Context: Daily injections are required for growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy, which may
cause low compliance as a result of inconvenience and distress in patients.
Objective: C-terminal peptide–modified human GH (MOD-4023) is developed for once-a-week
dosing regimen in GH-deficient (GHD) adults and children. The present trial was a safety and
dose-finding study for weekly MOD-4023 in GHD children.
Design: A multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled phase 2 study in children with GHD,
evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, and efficacy of three
different weekly MOD-4023 doses, compared with daily recombinant human GH (r-hGH).
Setting: The trial was conducted in 14 endocrinology centers in Europe.
Patients: Fifty-three prepubertal children with GHD completed 12 months of treatment with either
MOD-4023 (N = 42) or r-hGH (N = 11).
Interventions: C-terminal peptide–modified hGH (MOD-4023) was administered weekly at a dose of
either 0.25, 0.48, or 0.66 mg/kg/wk and compared with daily hGH at a dose of 0.24 mg/kg/wk.
Results: MOD-4023 showed an estimated half-life approximately fivefold to 10-fold longer when
compared with daily r-hGH. Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF-binding peptide 3 showed a
dose-dependent increase during MOD-4023 treatment. IGF-I standard deviation score for MOD4023
did not exceed +2. All MOD-4023 cohorts demonstrated adequate catch-up growth. The
0.66 mg/kg/wk dose demonstrated efficacy closest to daily r-hGH. No serious adverse events were
observed during MOD-4023 treatment, and its tolerability was consistent with known properties of
r-hGH.