Use of fertility drugs in the United States, 1973 through 1991

Abstract

There has been a 1.9-fold increase over nearly 20 years in the number of dispensed prescriptions for CC. Since its marketing in 1967, CC has been the major drug prescribed for infertility. In 1973, there were an estimated 390,000 prescriptions for this drug; by 1991, 731,000. From 1984 through 1991, chorionic gonadotropin, menotropins, and urofollitropin together accounted for no more than one third of the market share of the gonadotrophin class of drugs, whose primary indication is treatment of infertility. These drugs were primarily prescribed by obstetrician gynecologists to white females, 20 to 39 years of age, for treatment of infertility of unspecified origin.