LG Life Sciences also says six key medical schools in Europe have completed the two-year-long tests of the slow-release human growth hormone (SR-hGH) on approximately 50 children, who either lack growth hormones or are suffering from dwarfism.
The company claims the drug is different from other growth hormones. Patients will have to take one hormone shot a week unlike the prevailing treatments, which require daily injections. The final trials of the drug will begin later this year.
LG Life Sciences spokesperson Kim Hyuk says, "Many experts view the drug as a possible breakthrough in dwarfism treatment, considering the successful results of the clinical trial. If all goes well with the development, we aim to start global marketing after registering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by 2008."
