Because clinical
studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reactions
rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly
compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may
not reflect the rates observed in practice.
TWYNSTA Tablets
The concomitant use of telmisartan and amlodipine has
been evaluated for safety in more than 3700 patients with hypertension;
approximately 1900 of these patients were exposed for at least 6 months
and over 160 of these patients were exposed for at least one year.
Adverse reactions have generally been mild and transient in nature
and have only infrequently required discontinuation of therapy.
In the placebo-controlled factorial design
study, the population treated with a telmisartan and amlodipine combination
had a mean age of 53 years and included approximately 50% males, 79%
were Caucasian, 17% Blacks, and 4% Asians. Patients received doses
ranging from 20/2.5 mg to 80/10 mg orally, once daily.
The frequency of adverse reactions was not
related to gender, age, or race.
The adverse reactions that occurred in the placebo-controlled factorial
design trial in ≥2% of patients treated with TWYNSTA and at a higher
incidence in TWYNSTA-treated patients (n=789) than placebo-treated
patients (n=46) were peripheral edema (4.8% vs 0%), dizziness (3.0%
vs 2.2%), and back pain (2.2% vs 0%). Edema (other than peripheral
edema), hypotension, and syncope were reported in <2% of patients
treated with TWYNSTA tablets.
In the placebo-controlled factorial design trial, discontinuation
due to adverse events occurred in 2.2% of all treatment cells of patients
in the telmisartan/amlodipine-treated patients and in 4.3% in the
placebo-treated group. The most common reasons for discontinuation
of therapy with TWYNSTA tablets were peripheral edema, dizziness,
and hypotension (each ≤0.5%).
Peripheral edema is a known, dose-dependent adverse reaction of amlodipine,
but not of telmisartan. In the factorial design study, the incidence
of peripheral edema during the 8 week, randomized, double-blind treatment
period was highest with amlodipine 10 mg monotherapy. The incidence
was notably lower when telmisartan was used in combination with amlodipine
10 mg.
Table 1: Incidence of Peripheral Edema During the 8 Week
Treatment Period| | Telmisartan |
| | Placebo | 40 mg | 80 mg |
| Amlodipine | Placebo | 0% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| 5 mg | 0.7% | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| 10 mg | 17.8% | 6.2% | 11.3% |
Telmisartan
Telmisartan has been evaluated for safety in
more than 3700 patients, including 1900 treated for over 6 months
and more than 1300 for over one year. Adverse experiences have generally
been mild and transient in nature and have only infrequently required
discontinuation of therapy.
In
placebo-controlled trials involving 1041 patients treated with various
doses of telmisartan (20 to 160 mg) monotherapy for up to 12 weeks,
an overall incidence of adverse events was similar to the patients
treated with placebo.
Adverse
events occurring at an incidence of ≥1% in patients treated with telmisartan
and at a greater rate than in patients treated with placebo, irrespective
of their causal association, are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Adverse Events Occurring at an Incidence of ≥1%
in Patients Treated with Telmisartan and at a Greater Rate than Patients
Treated with Placebo| | Telmisartan n=1455 % | Placebo n=380 % |
| Upper respiratory tract infection | 7 | 6 |
| Back pain | 3 | 1 |
| Sinusitis | 3 | 2 |
| Diarrhea | 3 | 2 |
| Pharyngitis | 1 | 0 |
In addition to the adverse events
in the table, the following events occurred at a rate of ≥1% but were
at least as frequent in the placebo group: influenza-like symptoms,
dyspepsia, myalgia, urinary tract infection, abdominal pain, headache,
dizziness, pain, fatigue, coughing, hypertension, chest pain, nausea,
and peripheral edema. Discontinuation of therapy because of adverse
events was required in 2.8% of 1455 patients treated with telmisartan
tablets and 6.1% of 380 placebo patients in placebo-controlled clinical
trials.
The incidence of adverse
events was not dose-related and did not correlate with gender, age,
or race of patients.
The incidence
of cough occurring with telmisartan in 6 placebo-controlled trials
was identical to that noted for placebo-treated patients (1.6%).
In addition to those listed above, adverse
events that occurred in >0.3% of 3500 patients treated with telmisartan
monotherapy in controlled or open trials are listed below. It cannot
be determined whether these events were causally related to telmisartan
tablets:
Autonomic Nervous System: impotence,
increased sweating, flushing; Body as a Whole: allergy,
fever, leg pain, malaise; Cardiovascular: palpitation,
dependent edema, angina pectoris, tachycardia, leg edema, abnormal
ECG; CNS: insomnia, somnolence, migraine, vertigo,
paresthesia, involuntary muscle contractions, hypoesthesia; Gastrointestinal: flatulence, constipation, gastritis,
vomiting, dry mouth, hemorrhoids, gastroenteritis, enteritis, gastroesophageal
reflux, toothache, non-specific gastrointestinal disorders; Metabolic: gout, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus; Musculoskeletal: arthritis, arthralgia, leg cramps; Psychiatric: anxiety, depression, nervousness; Resistance Mechanism: infection, fungal infection, abscess,
otitis media; Respiratory: asthma, bronchitis, rhinitis,
dyspnea, epistaxis; Skin: dermatitis, rash, eczema,
pruritus; Urinary: micturition frequency, cystitis; Vascular: cerebrovascular disorder; and Special
Senses: abnormal vision, conjunctivitis, tinnitus, earache.
During initial clinical studies, a single
case of angioedema was reported (among a total of 3781 patients treated).
Clinical Laboratory
Findings
In placebo-controlled clinical
trials, clinically relevant changes in standard laboratory test parameters
were rarely associated with administration of telmisartan tablets.
Hemoglobin: A greater than
2 g/dL decrease in hemoglobin was observed in 0.8% telmisartan patients
compared with 0.3% placebo patients. No patients discontinued therapy
due to anemia.
Creatinine: A 0.5 mg/dL rise or greater in creatinine was observed
in 0.4% telmisartan patients compared with 0.3% placebo patients.
One telmisartan-treated patient discontinued therapy due to increases
in creatinine and blood urea nitrogen.
Liver Enzymes: Occasional elevations of liver
chemistries occurred in patients treated with telmisartan; all marked
elevations occurred at a higher frequency with placebo. No telmisartan-treated
patients discontinued therapy due to abnormal hepatic function.
Amlodipine
Amlodipine has been evaluated for safety in more than
11,000 patients in U.S. and foreign clinical trials. Most adverse
reactions reported during therapy with amlodipine were of mild or
moderate severity. In controlled clinical trials directly comparing
amlodipine (n=1730) in doses up to 10 mg to placebo (n=1250), discontinuation
of amlodipine due to adverse reactions was required in only about
1.5% of amlodipine-treated patients and was not significantly different
from that seen in placebo-treated patients (about 1%). The most common
side effects were headache and edema. The incidence (%) of side effects
which occurred in a dose-related manner are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Incidence (%) of Dose-Related Adverse Effects with
Amlodipine at Doses of 2.5 mg, 5.0 mg, and 10.0 mg or Placebo| Adverse Event | Amlodipine
2.5 mg n=275 % | Amlodipine
5.0 mg n=296 % | Amlodipine
10.0 mg n=268 % | Placebo n=520 % |
| Edema | 1.8 | 3.0 | 10.8 | 0.6 |
| Dizziness | 1.1 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 1.5 |
| Flushing | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.0 |
| Palpitations | 0.7 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
Other adverse experiences which were
not clearly dose related but which were reported with an incidence
greater than 1% in placebo-controlled clinical trials are presented
in Table 4.
Table 4: Incidence (%) of Adverse Effects Not Clearly Dose
Related but Reported at an Incidence of >1% in Placebo-Controlled
Clinical Trials| Adverse Event | Amlodipine n=1730 % | Placebo n=1250 % |
| Headache | 7.3 | 7.8 |
| Fatigue | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| Nausea | 2.9 | 1.9 |
| Abdominal pain | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| Somnolence | 1.4 | 0.6 |
The following events occurred in
<1% but >0.1% of patients in controlled clinical trials or under
conditions of open trials or marketing experience where a causal relationship
is uncertain; they are listed to alert the physician to a possible
relationship:
Cardiovascular: arrhythmia (including ventricular tachycardia and atrial
fibrillation), bradycardia, chest pain, hypotension, peripheral ischemia,
syncope, tachycardia, postural dizziness, postural hypotension, vasculitis; Central and Peripheral Nervous System: hypoesthesia, neuropathy peripheral, paresthesia, tremor, vertigo; Gastrointestinal: anorexia, constipation,
dyspepsia,** dysphagia, diarrhea, flatulence,
pancreatitis, vomiting, gingival hyperplasia, change of bowel habit; General: allergic reaction, asthenia,** back pain, hot flushes, malaise, pain, rigors, weight
gain, weight decrease; Musculoskeletal System: arthralgia, arthrosis, muscle cramps,** myalgia; Psychiatric: sexual dysfunction (male**
and female), insomnia, nervousness, depression, abnormal dreams, anxiety,
depersonalization, mood change; Respiratory System: dyspnea,** epistaxis; Skin and Appendages: angioedema, erythema
multiforme, pruritus,** rash,** rash erythematous, rash maculopapular; Special Senses: abnormal vision, conjunctivitis,
diplopia, eye pain, tinnitus; Urinary System: micturition frequency, micturition disorder, nocturia; Autonomic Nervous System: dry mouth,
sweating increased; Metabolic and Nutritional: hyperglycemia, thirst; Hemopoietic: leukopenia, purpura, thrombocytopenia.
**These events occurred in less than 1% in placebo-controlled
trials, but the incidence of these side effects was between 1% and
2% in all multiple dose studies.
The following events occurred in <0.1% of patients: cardiac failure,
pulse irregularity, extrasystoles, skin discoloration, urticaria,
skin dryness, alopecia, dermatitis, muscle weakness, twitching, ataxia,
hypertonia, migraine, cold and clammy skin, apathy, agitation, amnesia,
gastritis, increased appetite, loose stools, coughing, rhinitis, dysuria,
polyuria, parosmia, taste perversion, abnormal visual accommodation,
and xerophthalmia.
Other reactions
occurred sporadically and cannot be distinguished from medications
or concurrent disease states such as myocardial infarction and angina.
Amlodipine has not been associated with
clinically significant changes in routine laboratory tests. No clinically
relevant changes were noted in serum potassium, serum glucose, total
triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, blood
urea nitrogen, or creatinine.
Amlodipine has been used safely in patients with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, well-compensated congestive heart failure, coronary
artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and
abnormal lipid profiles.
Adverse
reactions reported for amlodipine for indications other than hypertension
may be found in the prescribing information for Norvasc®.