Dalian, China, 30 July 2021 — Shanghai MicroPort Lifesciences Co. (MicroPort® Lifesciences) recently presented the La Fenice® Insulin Pump and the La Fenice® Hypophyseal Hormone Infusion Pump at the 10th Academic Conference on Diabetes and Gonadal Disorders. The conference, organized by the Gonad Research Group and the Diabetes Research Group of the Chinese Society of Endocrinology recently.
Bringing together more than 400 medical professionals, the event engaged with fundamental and clinical research, clinical treatment, clinical nutrition, prevention, care, drug development and other fields related to endocrine diabetes and gonadal disorders, to promote academic exchanges and collaboration among experts in these fields.
The La Fenice® Insulin Pump, which was showcased at the conference, is a medical aid developed by MicroPort® Lifesciences that uses artificial intelligence to manage insulin treatment. It provides a continuous subcutaneous infusion of insulin which aims to manage hyperglycemia at the normal secretion pattern of insulin, and provides insulin in pulses at five-minute intervals to mimic the basal rate of physiological insulin secretion. Using the La Fenice® Insulin Pump can promote a more effective control of blood sugar, and significantly reduces the risk of hypoglycemia by mitigating the differences in insulin absorption, thus improving patients’ wellbeing.
The La Fenice® Hypophyseal Hormone Infusion Pump is the first-in-China GnRH pulse pump developed by MicroPort® Lifesciences. The pump works as an artificial hypothalamus simulating human gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) by providing continuous subcutaneous Gonarelin (LHRH) infusion via a microinfusion pump, which could stimulate excretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH). The pump is used to treat Idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH), a type of hypogonadal hypoplasia caused by the deficiency of hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which may be associated with loss or hyposmia of the sense of smell (also known as Kalman syndrome).
The La Fenice® Hypophyseal Hormone Infusion Pump could eventually help IHH patients to restore their fertility, and so far, hundreds of ‘MicroPort® babies’ have been born with the help of the La Fenice® Hypophyseal Hormone Infusion Pump, bringing hope to many IHH patients.
Prof. Xueyan Wu from the Department of Endocrinology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital notes, “We used to adopt the androgen therapy for the treatment of patience with IHH, but the result was not favorable. Lately, we have switched to GnRH pulse therapy, which can mimic the normal pulse of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis – and it works very well.”
Over recent years, the prevalence of infertility in China has climbed to 12.5%, with the overall incidence of IHH ranging from 1 to 10 per 100,000 of the population and a male-to-female ratio of 5:1.
Yimin Xu, Executive Director of MicroPort® Lifesciences, said, “We will continue to work towards the company’s vision of building a brand that belongs to patients. We remain committed to independent innovation and development to provide patients with a total solution to their physiological needs using microinfusion technology as a core platform.”