Subdermal Implant-bioabsorbable Gestrinone Pellet for Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Treatment

Summary

Pelvic pain is considered a symptom of multifactorial origin among which Endometriosis is the main gynecological cause affecting 5-10% of worldwide women in their reproductive years, negatively impacting their quality of life and work efficiency. Treatment of endometriosis-associated pelvic pain is challenging and there are surgical and/or hormonal treatments available with variable endpoints. Gestrinone is a synthetic derivative of 19-nortestosterone with anti-estrogen, anti-progestin, androgenic, and weak estrogen-like action. Previous studies show that the oral treatment with Gestrinone induced an improvement in symptoms associated with endometriosis but with adverse events such as androgenization and uterine bleeding. Parenteral administration of Gestrinone could be effective to treat pain symptoms secondary to endometriosis and minimize these adverse events. This study evaluates the safety and tolerability of subdermal implant-bioabsorbable gestrinone pellet use in women with pelvic pain secondary to endometriosis after 6 months of Gestrinone pellet insertion versus placebo pellet. PK profile of the gestrinone pellet will be monitored.

Timeline

Start

2023-02-13

Primary completion

2025-05-21

Completion

2025-10-31

Publications

• Background Becker CM, Bokor A, Heikinheimo O, Horne A, Jansen F, Kiesel L, King K, Kvaskoff M, Nap A, Petersen K, Saridogan E, Tomassetti C, van Hanegem N, Vulliemoz N, Vermeulen N; ESHRE Endometriosis Guideline Group. ESHRE guideline: endometriosis. Hum Reprod Open. 2022 Feb 26;2022(2):hoac009. doi: 10.1093/hropen/hoac009. eCollection 2022.
• Background Coutinho EM. Treatment of endometriosis with gestrinone (R-2323), a synthetic antiestrogen, antiprogesterone. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1982 Dec 15;144(8):895-8. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(82)90180-6.
• Background Venturini PL, Bertolini S, Brunenghi MC, Daga A, Fasce V, Marcenaro A, Cimato M, De Cecco L. Endocrine, metabolic, and clinical effects of gestrinone in women with endometriosis. Fertil Steril. 1989 Oct;52(4):589-95. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)60969-x.
• Background Gestrinone versus a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for the treatment of pelvic pain associated with endometriosis: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind study. Gestrinone Italian Study Group. Fertil Steril. 1996 Dec;66(6):911-9. doi: 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)58682-8.
• Background Devogelaer JP, Nagant de Deuxchaisnes C, Donnez J. Endometriosis. Lancet. 1993 Jan 30;341(8840):312-3. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(93)92673-h. No abstract available.
• Background Malavasi A, Ribeiro CM, Agati LB, Silva Filho A, Berger C, Schor E, Comin A, Bezerra Neto EJ, Oliveira TH, Caldas PR, Lopes F, Westphalen N, Vieira F, Socca EAR, Komar D, Ramacciotti E. Rationale and design of the GLADE study: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of gestrinone subdermal bioabsorbable pellet in endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Ann Med. 2025 Dec;57(1):2527352. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2025.2527352. Epub 2025 Jul 11.

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Indications