Deslorelin acetate is an injectable gonadotropin releasing hormone super-agonist (GnRH agonist) also known as an LHRH agonist. It stops the production of sex hormones (testosterone

Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...

 and oestrogen

Estrogen

Estrogens , oestrogens , or œstrogens, are a group of compounds named for their importance in the estrous cycle of humans and other animals. They are the primary female sex hormones. Natural estrogens are steroid hormones, while some synthetic ones are non-steroidal...

).

Deslorelin Acetate is marketed by Peptech

Peptech

Peptech Limited used to be an Australian biotechnology company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Peptech described its operations as "...an ASX-listed Australian biotechnology company dedicated to developing and providing antibody and peptide-based human therapeutic products for the...

 with the brand name Ovuplant. It is currently approved for use in veterinary medicine and is used to induce ovulation

Ovulation

Ovulation is the process in a female's menstrual cycle by which a mature ovarian follicle ruptures and discharges an ovum . Ovulation also occurs in the estrous cycle of other female mammals, which differs in many fundamental ways from the menstrual cycle...

 in mares as part of the artificial insemination

Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...

 process. It is also used to stabilize high-risk pregnancies, mainly of livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

. Unlike other GnRH agonists, which are mainly used to inhibit luteinizing hormone

Luteinizing hormone

Luteinizing hormone is a hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gland. In females, an acute rise of LH called the LH surge triggers ovulation and development of the corpus luteum. In males, where LH had also been called interstitial cell-stimulating hormone , it stimulates Leydig cell...

 and follicle-stimulating hormone

Follicle-stimulating hormone

Follicle-stimulating hormone is a hormone found in humans and other animals. It is synthesized and secreted by gonadotrophs of the anterior pituitary gland. FSH regulates the development, growth, pubertal maturation, and reproductive processes of the body. FSH and Luteinizing hormone act...

 by their ultimate downregulation

Downregulation and upregulation

Downregulation is the process by which a cell decreases the quantity of a cellular component, such as RNA or protein, in response to an external variable...

 of the pituitary gland

Pituitary gland

In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...

, Deslorelin is primarily used for the initial flare effect upon the pituitary, and its associated surge of LH secretion.

Pharmacokinetics

Deslorelin is a synthetic analogue of a naturally occurring luteinising-hormone releasing hormone (LHRH). Bioavailability is almost complete.

Clinical trials

Deslorelin was successfully trialed in the US and was approved for veterinary use under certain circumstances. In Europe, it was approved for use in equine assisted reproduction.

It is also being trialed in humans to study its efficacy in treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer

Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

 in women, and in treating precocious puberty

Precocious puberty

As a medical term, precocious puberty describes puberty occurring at an unusually early age. In most of these children, the process is normal in every respect except the unusually early age, and simply represents a variation of normal development. In a minority of children, the early development is...

 and congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia refers to any of several autosomal recessive diseases resulting from mutations of genes for enzymes mediating the biochemical steps of production of cortisol from cholesterol by the adrenal glands ....

 in male and female children.

As of August 2011 this drug was not approved for general use in the US, other than within approved clinical trials. Orphan drug status

Orphan drug

An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that has been developed specifically to treat a rare medical condition, the condition itself being referred to as an orphan disease...

has been designated in the US, though approval had not been issued as of 2011.