Early preclinical work with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues

In this article, I provide a narrative remembrance of the many early proof-of-concept studies that were performed at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A group, led by the late Dr. Gary Hodgen, piloted some of the ways gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues are now being used clinically. We also put many different early peptide and small molecule (orally active) gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists through a battery of tests to explore their effects on male and female reproductive hormones. Most of the compounds we tested never reached the clinic because of various reasons. However, some have and are now making a difference in people’s lives.