Corifollitropin alfa versus recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone: an individual patient data meta-analysis

•Corifollitropin alfa resulted in an average of one oocyte more than rFSH.•Differences in pregnancy and live birth rates between treatments were not significant.•There was a similar incidence of OHSS between corifollitropin alfa and rFSH.

A meta-analysis was conducted of individual patient data (n = 3292) from three randomized controlled trials of corifollitropin alfa versus rFSH: Engage (150 µg corifollitropin alfa n = 756; 200 IU rFSH n = 750), Ensure (100 µg corifollitropin alfa n = 268; 150 IU rFSH n = 128), and Pursue (150 µg corifollitropin alfa n = 694; 300 IU rFSH n = 696). Women with regular menstrual cycles aged 18–36 and body weight >60 kg (Engage) or ≤60 kg (Ensure), or women aged 35–42 years and body weight ≥50 kg (Pursue), received a single injection (100 µg or 150 µg) of corifollitropin alfa (based on body weight and age) or daily rFSH. The difference (corifollitropin alfa minus rFSH) in the number of oocytes retrieved was +1.0 (95% CI: 0.5–1.5); vital pregnancy rate: −2.2% (95% CI: −5.3%–0.9%); ongoing pregnancy rate: −1.7% (95% CI: −4.7%–1.4%); and live birth rate: −2.0% (95% CI: −5.0%–1.1%). The odds ratio for overall OHSS was 1.15 (95% CI: 0.82–1.61), and for moderate-to-severe OHSS: 1.29 (95% CI: 0.81–2.05). A single dose of corifollitropin alfa for the first 7 days of ovarian stimulation is a generally well-tolerated and similarly effective treatment compared with daily rFSH.