Nymalize Drug Information

NYMALIZE is indicated for the improvement of neurological outcome by reducing the incidence and severity of ischemic deficits in adult patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from ruptured intracranial berry aneurysms regardless of their post-ictus neurological condition (i.e., Hunt and Hess Grades I-V).

Administer only enterally (e.g., oral, nasogastric tube, or gastric tube route). Do not administer intravenously or by other parenteral routes. Give one hour before a meal or two hours after a meal.

Start dosing within 96 hours of the SAH. Nasogastric or Gastric Tube Administration: Administer 10 mL (60 mg) every 4 hours with supplied prefilled oral syringe. Refill syringe with 10 mL of 0.9% saline water solution; flush remaining contents from nasogastric or gastric tube into stomach.

For all routes of administration, begin NYMALIZE within 96 hours of the onset of SAH.

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 clinical practice. The most common adverse event was decreased blood pressure in 4.4% of nimodipine-treated patients. The events reported with a frequency greater than 1% are displayed in Table 1 by dose.

As a calcium channel blocker, nimodipine may have the potential to exacerbate heart failure in susceptible patients or to interfere with A-V conduction, but these events were not observed in SAH trials.

Blood Pressure Lowering Drugs Nimodipine may increase the blood pressure lowering effect of concomitantly administered anti-hypertensives such as diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, other calcium channel blockers, α-adrenergic blockers, PDE5 inhibitors, and α-methyldopa. In Europe, nimodipine was observed to occasionally intensify the effect of antihypertensive drugs taken concomitantly by hypertensive patients; this phenomenon was not observed in North American clinical trials. Blood pressure should be carefully monitored, and dose adjustment of the blood pressure lowering drug(s) may be necessary.

CYP3A4 Inhibitors

Nimodipine plasma concentration can be significantly increased when concomitantly administered with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors. As a consequence, the blood pressure lowering effect may be increased. Therefore, the concomitant administration of NYMALIZE and strong CYP3A4 inhibitors should generally be avoided.

Strong CYP3A4 inhibitors include some members of the following classes: macrolide antibiotics (e.g., clarithromycin, telithromycin), HIV protease inhibitors (e.g., indinavir, nelfinavir, ritonavir, saquinavir), HCV protease inhibitors (e.g., boceprevir, telaprevir), azole antimycotics (e.g., ketoconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole), conivaptan, delavirdine, nefazodone Nimodipine plasma concentration can also be increased in the presence of moderate and weak inhibitors of CYP3A4. If nimodipine is concomitantly administered with these drugs, blood pressure should be monitored, and a reduction of the nimodipine dose may be necessary. Moderate and weak CYP3A4 inhibitors include alprozalam, ameprenavir, amiodarone, aprepitant, atazanavir, cimetidine, cyclosporine, diltiazem, erythromycin, fluconazole, fluoxetine, isoniazid, oral contraceptives, quinuprestin/dalfopristin, valproic acid, and verapamil.

A study in eight healthy volunteers has shown a 50% increase in mean peak nimodipine plasma concentrations and a 90% increase in mean area under the curve, after a one-week course of cimetidine at 1,000 mg/day and nimodipine at 90 mg/day. This effect may be mediated by the known inhibition of hepatic cytochrome P-450 (CYP) by cimetidine, which could decrease first-pass metabolism of nimodipine. Grapefruit juice inhibits CYP3A4.

Ingestion of grapefruit/grapefruit juice is not recommended while taking nimodipine.

CYP3A4 Inducers

Nimodipine plasma concentration and efficacy may be significantly reduced when concomitantly administered with strong CYP3A4 inducers. Therefore, concomitant use of NYMALIZE with strong CYP3A4 inducers (e.g., carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin, rifampin, St. John's wort) should generally be avoided.

Moderate and weak inducers of CYP3A4 may also reduce the efficacy of nimodipine. Patients on these should be closely monitored for lack of effectiveness, and a nimodipine dosage increase may be required. Moderate and weak CYP3A4 inducers include, for example: amprenavir, aprepitant, armodafinil, bosentan, efavirnenz, etravirine, Echinacea, modafinil, nafcillin, pioglitazone, prednisone, rufinamide, and vemurafenib.

Pregnancy Risk Summary There are no adequate data on the developmental risk associated with the use of NYMALIZE in pregnant women. In animal studies, oral administration of nimodipine during pregnancy resulted in adverse effects on development (increased embryofetal mortality, increased incidences of fetal structural abnormalities, decreased fetal growth) at doses equivalent to (rat) or less than (rabbit) those used clinically. 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.

The background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. Data Animal Data Nimodipine has been shown to have a teratogenic effect in two studies in rabbit. In one study, incidences of malformations and stunted fetuses were increased at oral doses of 1 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day administered throughout organogenesis but not at 3 mg/kg/day.

In the second study, an increased incidence of stunted fetuses was seen at 1 mg/kg/day but not at higher doses (3 mg/kg/day and 10 mg/kg/day). The lowest effect dose in rabbits (1 mg/kg/day) is less than the recommended human dose (RHD) of 360 mg/day on a body surface area (mg/m 2 ) basis. Nimodipine was embryotoxic, causing resorption and stunted growth of fetuses in rats at 100 mg/kg/day administered orally throughout organogenesis; this dose is approximately 3 times the RHD on a mg/m 2 basis.

In two other studies in rats, nimodipine administered orally at 30 mg/kg/day throughout organogenesis and continued until sacrifice (day 20 of pregnancy or day 21 postpartum) was associated with higher incidences of skeletal variation, stunted fetuses, and stillbirths but no malformations; this dose is similar to the RHD on a mg/m 2 basis.

Pediatric Use Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established.

There have been no reports of overdosage from the oral administration of nimodipine. Symptoms of overdosage would be expected to be related to cardiovascular effects such as excessive peripheral vasodilation with marked systemic hypotension. Clinically significant hypotension due to nimodipine overdosage may require active cardiovascular support with pressor agents and specific treatments for calcium channel blocker overdose.

Since nimodipine is highly protein-bound, dialysis is not likely to be of benefit.