retinopathy, and as a therapy for psoriasis. Its potential for neuroendocrine tumors and hormone-responsive prostate cancer has also been demonstrated.

Lanreotide is used in the treatment of acromegaly, due to both pituitary and non-pituitary growth hormone-secreting tumors, and the management of symptoms caused by neuroendocrine tumors, particularly carcinoid tumors and VIPomas. Lanreotide (as lanreotide acetate) is manufactured by Ipsen, and marketed under the trade name Somatuline. It is available in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, and was approved for sale in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 30, 2007. Lanreotide acetate is available in two formulations: a sustained release formulation (sold under the trade name Somatuline LA) and an extended release formulation (UK trade name Somatuline Autogel, or Somatuline Depot in the U.S.). In the United States and Canada, lanreotide is only indicated for the treatment of acromegaly. In the United Kingdom, it is also indicated in the treatment of thyrotrophic adenoma, a rare tumor of the pituitary gland which secretes TSH. Interestingly, lanreotide also shows activity against non-endocrine tumors, and, along with other somatostatin analogues, is being studied as a possible general antitumor agent.