Fulphila Drug Information

Patients with Cancer Receiving Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy Fulphila is indicated to decrease the incidence of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in patients with non-myeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs associated with a clinically significant incidence of febrile neutropenia. Limitations of Use Fulphila is not indicated for the mobilization of peripheral blood progenitor cells for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Patients with Cancer Receiving Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy

The recommended dosage of Fulphila is a single subcutaneous injection of 6 mg administered once per chemotherapy cycle. For dosing in pediatric patients weighing less than 45 kg, refer to Table 1. Do not administer Fulphila between 14 days before and 24 hours after administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Administration Fulphila is administered subcutaneously via a single-dose prefilled syringe for manual use. Prior to use‚ remove the carton from the refrigerator and allow the Fulphila prefilled syringe to reach room temperature for a minimum of 30 minutes. Discard any prefilled syringe left at room temperature for greater than 72 hours.

Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit. Do not administer Fulphila if discoloration or particulates are observed. Pediatric Patients weighing less than 45 kg The Fulphila prefilled syringe is not designed to allow for direct administration of doses less than 0.6 mL (6 mg).

The syringe does not bear graduation marks, which are necessary to accurately measure doses of Fulphila less than 0.6 mL (6 mg) for direct administration to patients. Thus, the direct administration to patients requiring dosing of less than 0.6 mL (6 mg) is not recommended due to the potential for dosing errors. Refer to Table 1.

Table 1.

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 with rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice. Pegfilgrastim clinical trials safety data are based upon 932 patients receiving pegfilgrastim in seven randomized clinical trials. The population was 21 to 88 years of age and 92% female.

Patients with breast (n = 823), lung and thoracic tumors (n = 53) and lymphoma (n = 56) received pegfilgrastim after nonmyeloablative cytotoxic chemotherapy. The patients were 21 to 88 years of age and 99% female. The most common adverse reactions occurring in ≥ 5% of patients and with a between-group difference of ≥ 5% higher in the pegfilgrastim arm in placebo-controlled clinical trials are bone pain and pain in extremity.

Table 2. No complications attributable to leukocytosis were reported in clinical studies.

Immunogenicity As with all therapeutic proteins, there is a 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 in the studies described below with the incidence of antibodies in other studies or to other pegfilgrastim products may be misleading. Binding antibodies to pegfilgrastim were detected using a BIAcore assay. The approximate limit of detection for this assay is 500 ng/mL.

Pre-existing binding antibodies were detected in approximately 6% (51/849) of patients with metastatic breast cancer. Four of 521 pegfilgrastim-treated subjects who were negative at baseline developed binding antibodies to pegfilgrastim following treatment. None of these 4 patients had evidence of neutralizing antibodies detected using a cell-based bioassay.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of pegfilgrastim products. 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. • Splenic rupture and splenomegaly (enlarged spleen) • Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) • Allergic reactions/hypersensitivity, including anaphylaxis, skin rash, and urticaria, generalized erythema, and flushing • Sickle cell crisis • Glomerulonephritis • Leukocytosis • Thrombocytopenia • Capillary Leak Syndrome • Injection site reactions • Sweet’s syndrome, (acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis), cutaneous vasculitis • Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients with breast and lung cancer receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy • Aortitis • Alveolar hemorrhage

Pregnancy Risk Summary Although available data with Fulphila or pegfilgrastim product use in pregnant women are insufficient to establish whether there is a drug associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes, there are available data from published studies in pregnant women exposed to filgrastim products. These studies have not established an association of filgrastim product use during pregnancy with major birth defects, miscarriage or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. In animal studies, no evidence of reproductive/developmental toxicity occurred in the offspring of pregnant rats that received cumulative doses of pegfilgrastim approximately 10 times the recommended human dose (based on body surface area).

In pregnant rabbits, increased embryolethality and spontaneous abortions occurred at 4 times the maximum recommended human dose simultaneously with signs of maternal toxicity ( see Data ). The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes.

In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2-4% and 15-20%, respectively. Data Human Data Retrospective studies indicate that exposure to pegfilgrastim is without significant adverse effect on fetal outcomes and neutropenia. Preterm deliveries have been reported in some patients.

Animal Data Pregnant rabbits were dosed with pegfilgrastim subcutaneously every other day during the period of organogenesis. At cumulative doses ranging from the approximate human dose to approximately 4 times the recommended human dose (based on body surface area), the treated rabbits exhibited decreased maternal food consumption, maternal weight loss, as well as reduced fetal body weights and delayed ossification of the fetal skull; however, no structural anomalies were observed in the offspring from either study. Increased incidences of post-implantation losses and spontaneous abortions (more than half the pregnancies) were observed at cumulative doses approximately 4 times the recommended human dose, which were not seen when pregnant rabbits were exposed to the recommended human dose.

Three studies were conducted in pregnant rats dosed with pegfilgrastim at cumulative doses up to approximately 10 times the recommended human dose at the following stages of gestation: during the period of organogenesis, from mating through the first half of pregnancy, and from the first trimester through delivery and lactation. No evidence of fetal loss or structural malformations was observed in any study. Cumulative doses equivalent to approximately 3 and 10 times the recommended human dose resulted in transient evidence of wavy ribs in fetuses of treated mothers (detected at the end of gestation but no longer present in pups evaluated at the end of lactation).

Pediatric Use The safety and effectiveness of pegfilgrastim have been established in pediatric patients. No overall differences in safety were identified between adult and pediatric patients based on postmarketing surveillance and review of the scientific literature. Use of pegfilgrastim in pediatric patients for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia is based on adequate and well-controlled studies in adults with additional pharmacokinetic and safety data in pediatric patients with sarcoma.

Fulphila is contraindicated in patients with a history of serious allergic reactions to pegfilgrastim products or filgrastim products. Reactions have included anaphylaxis. Patients with a history of serious allergic reactions to human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors such as pegfilgrastim products or filgrastim products.

Overdosage of pegfilgrastim products may result in leukocytosis and bone pain. Events of edema, dyspnea, and pleural effusion have been reported in a single patient who administered pegfilgrastim on 8 consecutive days in error. In the event of overdose, the patient should be monitored for adverse reactions.