Prescription Drug Information: BRILINTA

BRILINTA- ticagrelor tablet
Cardinal Health 107, LLC

WARNING: (A) BLEEDING RISK, and (B) ASPIRIN DOSE AND BRILINTA EFFECTIVENESS IN PATIENTS WITH ACS

A. BLEEDING RISK

BRILINTA, like other antiplatelet agents, can cause significant, sometimes fatal bleeding (5.1, 6.1).
Do not use BRILINTA in patients with active pathological bleeding or a history of intracranial hemorrhage (4.1, 4.2).
Do not start BRILINTA in patients undergoing urgent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) (5.1, 6.1).
If possible, manage bleeding without discontinuing BRILINTA. Stopping BRILINTA increases the risk of subsequent cardiovascular events (5.4).

B. ASPIRIN DOSE AND BRILINTA EFFECTIVENESS IN PATIENTS WITH ACS

Maintenance doses of aspirin above 100 mg daily reduce the effectiveness of BRILINTA and should be avoided (2, 5.2, 14.1).

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE

1.1 Acute Coronary Syndrome or a History of Myocardial Infarction

BRILINTA is indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or a history of MI. For at least the first 12 months following ACS, it is superior to clopidogrel.

BRILINTA also reduces the risk of stent thrombosis in patients who have been stented for treatment of ACS [see Clinical Studies (14.1)].

1.2 Coronary Artery Disease but No Prior Stroke or Myocardial Infarction

BRILINTA is indicated to reduce the risk of a first MI or stroke in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) at high risk for such events [see Clinical Studies (14.2)]. While use is not limited to this setting, the efficacy of BRILINTA was established in a population with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

1.3 Acute Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

BRILINTA is indicated to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with acute ischemic stroke (NIH Stroke Scale score ≤5) or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA) [see Clinical Studies (14.3)].

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

2.1 Acute Coronary Syndrome or a History of Myocardial Infarction

Initiate treatment with a 180 mg loading dose of BRILINTA. Administer 90 mg of BRILINTA twice daily during the first year after an ACS event. After one year, administer 60 mg of BRILINTA twice daily.

Use BRILINTA with a daily maintenance dose of aspirin of 75 to 100 mg [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) and Clinical Studies (14)].

2.2 Coronary Artery Disease but No Prior Stroke or Myocardial Infarction

Administer 60 mg of BRILINTA twice daily. For all patients with ACS [see Dosage and Administration (2.1)].

Use BRILINTA with a daily maintenance dose of aspirin of 75 to 100 mg [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) and Clinical Studies (14)].

2.3 Acute Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

Initiate treatment with a 180 mg loading dose of BRILINTA and then continue with 90 mg twice daily for up to 30 days. The treatment effect accrued early in the course of therapy [see Clinical Studies (14.3)].

Use BRILINTA with a loading dose of aspirin (300 to 325 mg) and a daily maintenance dose of aspirin of 75 to 100 mg [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) and Clinical Studies (14)].

2.4 Administration

A patient who misses a dose of BRILINTA should take one tablet (their next dose) at its scheduled time.

For patients who are unable to swallow tablets whole, BRILINTA tablets can be crushed, mixed with water and drunk. The mixture can also be administered via a nasogastric tube (CH8 or greater) [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

Do not administer BRILINTA with another oral P2Y12 platelet inhibitor.

3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS

BRILINTA (ticagrelor) 90 mg is supplied as a round, biconvex, yellow, film-coated tablet marked with a “90” above “T” on one side.

BRILINTA (ticagrelor) 60 mg is supplied as a round, biconvex, pink, film-coated tablet marked with “60” above “T” on one side.

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS

4.1 History of Intracranial Hemorrhage

BRILINTA is contraindicated in patients with a history of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) because of a high risk of recurrent ICH in this population [see Clinical Studies (14.1), (14.2)].

4.2 Active Bleeding

BRILINTA is contraindicated in patients with active pathological bleeding such as peptic ulcer or intracranial hemorrhage [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) and Adverse Reactions (6.1)].

4.3 Hypersensitivity

BRILINTA is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity (e.g., angioedema) to ticagrelor or any component of the product.

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

5.1 Risk of Bleeding

Drugs that inhibit platelet function including BRILINTA increase the risk of bleeding [see Adverse Reactions (6.1)and Warnings and Precautions (5.4)].

Patients treated for acute ischemic stroke or TIA

Patients at NIHSS >5 and patients receiving thrombolysis were excluded from THALES and use of BRILINTA in such patients is not recommended.

5.2 Concomitant Aspirin Maintenance Dose for Patients Being Treated for ACS

In the management of patients with ACS, the use of BRILINTA with maintenance doses of aspirin above 100 mg decreased the effectiveness of BRILINTA. In such patients, use a maintenance dose of aspirin of 75-100 mg [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) and Clinical Studies (14.1)].

5.3 Dyspnea

In clinical trials, about 14% (PLATO and PEGASUS) to 21% (THEMIS) of patients treated with BRILINTA developed dyspnea. Dyspnea was usually mild to moderate in intensity and often resolved during continued treatment but led to study drug discontinuation in 0.9% (PLATO), 1.0% (THALES), 4.3% (PEGASUS), and 6.9% (THEMIS) of patients.

In a substudy of PLATO, 199 subjects underwent pulmonary function testing irrespective of whether they reported dyspnea. There was no indication of an adverse effect on pulmonary function assessed after one month or after at least 6 months of chronic treatment.

If a patient develops new, prolonged, or worsened dyspnea that is determined to be related to BRILINTA, no specific treatment is required; continue BRILINTA without interruption if possible. In the case of intolerable dyspnea requiring discontinuation of BRILINTA, consider prescribing another antiplatelet agent.

5.4 Discontinuation of BRILINTA in Patients Treated for Coronary Artery Disease

Discontinuation of BRILINTA will increase the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death in patients being treated for coronary artery disease. If BRILINTA must be temporarily discontinued (e.g., to treat bleeding or for significant surgery), restart it as soon as possible. When possible, interrupt therapy with BRILINTA for five days prior to surgery that has a major risk of bleeding. Resume BRILINTA as soon as hemostasis is achieved.

5.5 Bradyarrhythmias

BRILINTA can cause ventricular pauses [see Adverse Reactions (6.1)]. Bradyarrhythmias including AV block have been reported in the postmarketing setting. Patients with a history of sick sinus syndrome, 2nd or 3rd degree AV block or bradycardia-related syncope not protected by a pacemaker were excluded from clinical studies and may be at increased risk of developing bradyarrhythmias with ticagrelor.

5.6 Severe Hepatic Impairment

Avoid use of BRILINTA in patients with severe hepatic impairment. Severe hepatic impairment is likely to increase serum concentration of ticagrelor. There are no studies of BRILINTA patients with severe hepatic impairment [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

5.7 Central Sleep Apnea

Central sleep apnea (CSA) including Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR) has been reported in the post-marketing setting in patients taking ticagrelor, including recurrence or worsening of CSA/CSR following rechallenge. If central sleep apnea is suspected, consider further clinical assessment.

5.8 Laboratory Test Interferences

False negative functional tests for Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT)

BRILINTA has been reported to cause false negative results in platelet functional tests (to include, but may not be limited to, the heparin-induced platelet aggregation (HIPA) assay) for patients with Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT). This is related to inhibition of the P2Y12-receptor on the healthy donor platelets in the test by ticagrelor in the affected patient’s serum/plasma. Information on concomitant treatment with BRILINTA is required for interpretation of HIT functional tests. Based on the mechanism of BRILINTA interference, BRILINTA is not expected to impact PF4 antibody testing for HIT.

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS

The following adverse reactions are also discussed elsewhere in the labeling:

Bleeding [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]
Dyspnea [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)]

6.1 Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

BRILINTA has been evaluated for safety in more than 58,000 patients.

Bleeding in PLATO (Reduction in risk of thrombotic events in ACS)

Figure 1 is a plot of time to the first non-CABG major bleeding event.

Figure 1 — Kaplan-Meier estimate of time to first non-CABG PLATO-defined major bleeding event (PLATO)

figure_1
(click image for full-size original)

Frequency of bleeding in PLATO is summarized in Tables 1 and 2. About half of the non-CABG major bleeding events were in the first 30 days.

Table 1 — Non-CABG related bleeds (PLATO)
*
90 mg BID

BRILINTA *
N=9235

Clopidogrel
N=9186

n (%) patients

with event

n (%) patients

with event

PLATO Major + Minor

713 (7.7)

567 (6.2)

Major

362 (3.9)

306 (3.3)

Fatal/Life-threatening

171 (1.9)

151 (1.6)

Fatal

15 (0.2)

16 (0.2)

Intracranial hemorrhage (Fatal/Life-threatening)

26 (0.3)

15 (0.2)

PLATO Minor bleed: requires medical intervention to stop or treat bleeding.

PLATO Major bleed: any one of the following: fatal; intracranial; intrapericardial with cardiac tamponade; hypovolemic shock or severe hypotension requiring intervention; significantly disabling (e.g., intraocular with permanent vision loss); associated with a decrease in Hb of at least 3 g/dL (or a fall in hematocrit (Hct) of at least 9%); transfusion of 2 or more units.

PLATO Major bleed, fatal/life-threatening: any major bleed as described above and associated with a decrease in Hb of more than 5 g/dL (or a fall in hematocrit (Hct) of at least 15%); transfusion of 4 or more units.

Fatal: A bleeding event that directly led to death within 7 days.

No baseline demographic factor altered the relative risk of bleeding with BRILINTA compared to clopidogrel.

In PLATO, 1584 patients underwent CABG surgery. The percentages of those patients who bled are shown in Figure 2 and Table 2.

Figure 2 — ‘Major fatal/life-threatening’ CABG-related bleeding by days from last dose of study drug to CABG procedure (PLATO)

fiigure_2
(click image for full-size original)

X-axis is days from last dose of study drug prior to CABG.

The PLATO protocol recommended a procedure for withholding study drug prior to CABG or other major surgery without unblinding. If surgery was elective or non-urgent, study drug was interrupted temporarily, as follows: If local practice was to allow antiplatelet effects to dissipate before surgery, capsules (blinded clopidogrel) were withheld 5 days before surgery and tablets (blinded ticagrelor) were withheld for a minimum of 24 hours and a maximum of 72 hours before surgery. If local practice was to perform surgery without waiting for dissipation of antiplatelet effects capsules and tablets were withheld 24 hours prior to surgery and use of aprotinin or other haemostatic agents was allowed. If local practice was to use IPA monitoring to determine when surgery could be performed both the capsules and tablets were withheld at the same time and the usual monitoring procedures followed.

T Ticagrelor; C Clopidogrel.

Table 2 — CABG-related bleeding (PLATO)
*
90 mg BID

BRILINTA *

N=770

Clopidogrel

N=814

n (%) patients

with event

n (%) patients

with event

PLATO Total Major

626 (81.3)

666 (81.8)

Fatal/Life-threatening

337 (43.8)

350 (43.0)

Fatal

6 (0.8)

7 (0.9)

PLATO Major bleed: any one of the following: fatal; intracranial; intrapericardial with cardiac tamponade; hypovolemic shock or severe hypotension requiring intervention; significantly disabling (e.g., intraocular with permanent vision loss); associated with a decrease in Hb of at least 3 g/dL (or a fall in hematocrit (Hct) of at least 9%); transfusion of 2 or more units.

PLATO Major bleed, fatal/life-threatening: any major bleed as described above and associated with a decrease in Hb of more than 5 g/dL (or a fall in hematocrit (Hct) of at least 15%); transfusion of 4 or more units.

When antiplatelet therapy was stopped 5 days before CABG, major bleeding occurred in 75% of BRILINTA treated patients and 79% on clopidogrel.

Other Adverse Reactions in PLATO

Adverse reactions that occurred at a rate of 4% or more in PLATO are shown in Table 3.

Table 3 — Percentage of patients reporting non-hemorrhagic adverse reactions at least 4% or more in either group and more frequently on BRILINTA (PLATO)
*
90 mg BID

BRILINTA *
N=9235

Clopidogrel
N=9186

Dyspnea

13.8

7.8

Dizziness

4.5

3.9

Nausea

4.3

3.8

Bleeding in PEGASUS (Secondary Prevention in Patients with a History of Myocardial Infarction)

Overall outcome of bleeding events in the PEGASUS study are shown in Table 4.

Table 4 — Bleeding events (PEGASUS)
*
60 mg BID

BRILINTA *

N=6958

Placebo

N=6996

Events / 1000 patient years

Events / 1000 patient years

TIMI Major

8

3

Fatal

1

1

Intracranial hemorrhage

2

1

TIMI Major or Minor

11

5

TIMI Major: Fatal bleeding, OR any intracranial bleeding, OR clinically overt signs of hemorrhage associated with a drop in hemoglobin (Hgb) of ≥5 g/dL, or a fall in hematocrit (Hct) of ≥15%.

Fatal: A bleeding event that directly led to death within 7 days.

TIMI Minor: Clinically apparent with 3-5 g/dL decrease in hemoglobin.

The bleeding profile of BRILINTA 60 mg compared to aspirin alone was consistent across multiple pre-defined subgroups (e.g., by age, gender, weight, race, geographic region, concurrent conditions, concomitant therapy, stent, and medical history) for TIMI Major and TIMI Major or Minor bleeding events.

Other Adverse Reactions in PEGASUS

Adverse reactions that occurred in PEGASUS at rates of 3% or more are shown in Table 5.

Table 5 — Non-hemorrhagic adverse reactions reported in >3.0% of patients in the ticagrelor 60 mg treatment group (PEGASUS)
*
60 mg BID

BRILINTA *
N=6958

Placebo
N=6996

Dyspnea

14.2%

5.5%

Dizziness

4.5%

4.1%

Diarrhea

3.3%

2.5%

Bleeding in THEMIS (Prevention of major CV events in patients with CAD and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus)

The Kaplan-Meier curve of time to first TIMI Major bleeding event is presented in Figure 3.

Figure 3 – Time to first TIMI Major bleeding event (THEMIS)

figure_3
(click image for full-size original)

T = Ticagrelor; P = Placebo; N = Number of patients

The bleeding events in THEMIS are shown below in Table 6.

Table 6 – Bleeding events (THEMIS)

BRILINTA

N=9562

Placebo

N=9531

Events / 1000 patient years

Events / 1000 patient years

TIMI Major

9

4

TIMI Major or Minor

12

5

TIMI Major or Minor or Requiring medical attention

46

18

Fatal bleeding

1

0

Intracranial hemorrhage

3

2

Bleeding in THALES (Reduction in risk of stroke in patients with acute ischemic stroke or TIA)

The Kaplan-Meier curve of time course of GUSTO severe bleeding events is presented in Figure 4.

Figure 4 – Time course of GUSTO severe bleeding events

figure_4
(click image for full-size original)

KM%: Kaplan-Meier percentage evaluated at Day 30; T = Ticagrelor; P = placebo; N = Number of patients

GUSTO Severe: Any one of the following: fatal bleeding, intracranial bleeding (excluding asymptomatic hemorrhagic transformations of ischemic brain infarctions and excluding microhemorrhages < 10 mm evident only on gradient-echo magnetic resonance imaging), bleeding that caused hemodynamic compromise requiring intervention (eg, systolic blood pressure <90 mmg Hg that required blood or fluid replacement, or vasopressor/inotropic support, or surgical intervention).

Intracranial bleeding and fatal bleeding in THALES: In total, there were 21 intracranial hemorrhages (ICHs) for BRILINTA and 6 ICHs for placebo. Fatal bleedings, almost all ICH, occurred in 11 for BRILINTA and in 2 for placebo.

Bradycardia

In a Holter substudy of about 3000 patients in PLATO, more patients had ventricular pauses with BRILINTA (6.0%) than with clopidogrel (3.5%) in the acute phase; rates were 2.2% and 1.6%, respectively, after 1 month. PLATO, PEGASUS, THEMIS and THALES excluded patients at increased risk of bradycardic events (e.g., patients who have sick sinus syndrome, 2nd or 3rd degree AV block, or bradycardic-related syncope and not protected with a pacemaker).

Lab abnormalities

Serum Uric Acid:

In PLATO, serum uric acid levels increased approximately 0.6 mg/dL from baseline on BRILINTA 90 mg and approximately 0.2 mg/dL on clopidogrel. The difference disappeared within 30 days of discontinuing treatment. Reports of gout did not differ between treatment groups in PLATO (0.6% in each group).

In PEGASUS, serum uric acid levels increased approximately 0.2 mg/dL from baseline on BRILINTA 60 mg and no elevation was observed on aspirin alone. Gout occurred more commonly in patients on BRILINTA than in patients on aspirin alone (1.5%, 1.1%). Mean serum uric acid concentrations decreased after treatment was stopped.

Serum Creatinine:

In PLATO, a >50% increase in serum creatinine levels was observed in 7.4% of patients receiving BRILINTA 90 mg compared to 5.9% of patients receiving clopidogrel. The increases typically did not progress with ongoing treatment and often decreased with continued therapy. Evidence of reversibility upon discontinuation was observed even in those with the greatest on treatment increases. Treatment groups in PLATO did not differ for renal-related serious adverse events such as acute renal failure, chronic renal failure, toxic nephropathy, or oliguria.

In PEGASUS, serum creatinine concentration increased by >50% in approximately 4% of patients receiving BRILINTA 60 mg, similar to aspirin alone. The frequency of renal related adverse events was similar for ticagrelor and aspirin alone regardless of age and baseline renal function.

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