Aptivus

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Co-administration with Ritonavir: APTIVUS must be co-administered with ritonavir and food to achieve the desired antiviral effect. Failure to administer APTIVUS with ritonavir and food may result in a loss of efficacy of tipranavir. ( 5.1 ) Hepatic Impairment: Discontinue for signs and symptoms of clinical hepatitis or asymptomatic increases in ALT/AST >10 times ULN or asymptomatic increases in ALT/AST 5-10 times ULN with concomitant increases in total bilirubin. Monitor liver function tests prior to therapy and frequently thereafter. ( 5.2 ) Intracranial Hemorrhage/Platelet Aggregation and Coagulation: Use with caution in patients at risk for increased bleeding or who are receiving medications that increase the risk of bleeding. ( 5.3 , 5.5 ) The concomitant use of APTIVUS/ritonavir and certain other drugs may result in known or potentially significant drug interactions. Consult the full prescribing information prior to and during treatment for potential drug interactions. ( 5.4 , 7.2 ) Rash: Discontinue and initiate appropriate treatment if severe skin reaction occurs or is suspected. ( 5.6 ) Use with caution in patients with a known sulfonamide allergy. ( 5.7 ) Patients may develop new onset or exacerbations of diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia ( 5.8 ), immune reconstitution syndrome ( 5.9 ), redistribution/accumulation of body fat ( 5.10 ), and elevated lipids. ( 5.11 ) Monitor cholesterol and triglycerides prior to therapy and periodically thereafter. Hemophilia: Spontaneous bleeding may occur, and additional factor VIII may be required. ( 5.12 ) 5.1 Importance of Co-administration with Ritonavir APTIVUS must be co-administered with ritonavir and food to achieve the desired antiviral effect. Failure to administer APTIVUS with ritonavir and food may result in a loss of efficacy of tipranavir. Please refer to the ritonavir prescribing information for additional information on precautionary measures. 5.2 Hepatic Impairment and Toxicity Clinical hepatitis and hepatic decompensation, including some fatalities, were reported with APTIVUS co-administered with 200 mg of ritonavir. These have generally occurred in subjects with advanced HIV-1 disease taking multiple concomitant medications. A causal relationship to APTIVUS/ritonavir could not be established. Physicians and patients should be vigilant for the appearance of signs or symptoms of hepatitis, such as fatigue, malaise, anorexia, nausea, jaundice, bilirubinuria, acholic stools, liver tenderness or hepatomegaly. Patients with signs or symptoms of clinical hepatitis should discontinue APTIVUS/ritonavir treatment and seek medical evaluation. All patients should be followed closely with clinical and laboratory monitoring, especially those with chronic hepatitis B or C co-infection, as these patients have an increased risk of hepatotoxicity. Liver function tests should be performed prior to initiating therapy with APTIVUS/ritonavir, and frequently throughout the duration of treatment. If asymptomatic elevations in AST or ALT greater than 10 times the upper limit of normal occur, APTIVUS/ritonavir therapy should be discontinued. If asymptomatic elevations in AST or ALT between 5 – 10 times the upper limit of normal and increases in total bilirubin greater than 2.5 times the upper limit of normal occur, APTIVUS/ritonavir therapy should be discontinued. Treatment-experienced patients with chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C co-infection or elevated transaminases are at approximately 2-fold risk for developing Grade 3 or 4 transaminase elevations or hepatic decompensation. In two large, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trials with an active comparator (1182.12 and 1182.48) of treatment-experienced subjects, Grade 3 and 4 increases in hepatic transaminases were observed in 10.3% (10.9/100 PEY) receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir through week 48. In a study of treatment-naïve subjects, 20.3% (21/100 PEY) experienced Grade 3 or 4 hepatic transaminase elevations while receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir 500 mg/200 mg through week 48. Tipranavir is principally metabolized by the liver. Caution should be exercised when administering APTIVUS/ritonavir to patients with mild hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh Class A) because tipranavir concentrations may be increased [ see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. 5.3 Intracranial Hemorrhage APTIVUS, co-administered with 200 mg of ritonavir, has been associated with reports of both fatal and non-fatal intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Many of these subjects had other medical conditions or were receiving concomitant medications that may have caused or contributed to these events. No pattern of abnormal coagulation parameters has been observed in subjects in general, or preceding the development of ICH. Therefore, routine measurement of coagulation parameters is not currently indicated in the management of patients on APTIVUS. 5.4 Risk of Serious Adverse Reactions Due to Drug Interactions Initiation of APTIVUS/ritonavir, a CYP3A inhibitor, in patients receiving medications metabolized by CYP3A or initiation of medications metabolized by CYP3A in patients already receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir, may increase plasma concentrations of medications metabolized by CYP3A. Initiation of medications that inhibit or induce CYP3A may increase or decrease concentrations of APTIVUS/ritonavir, respectively. These interactions may lead to: Clinically significant adverse reactions, potentially leading to severe, life-threatening, or fatal events from greater exposures of concomitant medications. Clinically significant adverse reactions from greater exposures of APTIVUS/ritonavir. Loss of therapeutic effect of APTIVUS/ritonavir and possible development of resistance. See Table 4 for steps to prevent or manage these possible and known significant drug interactions, including dosing recommendations [ see Drug Interactions (7) ]. Consider the potential for drug interactions prior to and during APTIVUS/ritonavir therapy; review concomitant medications during APTIVUS/ritonavir therapy; and monitor for the adverse reactions associated with the concomitant medications [ see Contraindications (4) and Drug Interactions (7) ]. 5.5 Effects on Platelet Aggregation and Coagulation APTIVUS/ritonavir should be used with caution in patients who may be at risk of increased bleeding from trauma, surgery or other medical conditions, or who are receiving medications known to increase the risk of bleeding such as antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants, or who are taking supplemental high doses of vitamin E. In rats, tipranavir treatment alone induced dose-dependent changes in coagulation parameters, bleeding events and death. Co-administration with vitamin E significantly increased these effects [ see Nonclinical Toxicology (13.2) ]. However, analyses of stored plasma from adult and pediatric subjects treated with APTIVUS capsules plus low-dose ritonavir showed no effect of APTIVUS/ritonavir on vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors (Factor II and Factor VII), Factor V, or on prothrombin or activated partial thromboplastin times. In in vitro experiments, tipranavir was observed to inhibit human platelet aggregation at levels consistent with exposures observed in subjects receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir. 5.6 Rash Rash, including urticarial rash, maculopapular rash, and possible photosensitivity, has been reported in subjects receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir. In some cases rash was accompanied by joint pain or stiffness, throat tightness, or generalized pruritus. In controlled adult clinical trials, rash (all grades, all causality) was observed in 10% of females and in 8% of males receiving APTIVUS/ritonavir through 48 weeks of treatment. The median time to onset of rash was 53 days and the median duration of rash was 22 days. The discontinuation rate for rash in clinical trials was 0.5%. In an uncontrolled compassionate use program (n=3920), cases of rash, some of which were severe, accompanied by myalgia, fever, erythema, desquamation, and mucosal erosions were reported. In the pediatric clinical trial, the frequency of rash (all grades, all causality) through 48 weeks of treatment was 21%. Overall, most of the pediatric subjects had mild rash and 5 (5%) had moderate rash. Overall 3% of pediatric subjects interrupted APTIVUS treatment due to rash and the discontinuation rate for rash in pediatric subjects was 0.9%. Discontinue and initiate appropriate treatment if severe skin rash develops. 5.7 Sulfa Allergy APTIVUS should be used with caution in patients with a known sulfonamide allergy. Tipranavir contains a sulfonamide moiety. The potential for cross-sensitivity between drugs in the sulfonamide class and APTIVUS is unknown. 5.8 Diabetes Mellitus/Hyperglycemia New onset diabetes mellitus, exacerbation of pre-existing diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia have been reported during post-marketing surveillance in HIV-1 infected patients receiving protease inhibitor therapy. Some patients required either initiation or dose adjustments of insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents for treatment of these events. In some cases, diabetic ketoacidosis has occurred. In those patients who discontinued protease inhibitor therapy, hyperglycemia persisted in some cases. Because these events have been reported voluntarily during clinical practice, estimates of frequency cannot be made and a causal relationship between protease inhibitor therapy and these events has not been established. 5.9 Immune Reconstitution Syndrome Immune reconstitution syndrome has been reported in patients treated with combination antiretroviral therapy, including APTIVUS. During the initial phase of combination antiretroviral treatment, patients whose immune system responds may develop an inflammatory response to indolent or residual opportunistic infections (such as Mycobacterium avium infection, cytomegalovirus, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, tuberculosis, or reactivation of herpes simplex and herpes zoster), which may necessitate further evaluation and treatment. Autoimmune disorders (such as Graves' disease, polymyositis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome) have also been reported to occur in the setting of immune reconstitution, however, the time to onset is more variable, and can occur many months after initiation of treatment. 5.10 Fat Redistribution Redistribution/accumulation of body fat including central obesity, dorsocervical fat enlargement (buffalo hump), peripheral wasting, facial wasting, breast enlargement, and "cushingoid appearance" have been observed in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. The mechanism and long-term consequences of these events are currently unknown. A causal relationship has not been established. 5.11 Elevated Lipids Treatment with APTIVUS co-administered with 200 mg of ritonavir has resulted in large increases in the concentration of total cholesterol and triglycerides [ see Adverse Reactions (6) ]. Triglyceride and cholesterol testing should be performed prior to initiating APTIVUS/ritonavir therapy and at periodic intervals during therapy. Lipid disorders should be managed as clinically appropriate; taking into account any potential drug-drug interactions [ see Drug Interactions (7.2) ]. 5.12 Patients with Hemophilia There have been reports of increased bleeding, including spontaneous skin hematomas and hemarthrosis in patients with hemophilia type A and B treated with protease inhibitors. In some patients additional Factor VIII was given. In more than half of the reported cases, treatment with protease inhibitors was continued or reintroduced if treatment had been discontinued. A causal relationship between protease inhibitors and these events has not been established. 5.13 Resistance/Cross Resistance Because the potential for HIV-1 cross-resistance among protease inhibitors has not been fully explored in APTIVUS/ritonavir treated patients, it is unknown what effect therapy with APTIVUS will have on the activity of subsequently administered protease inhibitors.