GILENYA. Prior to treatment with GILENYA, these patients should have a cardiac eva luation by a physician appropriately trained to conduct such eva luation, and, if treated with GILENYA, should be monitored overnight with continuous ECG in a medical facility after the first dose. GILENYA is contraindicated in patients who in the last 6 months experienced myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, transient ischemic attack (TIA), decompensated heart failure requiring hospitalization or Class III/IV heart failure) [see Contraindications (4)].
Since initiation of GILENYA treatment results in decreased heart rate and may prolong the QT interval, patients with a prolonged QTc interval (>450 msec males, >470 msec females) before dosing or during 6 hour observation, or at additional risk for QT prolongation (e.g., hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, congenital long-QT syndrome), or on concurrent therapy with QT prolonging drugs with a known risk of torsades de pointes (e.g., citalopram, chlorpromazine, haloperidol, methadone, erythromycin) should be monitored overnight with continuous ECG in a medical facility [see Drug Interactions (7)].
Experience with GILENYA is limited in patients receiving concurrent therapy with drugs that slow heart rate or atrioventricular conduction (e.g., beta blockers, heart-rate lowering calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem or verapamil, or digoxin). Because the initiation of GILENYA treatment is also associated with slowing of the heart rate, concomitant use of these drugs during GILENYA initiation may be associated with severe bradycardia or heart block. The possibility to switch to drugs that do not slow the heart rate or atrioventricular conduction should be eva luated by the physician prescribing these drugs before initiating GILENYA. In patients who cannot switch, overnight continuous ECG monitoring after the first dose is recommended [see Drug Interactions (7)].
Clinical data indicate effects of GILENYA on heart rate are maximal after the first dose although milder effects on heart rate may persist for, on average, 2-4 weeks after initiation of therapy at which time heart rate generally returns to baseline. Physicians should continue to be alert to patient reports of cardiac symptoms.
Re-initiation of Therapy Following Discontinuation
If GILENYA therapy is discontinued for more than 14 days, after the first month of treatment, the effects on heart rate and AV conduction may recur on reintroduction of GILENYA treatment and the same precautions (first dose monitoring) as for initial dosing should apply. Within the first 2 weeks of treatment, first dose procedures are recommended after interruption of one day or more, during week 3 and 4 of treatment first dose procedures are recommended after treatment interruption of more than 7 days.
3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS
GILENYA is available as 0.5 mg hard capsules with a white opaque body and bright yellow cap imprinted with “FTY 0.5 mg” on the cap and two radial bands imprinted on the capsule body with yellow ink.
4 CONTRAINDICATIONS
Patients who in the last 6 months experienced myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, TIA, decompensated heart failure requiring hospitalization or Class III/IV heart failure
History or presence of Mobitz Type II second-degree or third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block or sick sinus syndrome, unless patient has a functioning pacemaker
Baseline QTc interval ≥500 ms
Treatment with Cla |
