Increlex Drug Information

Recommended Dosage Treatment with

INCRELEX should be supervised by a physician who is experienced in the diagnosis and management of pediatric patients with short stature associated with severe primary IGF-1 deficiency or with growth hormone gene deletion and who have developed neutralizing antibodies to growth hormone. The dosage of INCRELEX should be individualized for each patient. The recommended starting dose of INCRELEX is 0.04 mg/kg to 0.08 mg/kg of body weight twice daily by subcutaneous injection.

If well-tolerated for at least one week, the dose may be increased by 0.04 mg/kg of body weight per dose, to the maximum dose of 0.12 mg/kg of body weight given twice daily. Preprandial glucose monitoring is recommended at treatment initiation and until a well-tolerated dose is established. If frequent symptoms of hypoglycemia or severe hypoglycemia occur, preprandial glucose monitoring should continue, and glucose monitoring should also occur at the time of event if possible.

If hypoglycemia occurs with recommended doses despite adequate food intake, the dose should be reduced. INCRELEX should be administered shortly before or after (± 20 minutes) a meal or snack. If the patient is unable to eat shortly before or after a dose for any reason, that dose of INCRELEX should be withheld.

If one or more doses of INCRELEX is missed, do not increase the subsequent doses to make up for omitted doses.

Administration Instructions

INCRELEX is administered by subcutaneous injection only. Do not administer intravenously. INCRELEX injection sites should be rotated to a different site (upper arm, thigh, buttock or abdomen) with each injection to help prevent lipohypertrophy.

INCRELEX should be administered using sterile disposable syringes and needles. The syringes should be of small enough volume so that the prescribed dose can be withdrawn from the vial with accuracy. Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit.

Do not use if the solution is cloudy or contains particulate matter. If using syringes that measure dose in units, doses in mg/kg must be converted to units using the following formula: Weight (kg) × Dose (mg/kg) × 1 mL/10 mg × 100 units/1 mL = units/injection.

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 clinical studies of 71 subjects with Primary IGFD treated for a mean duration of 3.9 years and representing 274 subject-years, no subjects withdrew from any clinical study because of adverse reactions. Adverse reactions to INCRELEX treatment that occurred in 5% or more of these study participants are listed below by organ class.

Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders: hypoglycemia General Disorders and Administrative Site Conditions: lipohypertrophy, bruising Infections and Infestations: otitis media, serous otitis media Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: snoring, tonsillar hypertrophy Nervous System Disorders: headache, dizziness, convulsions Gastrointestinal Disorders: vomiting Ear and Labyrinth Disorders: hypoacusis, fluid in middle ear, ear pain, abnormal tympanometry Investigations: cardiac murmur Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders: arthralgia, pain in extremity Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders: thymus hypertrophy Surgical and Medical Procedures: ear tube insertion Hypoglycemia was reported by 30 subjects (42%) at least once during their course of therapy. Most cases of hypoglycemia were mild or moderate in severity. Five subjects had severe hypoglycemia (requiring assistance and treatment) on one or more occasions and 4 subjects experienced hypoglycemic seizures/loss of consciousness on one or more occasions.

Of the 30 subjects reporting hypoglycemia, 14 (47%) had a history of hypoglycemia prior to treatment. The frequency of hypoglycemia was highest in the first month of treatment, and episodes were more frequent in younger children. Symptomatic hypoglycemia was generally avoided when a meal or snack was consumed either shortly (i.e., 20 minutes) before or after the administration of INCRELEX. Tonsillar hypertrophy was noted in 11 (15%) subjects in the first 1 to 2 years of therapy with lesser tonsillar growth in subsequent years.

Tonsillectomy or tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy was performed in 7 subjects; 3 of these had obstructive sleep apnea, which resolved after the procedure in all three cases. Intracranial hypertension occurred in three subjects. In two subjects the events resolved without interruption of INCRELEX treatment.

INCRELEX treatment was discontinued in the third subject and resumed later at a lower dose without recurrence. Mild elevations in the serum AST and LDH were found in a significant proportion of patients before and during treatment. Rise in levels of these serum enzymes did not lead to treatment discontinuation.

ALT elevations were occasionally noted during treatment. Renal and splenic lengths (measured by ultrasound) increased rapidly on INCRELEX treatment during the first years of therapy. This lengthening slowed down subsequently; though in some patients, renal and/or splenic length reached or surpassed the 95 th percentile.

Renal function (as defined by serum creatinine and calculated creatinine clearance) was normal in all patients, irrespective of renal growth. Elevations in cholesterol and triglycerides to above the upper limit of normal were observed before and during treatment. Echocardiographic evidence of cardiomegaly/valvulopathy was observed in a few individuals without associated clinical symptoms.

The relation of these cardiac changes to drug treatment cannot be assessed due to underlying disease and the lack of a control group. Thickening of the soft tissues of the face was observed in several patients and should be monitored during INCRELEX treatment.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post approval use of INCRELEX. 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. Systemic hypersensitivity: anaphylaxis, generalized urticaria, angioedema, dyspnea In the post-marketing setting, the frequency of cases indicative of anaphylaxis was estimated to be 0.3%. Symptoms included hives, angioedema, and dyspnea, and some patients required hospitalization. Upon re-administration, symptoms did not re-occur in all patients.

Local allergic reactions at the injection site: pruritus, urticaria Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: alopecia, hair texture abnormal General Disorders and Administrative Site Conditions: injection site reactions (e.g. erythema, pain, hematoma, hemorrhage, induration, rash, swelling) Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders: osteonecrosis/avascular necrosis (occasionally associated with slipped capital femoral epiphysis) Neoplasms Benign, Malignant and Unspecified (including cysts and polyps)

Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no available data on INCRELEX use in pregnant women. Exposure to INCRELEX during pregnancy is unlikely because the drug is not indicated for use after epiphyseal closure. In animal reproduction studies, there were no observed embryo-fetal development abnormalities with intravenous administration of INCRELEX to pregnant rats and rabbits during fetal organogenesis given at exposures up to 11 and 3 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 0.24 mg/kg/day based on body surface area (BSA), respectively (see Data ). The estimated background risk of 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 2-4% and 15-20%, respectively. Data Animal Data Studies to assess embryo-fetal toxicity evaluated the effects of INCRELEX during organogenesis in Sprague Dawley rats given 1, 4, and 16 mg/kg/day and in New Zealand White rabbits given 0.125, 0.5, and 2 mg/kg/day, administered intravenously. There were no observed embryo-fetal developmental abnormalities in rats given up to 16 mg/kg/day (11 times the MRHD based on BSA comparison). In the rabbit study, the NOAEL for fetal toxicity was 0.5 mg/kg/day (approximately equivalent to the MRHD based on BSA) due to an increase in fetal death at 2 mg/kg.

INCRELEX displayed no teratogenicity or maternal toxicity in rabbits given up to 2 mg/kg (3 times the MRHD based on BSA).

Pediatric Use Toxicity (Gasping Syndrome) with Benzyl Alcohol Serious adverse reactions including fatal reactions and the "gasping syndrome" occurred in premature neonates and infants in the intensive care unit who received drugs containing benzyl alcohol as a preservative. In these cases, benzyl alcohol dosages of 99 mg/kg/day to 234 mg/kg/day produced high levels of benzyl alcohol and its metabolites in the blood and urine (blood levels of benzyl alcohol were 0.61 mmol/L to 1.378 mmol/L). INCRELEX contains 9 mg/mL benzyl alcohol as a preservative. Additional adverse reactions included gradual neurological deterioration, seizures, intracranial hemorrhage, hematologic abnormalities, skin breakdown, hepatic and renal failure, hypotension, bradycardia, and cardiovascular collapse.

Preterm, low-birth weight infants may be more likely to develop these reactions because they may be less able to metabolize benzyl alcohol. Use of INCRELEX in infants is not recommended . Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients below the age of 2 years of age have not been established.

Known Hypersensitivity to mecasermin Closed Epiphyses Malignant Neoplasia Known Hypersensitivity INCRELEX should not be used by patients who are allergic to mecasermin (rhIGF-1) or any of the inactive ingredients in INCRELEX, or who have experienced a severe hypersensitivity to INCRELEX. Closed Epiphyses INCRELEX should not be used for growth promotion in patients with closed epiphyses. Malignant Neoplasia INCRELEX is contraindicated in pediatric patients with malignant neoplasia or a history of malignancy.

Treatment of acute overdose should be directed at reversing hypoglycemia. Oral glucose or food should be consumed. If the overdose results in loss of consciousness, intravenous glucose or parenteral glucagon may be required to reverse the hypoglycemic effects.

A small number of overdose cases have been reported in the post-marketing experience. In one case of acute overdose, a 3-year old patient experienced hypoglycemia after receiving one 4 mg dose of INCRELEX (a 10-fold increase beyond the prescribed dose). The event resolved following treatment with IV glucose. Long term overdosage with INCRELEX may result in signs and symptoms of acromegaly.