fycompa

Important safety information

Suicidal Behavior and Ideation: Monitor for suicidal thoughts or behavior ( 5.2 ) Neurologic Effects: Monitor for dizziness, gait disturbance, somnolence, and fatigue ( 5.3 ) Patients should use caution when driving or operating machinery ( 5.3 ) Falls: Monitor for falls and injuries ( 5.4 ) Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS)/ Multi-Organ Hypersensitivity: Discontinue if no alternate etiology ( 5.5 ) Withdrawal of Antiepileptic Drugs: In patients with epilepsy, there may be an increase in seizure frequency ( 5.6 ) 5.1 Serious P sychiatric and Behavioral Reactions In the controlled partial-onset seizure clinical trials, hostility- and aggression-related adverse reactions occurred in 12% and 20% of patients randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 6% of patients in the placebo group. These effects were dose-related and generally appeared within the first 6 weeks of treatment, although new events continued to be observed through more than 37 weeks. FYCOMPA-treated patients experienced more hostility- and aggression-related adverse reactions that were serious, severe, and led to dose reduction, interruption, and discontinuation more frequently than placebo-treated patients. In general, in placebo-controlled partial-onset seizure clinical trials, neuropsychiatric events were reported more frequently in patients being treated with FYCOMPA than in patients taking placebo. These events included irritability, aggression, anger, and anxiety, which occurred in 2% or greater of FYCOMPA-treated patients and twice as frequently as in placebo-treated patients. Other symptoms that occurred with FYCOMPA and were more common than with placebo included belligerence, affect lability, agitation, and physical assault. Some of these events were reported as serious and life-threatening. Homicidal ideation and/or threat were exhibited in 0.1% of 4,368 FYCOMPA-treated patients in controlled and open label trials, including non-epilepsy trials . Homicidal ideation and/or threat have also been reported postmarketing in patients treated with FYCOMPA. In the partial-onset seizure clinical trials, these events occurred in patients with and without prior psychiatric history, prior aggressive behavior, or concomitant use of medications associated with hostility and aggression. Some patients experienced worsening of their pre-existing psychiatric conditions. Patients with active psychotic disorders and unstable recurrent affective disorders were excluded from the clinical trials. The combination of alcohol and FYCOMPA significantly worsened mood and increased anger. Patients taking FYCOMPA should avoid the use of alcohol [ see Drug Interactions (7.3) ] . Similar serious psychiatric and behavioral events were observed in the primary generalized tonic-clonic seizure clinical trial. In healthy volunteers taking FYCOMPA, observed psychiatric events included paranoia, euphoric mood, agitation, anger, mental status changes, and disorientation/confusional state. In the non-epilepsy trials, psychiatric events that occurred in perampanel-treated patients more often than placebo-treated patients included disorientation, delusion, and paranoia. In the postmarketing setting, there have been reports of psychosis (acute psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia) and delirium (delirium, confusional state, disorientation, memory impairment) in patients treated with FYCOMPA [see Adverse Reactions (6.2) ] . Patients, their caregivers, and families should be informed that FYCOMPA may increase the risk of psychiatric events. Patients should be monitored during treatment and for at least 1 month after the last dose of FYCOMPA, and especially when taking higher doses and during the initial few weeks of drug therapy (titration period) or at other times of dose increases. Dose of FYCOMPA should be reduced if these symptoms occur. Permanently discontinue FYCOMPA for persistent severe or worsening psychiatric symptoms or behaviors and refer for psychiatric evaluation. 5. 2 Suicidal Behavior and Ideation Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), including FYCOMPA, increase the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking these drugs for any indication. Patients treated with any AED for any indication should be monitored for the emergence or worsening of depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, and/or any unusual changes in mood or behavior. Pooled analyses of 199 placebo-controlled clinical trials (mono- and adjunctive therapy) of 11 different AEDs showed that patients randomized to one of the AEDs had approximately twice the risk (adjusted Relative Risk 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.7) of suicidal thinking or behavior compared to patients randomized to placebo. In these trials, which had a median treatment duration of 12 weeks, the estimated incidence of suicidal behavior or ideation among 27,863 AED-treated patients was 0.43%, compared to 0.24% among 16,029 placebo-treated patients, representing an increase of approximately one case of suicidal thinking or behavior for every 530 patients treated. There were four suicides in drug-treated patients in the trials and none in placebo-treated patients, but the number is too small to allow any conclusion about drug effect on suicide. The increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior with AEDs was observed as early as 1 week after starting drug treatment with AEDs and persisted for the duration of treatment assessed. Because most trials included in the analysis did not extend beyond 24 weeks, the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior beyond 24 weeks could not be assessed. The risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior was generally consistent among drugs in the data analyzed. The finding of increased risk with AEDs of varying mechanisms of action and across a range of indications suggests that the risk applies to all AEDs used for any indication. The risk did not vary substantially by age (5-100 years) in the clinical trials analyzed. Table 1 shows absolute and relative risk by indication for all evaluated AEDs. Table 1. Risk by indication for antiepileptic drugs in the pooled analysis Indication Placebo Patients with Events per 1000 Patients Drug Patients with Events per 1000 patients Relative Risk: Incidence of Events in drug Patients/ Incidence in Placebo Patients Risk Difference: Additional Drug Patients with Events per 1000 Patients Epilepsy 1.0 3.4 3.5 2.4 Psychiatric 5.7 8.5 1.5 2.9 Other 1.0 1.8 1.9 0.9 Total 2.4 4.3 1.8 1.9 The relative risk for suicidal thoughts or behavior was higher in clinical trials for epilepsy than in clinical trials for psychiatric or other conditions, but the absolute risk differences were similar for the epilepsy and psychiatric indications. Anyone considering prescribing FYCOMPA or any other AED must balance the risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior with the risk of untreated illness. Epilepsy and many other illnesses for which AEDs are prescribed are themselves associated with morbidity and mortality and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. Should suicidal thoughts and behavior emerge during treatment, the prescriber needs to consider whether the emergence of these symptoms in any given patient may be related to the illness being treated. 5. 3 Neurologic Effects Dizziness and Gait Disturbance FYCOMPA caused dose-related increases in events related to dizziness and disturbance in gait or coordination [ see Adverse Reactions (6.1) ] . In the controlled partial-onset seizure clinical trials, dizziness and vertigo were reported in 35% and 47% of patients randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 10% of placebo-treated patients. The gait disturbance related events (including ataxia, gait disturbance, balance disorder, and abnormal coordination) were reported in 12% and 16% of patients randomized to receive FYCOMPA at doses of 8 mg and 12 mg per day, respectively, compared to 2% of placebo-treated…