Dynepo - summary of medicine characteristics

2. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION

Pre-filled syringe containing 1,000 IU per 0.5 ml dose (2,000 IU/ml) of the active substance epoetin delta.

Epoetin delta is produced in human cells (HT-1080) by gene-activation technology.

For a full list of excipients, see section 6.1.

3. PHARMACEUTICAL FORM

Solution for injection in a pre-filled syringe.

Clear, colourless and waterlike.

Dynepo is indicated for the treatment of symptomatic anaemia associated with chronic renal failure (CRF) in adult patients. It may be used in patients on dialysis and in patients not on dialysis.

4.2 Posology and method of administration

Treatment with Dynepo should be initiated by physicians experienced in the treatment of anaemia associated with CRF..

The dosage of Dynepo must be adjusted individually to maintain the level of haemoglobin within the target range of 10 to 12g/dl.

Anaemia symptoms and sequelae may vary with age, gender, and overall burden of disease; a physician’s e­valuation of the individual patient’s clinical course and condition is necessary. Dynepo should be administered either subcutaneously or intravenously in order to increase haemoglobin to not greater than 12 g/dL (7.5 mmol/L). Subcutaneous use is preferable in patients who are not receiving haemodialysis to avoid puncture of peripheral veins.

Due to intra-patient variability, occasional individual haemoglobin values for a patient above and below the desired haemoglobin level may be observed. Haemoglobin variability should be addressed through dose management, with consideration for the haemoglobin target range of 10 g/dL (6.2 mmol/l) to 12g/dL (7.5mmol/l). A sustained haemoglobin level of greater than 12 g/dL (7.5 mmol/l) should be avoided; guidance for appropriate dose adjustment for when haemoglobin values exceeding 12 g/dL (7.5mmol/l) are observed, are described below (see Dose Management section below).

A rise in haemoglobin of greater than 2 g/dL (1.25 mmol/l) over a four week period should be avoided. If it occurs, appropriate dose adjustment should be made as provided.

Patients should be monitored closely to ensure that the lowest approved dose of Dynepo is used to provide adequate control of the symptoms of anaemia.

Dose Management

Starting dose is 50 IU/kg three times a week if administered intravenously. 50 IU/kg twice a week if administered subcutaneously.

It may not be necessary to use erythropoietin during the first three months after starting peritoneal dialysis because an increase in haemoglobin often occurs during this period.

Sufficient time should be allowed to determine a patient’s res­ponsiveness to a dosage of Dynepo before adjusting the dose. Because of the time required for erythropoiesis, an interval of approximately 4 weeks may occur between the time of a dose adjustment (initiation, increase, decrease or discontinuation) and a significant change in haemoglobin. In consequence, dose adjustment should not be made more frequently than once a month, unless clinically indicated.

Dose should be decreased by 25 % – 50 % or treatment temporarily withdrawn and then re-introduced with a lower dosage if:

• – Haemoglobin reaches > 12 g/dl or

• – The rate of increase of haemoglobin > 2 g/dl in any 4 week period.

Dose should be increased by 25 % – 50 % if: – Haemoglobin falls below < 10 g/dl and

Administration

Dynepo may be administered intravenously or subcutaneously. Subcutaneous self administration may be used after training by a medical professional.

The required weekly dose of Dynepo is lower when Dynepo is administered subcutaneously compared to intravenously.

For subcutaneous injection, the whole length of the needle should be inserted perpendicularly into a skin fold held between thumb and forefinger, the skin fold should be held throughout the injection.

Discard the syringe after initial single use.

Special populations

Dynepo is not indicated for the management of anaemia associated with cancer.

No special dosage adjustments are required in elderly patients.

Patients with homozygous sickle cell disease and renal failure should where possible be maintained at a total haemoglobin concentration between 7 and 9 g/dl.

The experience in children is limited.

Due to limited experience, the efficacy and safety of Dynepo could not be assessed in patients with impaired liver function.

4.3 Contra-indications

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients

Uncontrolled hypertension.

4.4 Special warnings and precautions for use

In patients with chronic renal failure, maintenance haemoglobin concentration should not exceed the upper limit of the target haemoglobin concentration recommended in Section 4.2.

In clinical trials, an increased risk of death and serious cardiovascular events was observed when erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) were administered to target a haemoglobin of greater than 12 g/dL (7.5 mmol/l).

Controlled clinical trials have not shown significant benefits attributable to the administration of epoetins when haemoglobin concentration is increased beyond the level necessary to control symptoms of anaemia and to avoid blood transfusion.

Hypertension

Most of patients with chronic renal failure have a history of hypertension. Patients on Dynepo therapy can experience increase in blood pressure or aggravation of existing hypertension.

Therefore, in patients treated with Dynepo, special care should be taken to monitor closely and control blood pressure. Blood pressure should be controlled adequately before initiation and during therapy to avoid acute complications like hypertensive encephalopathy and related complications (seizures, stroke). If these reactions occur they require the immediate attention of a physician and intensive medical care. Particular attention should be paid to sudden sharp migraine-like headaches as a possible warning signal.

Increases in blood pressure may require treatment with anti-hypertensive medicines or dosing increase of existing anti-hypertensive medications. In addition, a reduction of the administered dose of Dynepo needs to be considered. If blood pressure values remain high, a transient interruption of Dynepo therapy may be

required.

Once hypertension is controlled with more intensified therapy, D reduced dose.

Iron evaluation

During Dynepo therapy, absolute or functional iron deficiency may develop. This is the most common cause of an incomplete response to an erythropoietin therapy.

Therefore, prior to and during Dynepo therapy, the patient's iron stores, including transferrin saturation and serum ferritin, should be evaluated. Transferrin saturation should be at least 20 %, and ferritin should be at least 100 ng/ml. If transferrin saturation falls below 20 %, or if ferritin falls below 100 ng/ml, iron should be administered. Virtually all patients will eventually require supplemental iron to increase or maintain transferrin saturation and ferritin to levels that will adequately support erythropoiesis stimulated by Dynepo.

Anaemia in epoetin-resistant or hyporesponsive patients with failure to respond to 20,000 IU/week should be investigated, including referral to a haematologist.

In the iron-replete patient with an inadequate response to Dynepo therapy, the following conditions should be evaluated and treated, if appropriated:

• • Infection/inflam­mation
• • Occult blood loss
• • Hyperparathyro­idism/Osteitis fibrosa cystica
• • Aluminium intoxication
• • Haemoglobinopathies such as thalassaemia or sickle cell anaemia
• • Vitamin deficiencies, i.e., folic acid or vitamin B12 deficiencies
• • Haemolysis
• • Malignant diseases including multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndrome
• • Malnutrition

Laboratory monitoring

It is recommended that a complete blood count and platelet count is performed regularly.

The haemoglobin level should be determined once a week until it has stabilised in the suggested target range and the maintenance dose has been established. After any dose adjustment, the haemoglobin should also be determined once weekly until it has stabilised in the target range. The haemoglobin level should then be monitored at regular intervals.

Serum chemistry values including creatinine and potassium should be monitored regularly during Dynepo therapy.

Other

Although it has not been observed with Dynepo, since anaphylactoid reactions may occur with erythropoietin, it is recommended that the first dose be administered under medical supervision.

The use of Dynepo in nephrosclerotic patients not yet undergoing dialysis should be defined individually, as a possible acceleration of progression of renal failure cannot be ruled out with certainty.

During haemodialysis, patients treated with Dynepo may require increased anticoagulation treatment to prevent clotting of the arterio-venous shunt.

Misuse of epoetin by healthy persons may lead to an excessive increase in haemoglobin and haematocrit. This may be associated with life-threatening cardiovascular complications

4.5 Interaction with other medicinal products and other forms of interaction

No interaction studies have been performed.

No interactions have been reported during treatment with Dynepo in the course of clinical trials.

4.6 Pregnancy and lactation

Pregnancy: Animal studies are insufficient with respect to effects on pregnancy (see section 5.3). The potential risk for humans is unknown. Caution should be exercised when prescribing to pregnant women. In case of its use during pregnancy, concomitant iron substitution should be considered in the mother.

Lactation: It is not known whether Dynepo is excreted in human breast milk. Since many compounds are excreted in human milk, caution should be advised when Dynepo is administered to breast-feeding

women.

4.7 Effects on ability to XCT

Dynepo has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines.

4.8 Undesirable effects

Approximately 10% of patients can be expected to experience an adverse drug reaction. The most common are hypertension, access related thrombosis and headache. Clinical experience with epoetins suggest hypertension and thrombosis risk may be reduced by titrating the dose to maintain haemoglobin levels between 10 to 12 g/dl.

The frequency of adverse events that were experienced during Dynepo therapy is tabulated below.

Within each frequency grouping, undesirable effects are presented in order of decreasing seriousness:

Increases in serum chemistry values including creatinine and potassium have been observed (see section 4.4).

4.9 Overdose

The maximum dose of epoetin delta that can be safely administered in single or multiple doses has not been determined.

Treatment can result in polycythaemia if the haemoglobin/ha­ematocrit is not carefully monitored and the dose appropriately adjusted. If the suggested target range is exceeded, treatment with epoetin delta should be temporarily withdrawn until the haemoglobin/ha­ematocrit returns to the suggested target range. Epoetin delta can then be reintroduced with a lower dosage (see section 4.2).

If severe polycythaemia occurs, conventional methods (phlebotomy) may be indicated to decrease the haemoglobin level.

5. PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antianaemic – ATC code: B03XA.

Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein that stimulates the formation of erythrocytes from precursors of the stem cell compartment. It acts as a mitosis stimulating factor and differentiation hormone.

The biological efficacy of erythropoietin has been demonstrated after intravenous and subcutaneous administration in various animal models in vivo (rats and dogs). After administration of epoetin delta, the number of erythrocytes, the Hb values and reticulocyte counts increase as well as the 59Fe-incorporation rate.

During the clinical trials, there were no indications of development of neutralising antibodies to epoetin delta in humans based on the clinical response.

When administration is halted, the eyrthropoietic parameters return toward baseline levels within the recovery period of 1–3 months. Subcutaneous administration results in a similar pattern of erythropoietic stimulation as after intravenous administration.

Patients with cancer

Dynepo is not indicated for the management of anaemia associated with cancer.

Erythropoietin is a growth factor that primarily stimulates red cell production. Erythropoietin receptors may be expressed on the surface of a variety of tumour cells.

Survival and tumour progression have been examined in five large controlled studies of epoetin alfa, beta and darbepoetin alfa involving a total of 2,833 patients, of which four were double-blind placebo-controlled studies and one was an open-label study. Two of the studies recruited patients who were being treated with chemotherapy. The target haemoglobin concentration in two studies was >13 g/dL; in the remaining three studies it was 12–14 g/dL. In the open-label study there was no difference in overall survival between patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin and controls. In the four placebo-controlled studies the hazard ratios for overall survival ranged between 1.25 and 2.47 in favour of controls. These studies have shown a consistent unexplained statistically significant excess mortality in patients who have anaemia associated with various common cancers who received recombinant human erythropoietin compared to controls. Overall survival outcome in the trials could not be satisfactorily explained by differences in the incidence of thrombosis and related complications between those given recombinant human erythropoietin and those in the control group.

A systematic review has also been performed involving more than 9000 cancer patients participating in 57 clinical trials. Meta-analysis of overall survival data produced a hazard ratio point estimate of 1.08 in favour of controls (95% CI: 0.99, 1.18; 42 trials and 8167 patients). An increased relative risk of thromboembolic events (RR 1.67, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.06, 35 trials and 6769 patients) was observed in patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin. There is therefore consistent evidence to suggest that there may be significant harm to patients with cancer who are treated with recombinant human erythropoietin. The extent to which these outcomes might apply to the administration of recombinant human erythropoietin to patients with cancer, treated with chemotherapy to achieve haemoglobin concentrations less than 13 g/dL, is unclear because few patients with these characteristics were included in the data reviewed. Survival outcomes and tumour progression in cancer patients that are being treated with Dynepo for anaemia associated with chronic renal failure have not been investigated. The extent to which the outcomes observed in the clinical studies discussed above may apply to this patient population is unclear, specifically considering that the dosages administered in the renal indication are lower than in the cancer indication.

5.2 Pharmacokinetic properties

The pharmacokinetics of erythropoietin following administration of epoetin delta has been examined in both healthy volunteers and patients with chronic renal failure. Following intravenous doses, volume of distribution approximates total blood volume and ranges from 0.063 to 0.097 l/kg. The elimination half-life ranges from 4.7 to 13.2 hours in patients. Half life is approximately 50% shorter in healthy subjects. Measurable concentrations of erythropoietin are maintained in the serum for at least 24 hours following doses ranging from 50 IU/kg to 300 IU/kg. Exposure to erythropoietin following administration of epoetin delta increases proportionately in patients given intravenous doses of 50 IU/kg to 300 IU/kg. No accumulation of epoetin delta was observed after repeated intravenous administration three times weekly.

Peak serum concentrations for subcutaneously administered epoetin delta occur between 8 and 36 hours following injection. The half-life of subcutaneously administered epoetin delta is prolonged compared to intravenous administration and ranges from 27 to 33 hours in patients. The bioavailability of subcutaneously administered epoetin delta is between 26% and 36%.

5.3 Preclinical safety data

Animal studies conducted with both Dynepo and epoetin alfa in pregnant female rats and rabbits did not show any teratogenic effect, but indicated class-related reversible effects on growth and haematopoiesis in the offspring.

Effects in non-clinical studies were observed only at exposures considered sufficiently in excess of the maximum human exposure indicating little relevance to clinical use.

6. PHARMACEUTICAL PARTICULARS6.1 List of excipients

Sodium phosphate monobasic, monohydrate

Sodium phosphate dibasic, heptahydrate

Polysorbate 20

Sodium chloride

Water for injections

6.2 Incompatibilities

6.3 Shelf-life

6.4 Special precautions for storage

Store in a refrigerator (2 C – 8 C). Do not freeze. Keep the syringes in the outer carton to protect from light.

Unopened pre-filled syringes may be kept un-refrigerated but below 25oC for a single maximum period of 5 days. The revised expiry date for storage at below 25oC must not exceed the expiry date set in accordance with the 2 th shelf-life. Following 5 days storage at below 25oC the pre-filled syringes must be discarded.

6.5 Nature and contents of container

Prefilled Type I glass syringe with bromobutyl rubber stopper, 27 gauge stainless steel needle with rigid natural rubber and polystyrene needle shield, polystyrene plunger rod and a needle safety guard. Packs of 6 pre-filled syringes are available.

6.6 Special precautions for disposal of a used medicinal product or waste materials derived from such medicinal product and other handling of the product

Any unused product or waste material should be disposed of in accordance with local requirements.

When given subcutaneously, the site of injection should be rotated with each administration.

Inspect the pre-filled syringe before use. It must only be used if the solution is clear, colourless, with no solid particles visible, and if it is of water-like consistency.

Do not shake the syringe. Prolonged vigorous shaking may denature the active substance.

The syringe is pre-assembled with a needle safety guard to prevent needle stick injury. This does not affect normal operation of the syringe and the syringe can be rotated in the device. Administer the amount required.. When the injection has been administered the needle safety guard will cover the needle when releasing the plunger. Allow the syringe to move up until the entire needle is guarded.

7. MARKETING AUTHORISATION HOLDER

Shire Pharmaceutical Contracts Ltd Hampshire International Business Park Chineham, Basingstoke

Hampshire, RG24 8EP

United Kingdom

8. MARKETING AUTHORISATION NUMBER(S)

EU/1/02/211/001

9. DATE OF FIRST AUTHORISATION / RENEWAL OF THE AUTHORISATION

Date of first authorisation: 18 March 2002

Date of last renewal: 18 March 2007

10. DATE OF REVISION OF THE TEXT

Detailed information on this medicinal product is available on the website of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).