Actilyse 10 mg

Powder and Solvent for Solution for Injection and Infusion

Actilyse 20 mg

Powder and Solvent for Solution for Injection and Infusion

Actilyse 50 mg

Powder and Solvent for Solution for Injection and Infusion

1 vial with powder contains:

10 mg alteplase (corresponding to 5,800,000 IU) or

20 mg alteplase (corresponding to 11,600,000 IU) or

50 mg alteplase (corresponding to 29,000,000 IU), respectively.

Alteplase is produced by recombinant DNA technique using a Chinese hamster ovary cell-line. The specific activity of alteplase in-house reference material is 580,000 IU/mg. This has been confirmed by comparison with the second international WHO standard for t-PA. The specification for the specific activity of alteplase is 522,000 to 696,000 IU/mg.

For a full list of excipients, see section 6.1.

Powder and solvent for solution for injection and infusion.

The powder is presented as a colourless to pale yellow lyophilizate cake.

Thrombolytic treatment in acute myocardial infarction

- 90 minutes (accelerated) dose regimen (see section 4.2): for patients in whom treatment can be started within 6 h after symptom onset

- 3 h dose regimen (see section 4.2): for patients in whom treatment can be started between 6 - 12 h after symptom onset provided that the diagnosis has been clearly confirmed.

Actilyse has proven to reduce 30-day-mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Thrombolytic treatment in acute massive pulmonary embolism with haemodynamic instability

The diagnosis should be confirmed whenever possible by objective means such as pulmonary angiography or non-invasive procedures such as lung scanning. There is no evidence for positive effects on mortality and late morbidity related to pulmonary embolism.

Fibrinolytic treatment of acute ischaemic stroke

Actilyse should be given as soon as possible after symptom onset. The following dose guidelines apply.

Under aseptic conditions the content of an injection vial of Actilyse (10 mg or 20 mg or 50 mg) is dissolved with water for injections according to the following table to obtain either a final concentration of 1 mg alteplase/ml or 2 mg alteplase/ml:

The reconstituted solution should then be administered intravenously. It may be diluted further with sterile sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection up to a minimal concentration of 0.2 mg/ml. A dilution of the reconstituted solution with sterilised water for injections or in general, the use of carbohydrate infusion solutions, e.g. dextrose is not recommended. Actilyse should not be mixed with other medicinal products neither in the same infusion-vial nor the same catheter (not even with heparin). For further practical instructions for preparation and handling see sections 6.2 and 6.6.

The experience in children and adolescents is limited. Actilyse is contraindicated for the treatment of acute stroke in children and adolescents (see section 4.3).

Myocardial infarction

a) 90 minutes (accelerated) dose regimen for patients with myocardial infarction, in whom treatment can be started within 6 hours after symptom onset:

In patients with a body weight below 65 kg the dose should be weight adjusted according to the following table:

b) 3 h dose regimen for patients, in whom treatment can be started between 6 and 12 hours after symptom onset:

In patients with a body weight below 65 kg the total dose should not exceed 1.5 mg/kg.

The maximum dose of alteplase is 100 mg.

Adjunctive therapy:

Antithrombotic adjunctive therapy is recommended according to the current international guidelines for the management of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction; acetylsalicylic acid should be initiated as soon as possible after symptom onset and continued with lifelong treatment unless it is contraindicated.

Pulmonary embolism

A total dose of 100 mg of alteplase should be administered in 2 hours. Most experience is available with the following dose regimen:

The total dose should not exceed 1.5 mg/kg in patients with a body weight below 65 kg.

Adjunctive therapy:

After treatment with Actilyse heparin therapy should be initiated (or resumed) when aPTT values are less than twice the upper limit of normal. The infusion should be adjusted to maintain aPTT between 50 - 70 seconds (1.5 to 2.5 fold of the reference value).

Acute ischaemic stroke

Treatment must be performed by a physician specialised in neurological care. (See sections 4.3 and 4.4).

The recommended dose is 0.9 mg alteplase/kg body weight (maximum of 90 mg) infused intravenously over 60 minutes with 10% of the total dose administered as an initial intravenous bolus.

Treatment with Actilyse must be started within 3 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Adjunctive therapy:

The safety and efficacy of this regimen with concomitant administration of heparin and acetylsalicylic acid within the first 24 hours of onset of the symptoms have not been sufficiently investigated.

Administration of acetylsalicylic acid or intravenous heparin should be avoided in the first 24 hours after treatment with Actilyse. If heparin is required for other indications (e.g. prevention of deep vein thrombosis) the dose should not exceed 10,000 IU per day, administered subcutaneously.

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.

Additional contraindications in acute myocardial infarction, acute pulmonary embolism and acute ischaemic stroke:

Actilyse is contraindicated in cases where there is a high risk of haemorrhage such as:

• significant bleeding disorder at present or within the past 6 months

• known haemorrhagic diathesis

• patients receiving oral anticoagulants, e.g. warfarin sodium

• manifest or recent severe or dangerous bleeding

• known history of or suspected intracranial haemorrhage

• suspected subarachnoid haemorrhage or condition after subarachnoid haemorrhage from aneurysm

• any history of central nervous system damage (i.e. neoplasm, aneurysm, intracranial or spinal surgery)

• recent (less than 10 days) traumatic external heart massage, obstetrical delivery, recent puncture of a non-compressible blood-vessel (e.g. subclavian or jugular vein puncture)

• severe uncontrolled arterial hypertension

• bacterial endocarditis, pericarditis

• acute pancreatitis

• documented ulcerative gastrointestinal disease during the last 3 months, oesophageal varices, arterial-aneurysm, arterial/venous malformations

• neoplasm with increased bleeding risk

• severe liver disease, including hepatic failure, cirrhosis, portal hypertension (oesophageal varices) and active hepatitis

• major surgery or significant trauma in past 3 months.

Additional contraindications in acute myocardial infarction:

• any known history of haemorrhagic stroke or stroke of unknown origin

• known history of ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) in the preceding 6 months, except current acute ischaemic stroke within 3 hours.

Additional contraindications in acute pulmonary embolism:

• any known history of haemorrhagic stroke or stroke of unknown origin

• known history of ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) in the preceding 6 months, except current acute ischaemic stroke within 3 hours.

Additional contraindications in acute ischaemic stroke:

• symptoms of ischaemic attack beginning more than 3 hours prior to infusion start or when time of symptom onset is unknown,

• minor neurological deficit or symptoms rapidly improving before start of infusion,

• severe stroke as assessed clinically (e.g. NIHSS > 25) and/or by appropriate imaging techniques,

• seizure at onset of stroke,

• evidence of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) on the CT-scan,

• symptoms suggestive of subarachnoid haemorrhage, even if CT-scan is normal,

• administration of heparin within the previous 48 hours and a thromboplastin time exceeding the upper limit of normal for laboratory,

• patients with any history of prior stroke and concomitant diabetes

• prior stroke within the last 3 months

• platelet count of below 100,000/mm³

• systolic blood pressure > 185 or diastolic BP > 110 mm Hg, or aggressive management (intravenous pharmacotherapy) necessary to reduce BP to these limits

• blood glucose < 50 or > 400 mg/dl.

Use in children, adolescents and elderly patients

Actilyse is not indicated for the treatment of acute stroke in paediatric patients under 18 years or adults over 80 years of age.

Special warnings and precautions in acute myocardial infarction, acute pulmonary embolism and acute ischaemic stroke:

Thrombolytic/ fibrinolytic treatment requires adequate monitoring. Actilyse should only be used by physicians trained and experienced in the use of thrombolytic treatments and with the facilities to monitor that use. It is recommended that when Actilyse is administered standard resuscitation equipment and pharmacotherapy be available in all circumstances.

The risk of intracranial haemorrhage is increased in elderly patients, therefore in these patients the risk/benefit eva luation should be carried out carefully.

As yet, there is only limited experience with the use of Actilyse in children and adolescents.

As with all thrombolytic agents, the expected therapeutic benefit should be weighed up particularly carefully against the possible risk, especially in patients with

• small recent traumas, such as biopsies, puncture of major vessels, intramuscular injections, cardiac massage for resuscitation

• conditions with an increased risk of haemorrhage which are not mentioned in section 4.3.

The use of rigid catheters should be avoided.

Additional special warnings and precautions in acute myocardial infarction:

A dose exceeding 100 mg of alteplase must not be given because it has been associated with an additional increase in intracranial bleeding.

Therefore special care must be taken to ensure that the dose of alteplase infused is as described in section 4.2.

There is limited experience with readministration of Actilyse. Actilyse is not suspected to cause anaphylactic reactions. If an anaphylactoid reaction occurs, the infusion should be discontinued and appropriate treatment initiated.

The expected therapeutic benefit should be weighed up particularly carefully against the possible risk, especially in patients with systolic blood pressure > 160 mm Hg.

GPIIb/IIIa antagonists:

Concomitant use of GPIIb/IIIa antagonists increases the risk of bleeding.

Additional special warnings and precautions in acute pulmonary embolism:

same as for acute myocardial infarction (see above)

Additional special warnings and precautions in acute ischaemic stroke:

Special precautions for use:

Treatment must be performed only by a physician trained and experienced in neurological care.

Special warnings / conditions with a decreased benefit/risk ratio:

Compared to other indications patients with acute ischaemic stroke treated with Actilyse have a markedly increased risk of intracranial haemorrhage as the bleeding occurs predominantly into the infarcted area. This applies in particular in the following cases:

• all situations listed in section 4.3. and in general all situations involving a high risk of haemorrhage

• small asymptomatic aneurysms of the cerebral vessels

• patients pre-treated with acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) may have a greater risk of intracerebral haemorrhage, particularly if Actilyse treatment is delayed. Not more than 0.9 mg alteplase/kg bodyweight (max. of 90 mg) should be administered in view of the increased risk of cerebral haemorrhage.

Treatment should not be initiated later than 3 hours after the onset of symptoms (see section 4.3) because of an unfavourable benefit/risk ratio mainly based on the following:

• positive treatment effects decrease over time

• mortality rate increases particularly in patients with prior ASA treatment

• risk increases with regard to symptomatic haemorrhages

Blood pressure (BP) monitoring during treatment administration and up to 24 hours seems justified; an intravenous antihypertensive therapy is also recommended if systolic BP > 180 mm Hg or diastolic BP > 105 mm Hg.

The therapeutic benefit is reduced in patients that had a prior stroke or in those with known uncontrolled diabetes, thus the benefit/risk ratio is considered less favourable, but still positive in these patients.

In patients with very mild stroke, the risks outweigh the expected benefit (see section 4.3).

Patients with very severe stroke are at higher risk for intracerebral haemorrhage and death and should not be treated (see section 4.3).

Patients with extensive infarctions are at greater risk of poor outcome including severe haemorrhage and death. In such patients, the benefit/risk ratio should be thoroughly considered.

In stroke patients the likelihood of good outcomes decreases with increasing age, increasing stroke severity and increased levels of blood glucose on admission while the likelihood of severe disability and death or relevant intracranial bleedings increases, independently from treatment. Patients over 80, patients with severe stroke (as assessed clinically and/or by appropriate imaging techniques) and patients with blood glucose levels < 50 mg/dl or >400 mg/dl at baseline should not be treated with Actilyse (see section 4.3).

Other special warnings:

Reperfusion of the ischaemic area may induce cerebral oedema in the infarcted zone. Due to an increased haemorrhagic risk, treatment with platelet aggregation inhibitors should not be initiated within the first 24 hours following thrombolysis with alteplase.

No formal interaction studies with Actilyse and medicinal products commonly administered in patients with acute myocardial infarction have been performed.

The risk of haemorrhage is increased if coumarine derivatives, oral anticoagulants, platelet aggregation inhibitors, unfractionated heparin or LMWH or other agents inhibiting coagulation are administered (before, during or within the first 24 hours after treatment with Actilyse) (see section 4.3).

Concomitant treatment with ACE inhibitors may enhance the risk of suffering an anaphylactoid reaction, as in the cases describing such reactions a relatively larger proportion of patients were receiving ACE inhibitors concomitantly.

Concomitant use of GPIIb/IIIa antagonists increases the risk of bleeding.

There is very limited experience with the use of alteplase during pregnancy and lactation. Studies in animals have shown reproductive toxicity (see section 5.3). In cases of an acute life-threatening disease the benefit has to be eva luated against the potential risk.

It is not known if alteplase is excreted into breast milk.

Not applicable.

Adverse reactions listed below are classified according to frequency and system organ class. Frequency groupings are defined according to the following convention: Very common (1/10), Common (1/100 to <1/10), Uncommon (1/1,000 to <1/100), Rare (1/10,000 to <1/1,000), Very rare (<1/10,000), Not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).

Except for intracranial haemorrhage as adverse reaction in the indication stroke and reperfusion arrhythmias in the indication myocardial infarction, there is no medical reason to assume that the qualitative and quantitative adverse reaction profile of Actilyse in the indications pulmonary embolism and acute ischaemic stroke is different from the profile in the indication myocardial infarction.

Haemorrhage

The most frequent adverse reaction associated with Actilyse is bleeding resulting in a fall in haematocrit and/or haemoglobin values:

Death and permanent disability are reported in patients who have experienced stroke (including intracranial bleeding) and other serious bleeding episodes.

If a potentially dangerous haemorrhage occurs in particular cerebral haemorrhage, the fibrinolytic therapy must be discontinued. In general, however, it is not necessary to replace the coagulation factors because of the short half-life and the minimal effect on the systemic coagulation factors. Most patients who have bleeding can be managed by interruption of thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy, volume replacement, and manual pressure applied to an incompetent vessel. Protamine should be considered if heparin has been administered within 4 hours of the onset of bleeding. In the few patients who fail to respond to these conservative measures, judicious use of transfusion products may be indicated. Transfusion of cryoprecipitate, fresh frozen plasma, and platelets should be considered with clinical and laboratory reassessment after each administration. A target fibrinogen level of 1 g/l is desirable with cryoprecipitate infusion. Antifibrinolytic agents are available as a last alternative.

Immune system disorders

Transient antibody formation to Actilyse has been observed in rare cases and with low titres, but a clinical relevance of this finding could not be established.

Nervous system disorders

Cardiac disorders

As with other thrombolytic agents, the following events have been reported as sequelae of myocardial infarction and / or thrombolytic administration.

These cardiac events can be life-threatening and may lead to death.

Vascular disorders

Gastrointestinal disorders

Investigations

Injury and poisoning and procedural complications

The relative fibrin specificity notwithstanding, a clinical significant reduction in fibrinogen and other blood coagulation components may occur after overdosage. In most cases, it is sufficient to await the physiological regeneration of these factors after the Actilyse therapy has been terminated. If, however, severe bleeding results, the infusion of fresh frozen plasma or fresh blood is recommended and if necessary, synthetic antifibrinolytics may be administered.

Pharmacotherapeutic group: antithrombotic agent, ATC code: B 01 A D 02

The active ingredient of Actilyse is alteplase, a recombinant human tissue-type plasminogen activator, a glycoprotein, which activates plasminogen directly to plasmin. When administered intravenously, alteplase remains relatively inactive in the circulatory system. Once bound to fibrin, it is activated, inducing the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin leading to the dissolution of the fibrin clot.

Due to its relative fibrin-specificity alteplase at a dose of 100 mg leads to a modest decrease of the circulating fibrinogen levels to about 60% at 4 hours, which is generally reverted to more than 80% after 24 hours. Plasminogen and alpha-2-antiplasmin decrease to about 20% and 35% respectively after 4 hours and increase again to more than 80% at 24 hours. A marked and prolonged decrease of the circulating fibrinogen level is only seen in few patients.

In a study including more than 40,000 patients with an acute myocardial infarction (GUSTO) the administration of 100 mg alteplase over 90 minutes, with concomitant intravenous heparin infusion, led to a lower mortality after 30 days (6.3%) as compared to the administration of streptokinase, 1.5 million U over 60 minutes, with subcutaneous or intravenous heparin (7.3%). Actilyse-treated patients showed higher infarct related vessel patency rates at 60 and 90 minutes after thrombolysis than the streptokinase-treated patients. No differences in patency rates were noted at 180 minutes or longer.

30-day-mortality is reduced as compared to patients not undergoing thrombolytic therapy.

The release of alpha-hydroxybutyrate-dehydrogenase (HBDH) is reduced. Global ventricular function as well as regional wall motion is less impaired as compared to patients receiving no thrombolytic therapy.

Myocardial infarction

A placebo controlled trial with 100 mg alteplase over 3 hours (LATE) showed a reduction of 30-day-mortality compared to placebo for patients treated within 6-12 hours after symptom onset. In cases, in which clear signs of myocardial infarction are present, treatment initiated up to 24 hours after symptom onset may still be beneficial.

Pulmonary embolism

In patients with acute massive pulmonary embolism with haemodynamic instability thrombolytic treatment with Actilyse leads to a fast reduction of the thrombus size and a reduction of pulmonary artery pressure. Mortality data are not available.

Acute stroke

In two USA studies (NINDS A/B) a significant higher proportion of patients, when compared to placebo, had a favourable outcome (no or minimal disability). These findings were not confirmed in two European studies and an additional USA study. In the latter studies however, the majority of patients were not treated within 3 hours of stroke onset. In a meta-analysis of all patients treated within 3 hours after stroke onset the beneficial effect of alteplase was confirmed. The risk difference versus placebo for a good recovery was 14.9% (CI 95% 8.1% to 21.7%) despite an increased risk of severe and fatal intracranial haemorrhage. The data do not allow a definite conclusion to be drawn on the treatment effect on death. Nevertheless overall, the benefit/risk of alteplase, given within 3 hours of stroke onset and taking into account the precautions stated elsewhere in the SPC, is considered favourable.

Meta-analysis of all clinical data show that the agent is less effective in patients treated after 3 hours of onset (3 to 6 hours) compared with those treated within 3 hours of onset of symptoms, while the risks are higher, which makes the benefit/risk ratio of alteplase unfavourable outside the 0-3 h time frame.

Alteplase is cleared rapidly from the circulating blood and metabolised mainly by the liver (plasma clearance 550 - 680 ml/min.). The relevant plasma half-life t_1/2 alpha is 4-5 minutes. This means that after 20 minutes less than 10% of the initial value is present in the plasma. For the residual amount remaining in a deep compartment, a beta-half-life of about 40 minutes was measured.

In subchronic toxicity studies in rats and marmosets no unexpected undesirable effects were found.

No indications of a mutagenic potential were found in mutagenic tests.

In pregnant animals no teratogenic effects were observed after intravenous infusion of pharmacologically effective doses. In rabbits embryotoxicity (embryolethality, growth retardation) was induced by more than 3 mg/kg/day. No effects on peri-postnatal development or on fertility parameters were observed in rats with doses up to 10 mg/kg/day.

Powder for solution:

Arginine

Phosphoric acid, dilute

Polysorbate 80

Solvent:

Water for injections

The pH of the reconstituted solution is 7.3 +/- 0.5.

The reconstituted solution may be diluted with sterile sodium chloride 9 mg/ml (0.9%) solution for injection up to a minimal concentration of 0.2 mg alteplase per ml.

Further dilution, the use of water for injections for dilution or in general the use of carbohydrate infusion solutions e.g. dextrose, is not recommended due to increasing formation of turbidity of the reconstituted solution.

Actilyse should not be mixed with other medicinal products neither in the same infusion vial nor the same catheter (not even with heparin).

10 mg, 20 mg and 50 mg pack sizes: 3 years

After reconstitution, an immediate use is recommended. However, the in-use stability has been demonstrated for 24 hours at 2 °C – 8 °C and for 8 hours at 25 °C.

Store in the original package in order to protect from light.

For 10 mg, 20 mg and 50 mg pack sizes: Do not store above 25 °C.

For storage conditions of the reconstituted medicinal product, see section 6.3.

Powder for solution:

10 ml, 20 ml or 50 ml sterilised glass vials, sealed with sterile siliconised grey butyl-type stoppers with aluminium/plastic flip-off caps.

Solvent:

For the 10 mg, 20 mg and 50 mg pack sizes, the water for injections is filled into either 10 ml, 20 ml or 50 ml vials, depending on the size of the powder vials. The water for injections vials are sealed with rubber stoppers and aluminium/plastic flip-off caps.

Transfer cannulas (included with pack sizes of 20 mg and 50 mg only)

Pack sizes:

10 mg

1 vial with 467 mg powder for solution for injection and infusion

1 vial with 10 ml of water for injections

20 mg

1 vial with 933 mg powder for solution for injection and infusion

1 vial with 20 ml of water for injections

1 transfer cannula

50 mg

1 vial with 2333 mg powder for solution for injection and infusion

1 vial with 50 ml of water for injections

1 transfer cannula

Not all pack sizes may be marketed

For reconstitution to a final concentration of 1 mg alteplase per ml the full volume of solvent provided should be transferred to the vial containing the Actilyse powder. To this purpose a transfer cannula is included with the 20 mg and 50 mg pack sizes, which is to be used. For the 10 mg pack size a syringe should be used.

For reconstitution to a final concentration of 2 mg alteplase per ml only half of the solvent provided should be used. In these cases always a syringe should be used to transfer the required amount of solvent to the vial containing the Actilyse powder.

A table giving the volumes of solvent required for reconstitution to the final concentrations for each pack size is provided in section 4.2.

When reconstituting the product from the respective amount of powder and solvent, the mixture should only be agitated gently until complete dissolution. Any vigorous agitation should be avoided to prevent foam formation.

The reconstituted preparation is a clear and colourless to pale yellow solution. Prior to administration it should be inspected visually for particles and colour.

The reconstituted solution is for single use only. Any unused solution should be discarded.

Boehringer Ingelheim Limited,

Ellesfield Avenue,

Bracknell,

Berkshire RG12 8YS.

United Kingdom.

10 mg: PA 7/43/3

20 mg: PA 7/43/1

50 mg: PA 7/43/2

Date of first authorisation: 10 mg- 8^th September 1994 and 20 mg and 50 mg - 19^th June 1989

Date of last renewal: 26th April 2004

April 2010

POM