EMSAM SIDE EFFECTS

SIDE EFFECTS

The following adverse reactions are discussed in greater detail in other sections of the label.

• Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors.
• Serotonin Syndrome.
• Blood Pressure Elevation.
• Activation of Mania/Hypomania.
• External Heat.

Clinical Trial 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 clinical practice.

Patient Exposure

The premarketing development program for EMSAM included selegiline exposures in patients and/or normal subjects from two different groups of studies: 702 healthy subjects in clinical pharmacology/pharmacokinetics studies and 2,036 exposures from patients in controlled and uncontrolled major depressive disorder clinical trials. The conditions and duration of treatment with EMSAM varied and included double-blind, open-label, fixed-dose, and dose titration studies of short-term and longerterm exposures. Safety was assessed by monitoring adverse reactions, physical examinations, vital signs, body weights, laboratory analyses, and ECGs.

Adverse reactions during exposure were obtained primarily by general inquiry and recorded by clinical investigators. In the tables and tabulations that follow, standard COSTART terminology has been used to classify reported adverse reactions. The stated frequencies of adverse reactions represent the proportion of individuals who experienced, at least once, a treatment-emergent adverse reaction of the type listed. A reaction was considered treatment-emergent if it occurred for the first time or worsened while receiving therapy following baseline evaluation.

Adverse Reactions Leading To Discontinuation Of Treatment

Among 817 MDD patients treated with EMSAM at doses of either 3 mg per 24 hours (151 patients), 6 mg per 24 hours (550 patients) or 6 mg per 24 hours, 9 mg per 24 hours, and 12 mg per 24 hours (116 patients) in placebo-controlled trials of up to 8 weeks in duration, 7.1% discontinued treatment due to an adverse reaction as compared with 3.6% of 668 patients receiving placebo. The only adverse reaction associated with discontinuation, in at least 1% of EMSAM-treated patients at a rate at least twice that of placebo, was application site reaction (2% EMSAM vs. 0% placebo).

Adverse Reactions Occurring At An Incidence Of 2% Or More Among EMSAM-Treated Patients

Table 2 enumerates adverse reactions that occurred at an incidence of 2% or more (rounded to the nearest percent) among 817 MDD patients treated with EMSAM in doses ranging from 3 to 12 mg per 24 hours in placebo-controlled trials of up to 8 weeks in duration. Reactions included are those occurring in 2% or more of patients treated with EMSAM and for which the incidence in patients treated with EMSAM was greater than the incidence in placebo-treated patients.

One adverse reaction was associated with a reporting of at least 5% in the EMSAM group, and a rate at least twice that in the placebo group, in the pool of short-term, placebo-controlled studies: application site reactions (see Application Site Reactions, below). In one such study which utilized higher mean doses of EMSAM than that in the entire study pool, the following reactions met these criteria: application site reactions, insomnia, diarrhea, and pharyngitis.

Table 1. Treatment-Emergent Adverse Reactions: Incidence in Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials for Major Depressive Disorder with EMSAM*

Application Site Reactions

In the pool of short-term, placebo-controlled major depressive disorder studies, application site reactions (ASRs) were reported in 24% of EMSAM-treated patients and 12% of placebo-treated patients. Most ASRs were mild or moderate in severity. ASRs led to dropout in 2% of EMSAM-treated patients and no placebo-treated patients. In one such study which utilized higher mean doses of EMSAM, ASRs were reported in 40% of EMSAM-treated patients and 20% of placebo-treated patients. Most of the ASRs in this study were described as erythema and most resolved spontaneously, requiring no treatment. When treatment was administered, it most commonly consisted of dermatological preparations of corticosteroids.

Sexual Dysfunction

Although changes in sexual desire, sexual performance, and sexual satisfaction often occur as manifestations of a psychiatric disorder, they may also be a consequence of pharmacologic treatment.

Reliable estimates of the incidence and severity of untoward experiences involving sexual desire, performance, and satisfaction are difficult to obtain, in part because patients and physicians may be reluctant to discuss them. Accordingly, estimates of the incidence of untoward sexual experience and performance cited in product labeling are likely to underestimate their actual incidence. Table 3 shows that the incidence rates of sexual side effects in patients with major depressive disorder are comparable to the placebo rates in placebo-controlled trials.

Table 2. Incidence of Sexual Side Effects in Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials with EMSAM

There are no adequately designed studies examining sexual dysfunction with EMSAM treatment.

Vital Sign Changes

EMSAM and placebo groups were compared with respect to (1) mean change from baseline in vital signs (pulse, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure), and (2) the incidence of patients meeting criteria for potentially clinically significant changes from baseline in these variables. In the pool of short-term, placebocontrolled major depressive disorder studies, 3.0% of EMSAM-treated patients and 1.5% of placebo-treated patients experienced a low systolic blood pressure, defined as a reading less than or equal to 90 mmHg with a change from baseline of at least 20 mmHg. In one study which utilized higher mean doses of EMSAM, 6.2% of EMSAM-treated patients and no placebo-treated patients experienced a low standing systolic blood pressure by these criteria.

In the pool of short-term major depressive disorder trials, 9.8% of EMSAM-treated patients and 6.7% of placebo-treated patients experienced a notable orthostatic change in blood pressure, defined as a decrease of at least 10 mmHg in mean blood pressure with postural change.

Weight Changes

In placebo-controlled studies (6 to 8 weeks), the incidence of patients who experienced at least 5% weight gain or weight loss is shown in Table 4.

Table 3. Incidence of Weight Gain and Weight Loss in Placebo-Controlled Trials with EMSAM

In these trials, the mean change in body weight among EMSAM-treated patients was a 1.2 lbs loss compared to 0.3 lbs gain in placebo-treated patients.

Laboratory Changes

EMSAM and placebo groups were compared with respect to (1) mean change from baseline in various serum chemistry, hematology, and urinalysis variables, and (2) the incidence of patients meeting criteria for potentially clinically significant changes from baseline in these variables. These analyses revealed no clinically important changes in laboratory test parameters associated with EMSAM.

Electrocardiogram Changes

Electrocardiograms (ECGs) from EMSAM (N = 817) and placebo (N = 668) groups in controlled studies were compared with respect to (1) mean change from baseline in various ECG parameters, and (2) the incidence of patients meeting criteria for clinically significant changes from baseline in these variables.

No clinically meaningful changes in ECG parameters from baseline to final visit were observed for patients in controlled studies.

Other Reactions Observed During The Premarketing Evaluation Of EMSAM

The following listing does not include reactions: 1) already listed elsewhere in labeling, 2) for which a causal relationship to drug was remote, 3) which were so general as to be uninformative, 4) which were not considered to have significant clinical implications, or 5) which occurred at a rate equal to or less than placebo.

Cardiovascular System: Tachycardia.

Digestive System: Anorexia.

Nervous System: Agitation, amnesia, tremor, twitching.

Skin and Appendages: Pruritus.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of EMSAM.

Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Nervous System: Convulsion and hypoesthesia.

Psychiatric System: Disorientation, hallucination (visual), and tension.

SRC: NLM .