Publication:

Efficacy of follitropin alfa versus follitropin beta in Indian women - impact on oocyte yield and pregnancy outcome: a retrospective study

Background Recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone preparations, Follitropin alfa and Follitropin beta, are widely used for controlled ovarian stimulation in IVF/ICSI. Evidence comparing their reproductive outcomes in Indian women remains limited. This study aims to compare the efficacy of follitropin alfa and follitropin beta on oocyte yield and pregnancy outcomes among Indian women.

Methods Women younger than 40 years who underwent their first ovarian stimulation cycle with either follitropin alfa or follitropin beta were included after applying the exclusion criteria. Their demographic data, follicular growth, gonadotropin dose used and duration of stimulation, oocyte yield, embryological and pregnancy outcome data are retrieved and compared.

Results In this cohort of 177 patients 115 women underwent stimulation using follitropin alfa and 62 women with follitropin beta. Baseline demographic, clinical characteristics and ovarian indices were comparable. Follitropin alfa significantly produced higher oocyte (16.33±8.90 vs. 13.13±7.01) and top- intermediate quality embryo yield (8.92±5.46 vs. 7.19±4.04) than follitropin beta in a dose-independent manner, while clinical pregnancy rates (47.0% vs. 61.3%) and cumulative live birth rates (38.3% vs. 48.4%) were comparable between the groups in Indian women who underwent controlled ovarian stimulation.

Conclusions The study provides encouraging evidence that in both the overall cohort and age-stratified analyses, follitropin alfa had a clear advantage in oocyte and embryo yield but no definitive superiority in final reproductive outcomes when compared to follitropin beta.