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.
The safety of RISVAN for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults is based on adequate and well controlled studies of oral risperidone in studies of patients with schizophrenia and other indications as well as in one 12-week placebo-controlled trial of RISVAN in adult patients with schizophrenia
[see Clinical Studies (
14)]
.
The safety of RISVAN was evaluated in a total of 562 adult patients with schizophrenia who received at least 1 dose of RISVAN during the clinical development program. Of the 386 patients with schizophrenia who received one dose of Risvan during the 12-week, placebo-controlled trial, 168 patients received at least 13 doses of RISVAN during the double-blind and open label extension (OLE) phases. During double-blind period, RISVAN 75 mg was administered to 144 patients and RISVAN 100 mg to 146 patients. During the OLE period, RISVAN 75 mg was administered to 116 patients and RISVAN 100 mg to 99 patients.
Adverse Reactions in the 12-Week Placebo-Controlled Trial in Adults with Schizophrenia
The safety data presented below are derived from the 12-week double-blind placebo-controlled study of RISVAN in adult patients with schizophrenia.
Adverse reactions that led to discontinuation in RISVAN-treated patients in the 12-week placebo-controlled trial in adults with schizophrenia include abscess limb (0.3%), skin infection (0.3%), fall (0.3%), humerus fracture (0.3%), liver function test increased (0.3%), neutrophil count decreased (0.3%), mental impairment (0.3%), erectile dysfunction (0.3%), galactorrhea (0.3%), lactation disorder (0.3%), and pruritis (0.3%).
The most frequently reported adverse reactions (≥5% and twice placebo) are blood prolactin increase, hyperprolactinemia, akathisia, headache, sedation (including somnolence), weight increased, injection site pain, and alanine aminotransferase increased.
Table 3 shows the incidence of adverse reactions that occurred in ≥2% of patients treated with RISVAN and at a greater frequency than placebo.
Table 3. Adverse Reactions Occurring in ≥ 2% of RISVAN-Treated Adult Patients and at a Greater Frequency than Placebo in a 12-Week Placebo-Controlled Study in SchizophreniaSystem Organ Class Preferred Term | RISVAN 75 mg (n = 146) % | RISVAN 100 mg (n = 144) % | Placebo (n = 147) % |
| Cardiac disorders | | | |
| Tachycardia | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Endocrine disorders | | | |
| Hyperprolactinemia | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| Gastrointestinal disorders | | | |
| Constipation | 3 | 1 | 1 |
General disorders and administration site conditions | | | |
| Injection site pain | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Infections and infestations | | | |
| Nasopharyngitis | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Investigations | | | |
| Blood prolactin increased | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| Weight increased | 7 | 6 | 2 |
| Alanine aminotransferase increased | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase increased | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Blood triglycerides increased | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Blood creatine phosphokinase increased | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Blood cholesterol increased | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders | | | |
| Myalgia | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Muscle tightness | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nervous system disorders | | | |
| Headache | 10 | 8 | 3 |
| Akathisia | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Sedation
1
| 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Dizziness | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Dystonia
2
| 4 | 4 | 1 |
| | | |
1 Sedation includes sedation and somnolence
2 Dystonia includes dystonia and oromandibular dystonia
Other Adverse Drug Reactions Observed During the Clinical Trial Evaluation of RISVAN
Other adverse reactions of <2% incidence but greater than placebo are shown below. The following list does not include reactions: 1) already listed in previous tables or elsewhere in labeling, 2) which are part of the disease state, 3) for which a drug cause was remote, 4) which were so general as to be uninformative, or 5) which were not considered to have significant clinical implications.
General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions: asthenia, fatigue, injection site reaction (including injection site erythema, swelling and discomfort)
Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders: diabetes mellitus, increased appetite
Nervous System Disorders: dysarthria, dyskinesia, drooling, mental impairment, restless legs syndrome
Psychiatric Disorders: anorgasmia, enuresis, restlessness, tension
Renal and Urinary disorders: glycosuria, micturition urgency
Reproductive System and Breast Disorders: amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, erectile dysfunction, galactorrhea
Vascular Disorders: hypotension, orthostatic hypotension
Additional Adverse Reactions Reported at an Incidence of 2% or more in Oral Risperidone-treated Adult Patients and Greater than Placebo
The following is a list of adverse reactions that are not reported in Table 3 above for RISVAN and occurred at an incidence of 2% or more in oral risperidone-treated adult patients and greater than placebo during the clinical trial evaluation of oral risperidone:
Eye Disorders: blurred vision
Gastrointestinal Disorders: nausea, dyspepsia, dry mouth, abdominal discomfort, salivary hypersecretion, diarrhea
General Disorders: fatigue, chest pain, asthenia
Infections and Infestations: upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, urinary tract infection
Investigations: heart rate increased
Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders: back pain, arthralgia, pain in extremity
Nervous System Disorders: parkinsonism (includes extrapyramidal disorder, musculoskeletal stiffness, parkinsonism, cogwheel rigidity, akinesia, bradykinesia, hypokinesia, masked facies, muscle rigidity, and Parkinson’s disease), tremor (includes tremor and parkinsonian rest tremor), dizziness postural
Psychiatric Disorders: insomnia, anxiety
Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: nasal congestion, dyspnea, epistaxis
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: rash, dry skin
Other Adverse Reactions Reported in Clinical Trials with Oral Risperidone
The following is a list of additional adverse reactions that have been reported during the clinical trial evaluation of oral risperidone, regardless of frequency of occurrence:
Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders: anemia, granulocytopenia, neutropenia
Cardiac Disorders: tachycardia, sinus bradycardia, sinus tachycardia, atrioventricular block first degree, bundle branch block left, bundle branch block right, atrioventricular block
Ear and Labyrinth Disorders: ear pain, tinnitus
Eye Disorders: vision blurred, oculogyration, ocular hyperemia, eye discharge, conjunctivitis, eye rolling, eyelid edema, eye swelling, eyelid margin crusting, dry eye, lacrimation increased, photophobia, glaucoma, visual acuity reduced
Gastrointestinal Disorders: dysphagia, fecaloma, fecal incontinence, gastritis, lip swelling, cheilitis, aptyalism
General Disorders: edema peripheral, thirst, gait disturbance, chest pain, influenza-like illness, pitting edema, edema, chills, sluggishness, malaise, face edema, discomfort, generalized edema, drug withdrawal syndrome, peripheral coldness, feeling abnormal
Immune System Disorders: drug hypersensitivity
Infections and Infestations: nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, influenza, ear infection, viral infection, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, eye infection, localized infection, cystitis, cellulitis, otitis media, onychomycosis, acarodermatitis, bronchopneumonia, respiratory tract infection, tracheobronchitis, otitis media chronic
Investigations: body temperature increased, alanine aminotransferase increased, electrocardiogram abnormal, heart rate increased, eosinophil count increased, white blood cell count decreased, blood glucose increased, hemoglobin decreased, blood creatine phosphokinase increased, hematocrit decreased, body temperature decreased, blood pressure decreased, transaminases increased
Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders: decreased appetite, polydipsia, anorexia
Musculoskeletal, Connective Tissue, and Bone Disorders: joint stiffness, joint swelling, musculoskeletal chest pain, posture abnormal, myalgia, neck pain, muscular weakness, muscle rigidity, muscle contracture, rhabdomyolysis
Nervous System Disorders: balance disorder, dizziness postural, disturbance in attention, unresponsive to stimuli, depressed level of consciousness, movement disorder, hypokinesia, bradykinesia, transient ischemic attack, coordination abnormal, cerebrovascular accident, masked facies, speech disorder, syncope, loss of consciousness, hypoesthesia, tardive dyskinesia, muscle contractions involuntary, Parkinson’s disease, tongue paralysis, akinesia, cerebral ischemia, cerebrovascular disorder, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, diabetic coma, head titubation
Psychiatric Disorders: agitation, blunted affect, confusional state, middle insomnia, nervousness, sleep disorder, listlessness, libido decreased, anorgasmia
Renal and Urinary Disorders: enuresis, dysuria, pollakiuria, urinary incontinence
Reproductive System and Breast Disorders: menstrual irregular, gynecomastia, vaginal discharge, menstrual disorder, erectile dysfunction, retrograde ejaculation, ejaculation disorder, sexual dysfunction, breast enlargement
Respiratory, Thoracic, and Mediastinal Disorders: nasal congestion, dyspnea, epistaxis, wheezing, pneumonia aspiration, sinus congestion, dysphonia, productive cough, pulmonary congestion, respiratory tract congestion, rales, respiratory disorder, hyperventilation, nasal edema
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: rash, dry skin, erythema, skin discoloration, skin lesion, pruritus, skin disorder, rash erythematous, rash papular, acne, hyperkeratosis, seborrheic dermatitis, rash generalized, rash maculopapular
Vascular Disorders: flushing
Dose Dependent Adverse Reactions in Clinical Trials
Increased Prolactin
In the 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, there was an increase in mean prolactin levels in fasting blood samples from baseline to end of the study in both the RISVAN 75 mg and 100 mg groups, while mean prolactin for the placebo group decreased during the study. Changes in mean prolactin were dose-dependent. See Table 3 for the percentage of RISVAN-treated patients with hyperprolactinemia with an incidence of greater than or equal to 2% and greater than placebo.
Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS)
Several methods were used to measure EPS, including: (1) the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) global clinical rating score which evaluates akathisia, (2) the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores which evaluates dyskinesia, (3) the Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS) global score which broadly evaluates parkinsonism, and (4) the incidence of spontaneous reports of EPS-related adverse reactions.
In the 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the mean changes from baseline in BARS, AIMS, and SAS total scores were comparable between RISVAN- and placebo-treated patients. At all postbaseline assessments, mean changes from baseline were between 0.0 and 0.1 (inclusive) for the BARS, between 0.1 and -0.1(inclusive) for the AIMS, and between 0.1 and 0.2 (inclusive) for the SAS.
In the 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, there was a higher incidence of akathisia in RISVAN 100 mg (8%) compared with the RISVAN 75 mg (4%) and the placebo group (2%); reports of extrapyramidal disorders were higher in the RISVAN 100 mg group (12%) compared with the RISVAN 75 mg (8%) and the placebo group (3%).
Dystonia
Symptoms of dystonia, prolonged abnormal contractions of muscle groups, may occur in susceptible individuals during the first few days of treatment. Dystonic symptoms include: spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to tightness of the throat, swallowing difficulty, difficulty breathing, and/or protrusion of the tongue. While these symptoms can occur at low doses, they occur more frequently and with greater severity with high potency and at higher doses of first-generation antipsychotic drugs. An elevated risk of acute dystonia is observed in males and younger age groups.
Injection Site Reactions with RISVAN
Local injection site pain was assessed using a subject-reported VAS scale (0 = no pain to 10 = unbearably painful) administered approximately 1 hour after each injection. In the 12-week, double-blind placebo-controlled study, the mean subject-reported injection site pain VAS scores were similar for all treatment groups after each of the three injections. Median VAS scores were 1 for all treatment groups after each of the three injections. In the 12-month, long-term safety study, the injection site pain VAS scores were highest on day 1 (mean of 1.8) and tended to lessen over time (mean of 1.5 at day 337).
The most commonly reported injection site related adverse reaction was pain. Throughout the double-blind placebo-controlled study and the long-term safety study, 14 out of 386 patients (4%) reported 18 cases of injection site pain after 2,827 injections (1%) of RISVAN. Of the 18 cases of injection site pain, 15 were rated as mild, and 3 were rated as moderate. Less common injection site adverse reactions were swelling (n=3, 1%), erythema (n=1, 0%), and discomfort (n=1, 0%), with all cases rated as mild in severity.
The local injection site was assessed by site investigators. Throughout the double-blind placebo-controlled study (n=290 receiving RISVAN), 7% of patients had redness, 2% had swelling, and 1% had induration. Throughout the long-term safety study (n=215 receiving RISVAN), 3% of patients had redness, 0.5% had swelling, and no patients had induration.