Women & Infants participating in national research study of new fertility drug

The emotional and physical demands on a couple seeking fertility treatment can be daunting. Researchers are constantly on a quest to improve fertility to increase a couple's chances of becoming pregnant in the most time and cost efficient manner.

Women & Infants Hospital is one of the centers participating in a national, randomized study to investigate the efficacy of a new fertility drug. This new drug would require one weekly injection rather than daily injections to simulate ovaries to make follicles. Women between the ages of 35 and 42 may qualify for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle at no cost with the investigational drug.

Lead investigator is Bala Bhagavath, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist in the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

"Traditional infertility treatment requires the use of a drug that is administered through daily injections to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs," said Dr. Bhagavath. "This new drug would require a single injection that lasts seven days. This is obviously much easier for the patient, and we're hoping it will be equally, if not more, effective than the current drugs available. "

Provided by Women & Infants Hospital