Bravelle® is a fertility drug prescribed for women who need medical help to get pregnant. Bravelle®, also known as urofollitropin, is a purified form of the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), an important hormone used to stimulate the production of eggs in the ovaries. Bravelle® can be used to treat infertility in women with an FSH deficiency, or for “in-vitro” fertilization to help the ovaries produce multiple eggs.

Bravelle® is often used in women who have low levels of FSH and too-high levels of LH (a luteinizing hormone, which also helps trigger ovulation). Women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a common endocrine disorder among women of reproductive age, tend to exhibit hormone levels such as this. As a result, women who suffer polycystic ovary syndrome are treated with Bravelle® to make up for the low amounts of FSH.

Bravelle® may also be prescribed so the ovary produces several follicles, which can then be harvested for use in gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) or in vitro fertilization (IVF). Both GIFT and IVF are techniques of assisted reproductive technology for treatment of infertility.

Bravelle® was recently recalled due to lack of potency. In addition to money and time wasted on ineffective treatments, patients who took Bravelle may have exposed themselves to unnecessary health risks

Read more about these unnecessary health risks on our Complications page.