The European Medicines Agency’s experts in medicines safety, the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) are recommending new measures to avoid exposure of babies to valproate medicines in the womb. Babies exposed are at risk of malformations and developmental problems.
More information:
PRAC recommends new measures to avoid valproate exposure in pregnancy
EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) is currently reviewing the benefits and risks with Esmya, following reports of serious liver injury, including liver failure leading to transplantation.
As a temporary measure while the review is ongoing, the PRAC has recommended regular liver monitoring for women taking Esmya for uterine fibroids.
All women taking Esmya should have a liver function test at least once a month during treatment. If the test is abnormal (liver enzyme levels more than 2 times the upper limit of normal), the healthcare professional should stop treatment and closely monitor the patient. Liver tests should be repeated 2 to 4 weeks after stopping treatment.
The PRAC is also recommending that no new patients should be started on Esmya and no patients who have completed a course of treatment should start another one for the time being.
A link between Esmya and cases of serious liver injury is under review. These recommendations are temporary measures to protect patients’ health, pending the conclusion of the review of Esmya which started in December 2017.
More information:
Women taking Esmya for uterine fibroids to have regular liver tests while EMA review is ongoing
EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorisations for hydroxyethyl-starch (HES) solutions for infusion across the European Union. These products are used as plasma volume replacement following acute (sudden) blood loss, where treatment with alternative products known as ‘crystalloids’ alone is not considered to be sufficient.
The review was triggered by results from two drug utilisation studies indicating that HES solutions are being used in critically ill patients and those with sepsis and kidney injury despite restrictions introduced in 2013 to reduce the risks of kidney problems and deaths in these patient populations.
In 2013, the PRAC had recommended restrictions on the use of HES solutions, including that they must no longer be used to treat critically ill patients or patients with sepsis, because of an increased risk of kidney injury and mortality seen in clinical trials. The Committee requested that further studies be carried out to verify adherence to these restrictions.
The PRAC has reviewed the results from the drug utilisation studies of HES solutions for infusion together with the currently available data on benefits and risks from clinical trials and observational studies and feedback received from stakeholders and experts. Based on this review, the PRAC has concluded that the restrictions introduced in 2013 have not been sufficiently effective. The Committee explored the possibility of introducing additional measures but concluded that such measures would be ineffective or insufficient.
In view of the serious risks that certain patient populations are exposed to, the PRAC has recommended the suspension of the marketing authorisations for HES solutions. Alternative treatment options are available.
The PRAC recommendation will now be sent to the Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures – Human (CMDh)1 for consideration at its meeting on 22-25 January 2018.
For more information:
Hydroxyethyl starch (HES) containing medicinal products
1 The CMDh is a medicines regulatory body representing the European Union (EU) Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating an increased risk of death and fractures reported in an ongoing clinical trial with the prostate cancer medicine Xofigo (radium-223 dichloride). The clinical trial is comparing Xofigo with placebo (a dummy treatment), both given in combination with Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) and prednisone/prednisolone. It includes prostate cancer patients with no symptoms or only mild symptoms, such as pain.
EMA will review the full results of this study as well as other available data to evaluate their impact on the authorised use of Xofigo. While a full investigation is ongoing, doctors are asked not to use Xofigo in combination with Zytiga and prednisone/prednisolone to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients. Patients who are currently being treated with Xofigo and have any questions about their treatment should contact their doctor.
For more information:
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a review of the medicine Esmya (ulipristal acetate) used to treat uterine fibroids (non-cancerous tumours of the womb). This follows four reports of serious liver injury, three of which ended in liver transplantation, in patients treated with the medicine. It is estimated that around 670,000 patients have been treated with Esmya to date. While the review is ongoing, patients should contact their doctor if they have any questions or concerns about their treatment.
More information:
Review triggered by cases of liver injury.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has started a new review of medicines containing hydroxyethyl-starch (HES). These products are used for the management of hypovolaemia (low blood volume) caused by acute (sudden) blood loss, where treatment with alternative infusion solutions known as ‘crystalloids’ alone is not considered to be sufficient. HES medicines are given by infusion (drip) into a vein and are used as blood volume expanders to prevent shock following acute bleeding.
The review is triggered by results from two drug utilisation studies indicating that HES-containing medicines were being used outside their authorised uses, including in critically ill patients and those with sepsis and kidney injury despite restrictions introduced in 2013 to reduce the risks of kidney problems and deaths.
For more information:
EMA starts new review of hydroxyethyl-starch containing medicines
Following a re-examination procedure, EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has confirmed its previous conclusion of May 2017 that there is no clear and consistent evidence of a difference in the incidence of inhibitor development between the two classes of factor VIII medicines: those derived from plasma and those made by recombinant DNA technology.
Factor VIII is needed for blood to clot normally and is lacking in patients with haemophilia A. Factor VIII medicines replace the missing factor VIII and help control and prevent bleeding. However the body may develop inhibitors as a reaction to these medicines, particularly in patients starting treatment for the first time. This can block the medicines’ effect, so bleeding is no longer controlled.
Due to the different characteristics of individual products within the two classes, the PRAC reaffirmed that the risk of inhibitor development should be evaluated individually for each medicine, regardless of class. The risk for each product will continue to be assessed as more evidence becomes available.
To reflect the evidence currently available, the PRAC confirmed its recommendations that the prescribing information should be updated to include, as appropriate, inhibitor development as a very common side effect in previously untreated patients, and as an uncommon side effect in previously treated patients. The warning on inhibitor development should be amended to highlight that low levels of inhibitors pose less risk of severe bleeding than high levels.
The PRAC’s final recommendation will now be sent to EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for the adoption of EMA’s opinion. Further details and information for patients and healthcare professionals will be published at that time.
More detailed information:
Following a review, the European Medicines Agency’s experts in medicines safety have recommended that modified- or prolonged-release paracetamol products (designed to release paracetamol slowly over a longer period than the usual immediate-release products) should be suspended from marketing. This is in view of the risks to patients from the complex way these medicines release paracetamol into the body after an overdose.
Experience has shown that in overdose (particularly at high doses), because of the way the paracetamol in modified-release products is released in the body, the usual treatment procedures developed for immediate-release products are not appropriate. If doctors are not aware modified-release paracetamol has been taken, which affects decisions such as when and for how long to give an antidote, overdose might result in severe liver damage or death. In modified-release products that also contain the painkiller tramadol this could be complicated further because of the additional effects of overdose with tramadol.
In many cases, it may not be known whether an overdose of paracetamol involves immediate-release or modified-release products, making it difficult to decide what type of management is needed. The Committee could not identify means to minimise the risk to patients, or a feasible and standardised way to adapt the management of paracetamol overdose across the EU to allow for treatment of cases that involve modified-release preparations. It concluded on balance that the risk following overdose with these medicines outweighs the advantage of having a longer-acting preparation. The Committee therefore recommended that marketing of modified-release paracetamol medicines should be suspended. Immediate-release paracetamol products, which are not affected by this review, will continue to be available as before.
More information on this is included in the hyperlink below:
Companies to replace all current formulations containing lactose with lactose-free formulations.
EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has recommended that injectable methylprednisolone medicines containing lactose, which potentially contain traces of cow’s milk proteins, must not be used in patients with a known or suspected allergy to the proteins in cow’s milk.
In addition, patients being treated for an allergic reaction with methylprednisolone should have their treatment stopped if their symptoms worsen or they develop new symptoms.
More information on the following link:
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is inviting citizens to share their experience with valproate – a medicine that treats epilepsy, bipolar disorder and migraine – at its very first public hearing on 26 September 2017 at the Agency’s offices in London.
More information on the following link:
EMA seeks views of public during its safety review of valproate
