Bivalirudin Drug Information

Bivalirudin for injection is indicated for use as an anticoagulant for use in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) including patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis syndrome.

Recommended Dosage Bivalirudin has been studied only in patients receiving concomitant aspirin. The recommended dose of bivalirudin is an intravenous bolus dose of 0.75 mg/kg, followed immediately by an infusion of 1.75 mg/kg/h for the duration of the procedure. Five minutes after the bolus dose has been administered, an activated clotting time (ACT) should be performed and an additional bolus of 0.3 mg/kg should be given if needed.

Extended duration of infusion following PCI at 1.75 mg/kg/h for up to 4 hours post-procedure should be considered in patients with ST segment elevation MI (STEMI).

Dose Adjustment in Renal Impairment Bolus Dose

No reduction in the bolus dose is needed for any degree of renal impairment. Maintenance Infusion In patients with creatinine clearance less than 30mL/min (by Cockcroft Gault equation), reduce the infusion rate to 1 mg/kg/h. Monitor anticoagulant status in patients with renal impairment.

In patients on hemodialysis, reduce the infusion rate to 0.25 mg/kg/h.

Instructions for Preparation and Administration Bivalirudin is intended for intravenous bolus injection and continuous infusion after reconstitution and dilution. Table 1: Dosing Table Drug Compatibilities No incompatibilities have been observed with administration sets. Do not administer the drugs listed in Table 2 in the same intravenous line with Bivalirudin.

Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration. Preparations of bivalirudin containing particulate matter should not be used. Reconstituted material will be a clear to slightly opalescent, colorless to slightly yellow solution.

Storage after Reconstitution

Do not freeze reconstituted or diluted Bivalirudin. Reconstituted material may be stored at 2° to 8°C for up to 24 hours. Diluted bivalirudin with a concentration of between 0.5 mg/mL and 5 mg/mL is stable at room temperature for up to 24 hours.

Discard any unused portion of reconstituted solution remaining in the vial.

Clinical Trials 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 practice. In the BAT trials, 79 of the 2161 (3.7%) patients undergoing PCI for treatment of unstable angina and randomized to bivalirudin experienced major bleeding events, which consisted of intracranial bleeding, retroperitoneal bleeding, and clinically overt bleeding with a decrease in hemoglobin greater than 3 g/dL or leading to a transfusion of greater than 2 units of blood.

Immunogenicity As with all peptides, there is potential for immunogenicity. The detection of antibody formation is highly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. Additionally, the observed incidence of antibody (including neutralizing antibody) positivity in an assay may be influenced by several factors including assay methodology, sample handling, timing of sample collection, concomitant medications, and underlying disease.

For these reasons, comparison of the incidence of antibodies to bivalirudin in the studies described below with the incidence of antibodies in other studies or to other products may be misleading. In in vitro studies, bivalirudin exhibited no platelet aggregation response against sera from patients with a history of HIT/HITTS. Among 494 subjects who received bivalirudin in clinical trials and were tested for antibodies, 2 subjects had treatment-emergent positive bivalirudin antibody tests.

Neither subject demonstrated clinical evidence of allergic or anaphylactic reactions and repeat testing was not performed. Nine additional patients who had initial positive tests were negative on repeat testing.

Postmarketing Experience

Because postmarketing adverse 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. The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of bivalirudin: fatal bleeding; hypersensitivity and allergic reactions including reports of anaphylaxis; lack of anticoagulant effect; thrombus formation during PCI with and without intracoronary brachytherapy, including reports of fatal outcomes; pulmonary hemorrhage; cardiac tamponade; and INR increased.

In clinical trials in patients undergoing PCI/ percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), coadministration of bivalirudin with heparin, warfarin, thrombolytics, or GPIs was associated with increased risks of major bleeding events compared to patients not receiving these concomitant medications. Heparin, warfarin, thrombolytics, or GPIs: Increased major bleeding risk with concomitant use.

Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no data available on use of bivalirudin in pregnant women to inform a drug-associated risk of adverse developmental outcomes. Reproduction studies in rats and rabbits administered subcutaneously doses up to 1.6 times and 3.2 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 15 mg/kg/day based on body surface area (BSA) during organogenesis, respectively, revealed no evidence of fetal harm. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes.

The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is respectively. Data Animal Data Reproductive studies have been performed in rats at subcutaneous doses up to 150 mg/kg/day (1.6 times the maximum recommended human dose based on body surface area) and rabbits at subcutaneous doses up to 150 mg/kg/day (3.2 times the maximum recommended human dose based on body surface area).

These studies revealed no harm to the fetus attributable to bivalirudin. At 500 mg/kg/day (equivalent to 5.4 times the maximum recommended human dose based on body surface area) subcutaneously, litter sizes and live fetuses in rats were reduced. Fetal skeletal variations were also noted.

Some of these changes could be attributed to maternal toxicity observed at high doses. There is no study covering the perinatal period because of the potential complications of drug-induced hemorrhage during delivery.

Pediatric Use The safety and effectiveness of bivalirudin in pediatric patients have not been established.

• Bivalirudin is contraindicated in patients with:
• Active major bleeding;
• Hypersensitivity (e.g., anaphylaxis) to bivalirudin or its components.
• Active major bleeding
• Hypersensitivity to bivalirudin or its components

Cases of overdose of up to 10 times the recommended bolus or continuous infusion dose of bivalirudin have been reported in clinical trials and in postmarketing reports. A number of the reported overdoses were due to failure to adjust the infusion dose of bivalirudin in persons with renal dysfunction including persons on hemodialysis. Bleeding, as well as deaths due to hemorrhage, have been observed in some reports of overdose.

In cases of suspected overdosage, discontinue bivalirudin immediately and monitor the patient closely for signs of bleeding. There is no known antidote to bivalirudin. Bivalirudin is hemodialyzable.