Famotidine

FAMOTIDINE- famotidine injection, solution
Baxter Healthcare Corporation

DESCRIPTION

The active ingredient in Famotidine Injection is a histamine H2 -receptor antagonist. Famotidine is N’-(aminosulfonyl)-3-[[[2-[(diaminomethylene)amino]-4-thiazolyl]methyl]thio]propanimidamide. The empirical formula of famotidine is C8 H15 N7 O2 S3 and its molecular weight is 337.45. Its structural formula is:

Famotidine Structural Formula
(click image for full-size original)

Famotidine is a white to pale yellow crystalline compound that is freely soluble in glacial acetic acid, slightly soluble in methanol, very slightly soluble in water, and practically insoluble in ethanol.

Famotidine Injection is supplied as a sterile solution, for intravenous use only, in plastic single dose GALAXY containers. Each 50 mL of the premixed, iso-osmotic intravenous injection contains 20 mg Famotidine, USP, and the following inactive ingredients: L-aspartic acid 6.8 mg, sodium chloride, USP, 450 mg, and Water for Injection. The pH ranges from 5.7 to 6.4 and may have been adjusted with additional L-aspartic acid and/or with sodium hydroxide.

The GALAXY plastic container is fabricated from a specially designed multilayer plastic (PL 2501). Solutions are in contact with the polyethylene layer of the container and can leach out certain chemical components of the plastic in very small amounts within the expiration period. The suitability and safety of the plastic have been confirmed in tests in animals according to the USP biological tests for plastic containers, as well as by tissue culture toxicity studies.

CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY IN ADULTS

GI Effects

Famotidine is a competitive inhibitor of histamine H2 -receptors. The primary clinically important pharmacologic activity of famotidine is inhibition of gastric secretion. Both the acid concentration and volume of gastric secretion are suppressed by famotidine, while changes in pepsin secretion are proportional to volume output.

In normal volunteers and hypersecretors, famotidine inhibited basal and nocturnal gastric secretion, as well as secretion stimulated by food and pentagastrin. After oral administration, the onset of the antisecretory effect occurred within one hour; the maximum effect was dose-dependent, occurring within one to three hours. Duration of inhibition of secretion by doses of 20 and 40 mg was 10 to 12 hours.

After intravenous administration, the maximum effect was achieved within 30 minutes. Single intravenous doses of 10 and 20 mg inhibited nocturnal secretion for a period of 10 to 12 hours. The 20 mg dose was associated with the longest duration of action in most subjects.

Single evening oral doses of 20 and 40 mg inhibited basal and nocturnal acid secretion in all subjects; mean nocturnal gastric acid secretion was inhibited by 86% and 94%, respectively, for a period of at least 10 hours. The same doses given in the morning suppressed food-stimulated acid secretion in all subjects. The mean suppression was 76% and 84%, respectively, 3 to 5 hours after administration, and 25% and 30%, respectively, 8 to 10 hours after administration. In some subjects who received the 20 mg dose, however, the antisecretory effect was dissipated within 6-8 hours. There was no cumulative effect with repeated doses. The nocturnal intragastric pH was raised by evening doses of 20 and 40 mg of famotidine to mean values of 5.0 and 6.4, respectively. When famotidine was given after breakfast, the basal daytime interdigestive pH at 3 and 8 hours after 20 or 40 mg of famotidine was raised to about 5.

Famotidine had little or no effect on fasting or postprandial serum gastrin levels. Gastric emptying and exocrine pancreatic function were not affected by famotidine.

Other Effects

Systemic effects of famotidine in the CNS, cardiovascular, respiratory or endocrine systems were not noted in clinical pharmacology studies. Also, no antiandrogenic effects were noted (see ADVERSE REACTIONS). Serum hormone levels, including prolactin, cortisol, thyroxine (T4 ), and testosterone, were not altered after treatment with famotidine.

Pharmacokinetics

Orally administered famotidine is incompletely absorbed and its bioavailability is 40-45%. Famotidine undergoes minimal first-pass metabolism. After oral doses, peak plasma levels occur in 1-3 hours. Plasma levels after multiple doses are similar to those after single doses. Fifteen to 20% of famotidine in plasma is protein bound. Famotidine has an elimination half-life of 2.5-3.5 hours. Famotidine is eliminated by renal (65-70%) and metabolic (30-35%) routes. Renal clearance is 250-450 mL/min, indicating some tubular excretion. Twenty-five to 30% of an oral dose and 65-70% of an intravenous dose are recovered in the urine as unchanged compound. The only metabolite identified in man is the S-oxide.

There is a close relationship between creatinine clearance values and the elimination half-life of famotidine. In patients with severe renal insufficiency, i.e., creatinine clearance less than 10 mL/min, the elimination half-life of famotidine may exceed 20 hours and adjustment of dose or dosing intervals in moderate and severe renal insufficiency may be necessary (see PRECAUTIONS, DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION).

In elderly patients, there are no clinically significant age-related changes in the pharmacokinetics of famotidine. However, in elderly patients with decreased renal function, the clearance of the drug may be decreased (see PRECAUTIONS, Geriatric Use).

Clinical Studies

The majority of clinical study experience involved oral administration of famotidine tablets, and is provided herein for reference.

Duodenal Ulcer

In a U.S. multicenter, double-blind study in outpatients with endoscopically confirmed duodenal ulcer, orally administered famotidine was compared to placebo. As shown in Table 1, 70% of patients treated with famotidine 40 mg h.s. were healed by week 4.

Table 1.
*
Statistically significantly different than placebo (p<0.001)

Outpatients with Endoscopically Confirmed Healed Duodenal Ulcers

Famotidine 40 mg h.s.(N=89)

Famotidine 20 mg b.i.d.(N=84)

Placebo h.s.(N=97)

Week 2

*32%

*38%

17%

Week 4

*70%

*67%

31%

Patients not healed by week 4 were continued in the study. By week 8, 83% of patients treated with famotidine had healed versus 45% of patients treated with placebo. The incidence of ulcer healing with famotidine was significantly higher than with placebo at each time point based on proportion of endoscopically confirmed healed ulcers.

In this study, time to relief of daytime and nocturnal pain was significantly shorter for patients receiving famotidine than for patients receiving placebo; patients receiving famotidine also took less antacid than the patients receiving placebo.

Long-Term Maintenance

Treatment of Duodenal Ulcers

Famotidine, 20 mg p.o. h.s. was compared to placebo h.s. as maintenance therapy in two double-blind, multicenter studies of patients with endoscopically confirmed healed duodenal ulcers. In the U.S. study the observed ulcer incidence within 12 months in patients treated with placebo was 2.4 times greater than in the patients treated with famotidine. The 89 patients treated with famotidine had a cumulative observed ulcer incidence of 23.4% compared to an observed ulcer incidence of 56.6% in the 89 patients receiving placebo (p<0.01). These results were confirmed in an international study where the cumulative observed ulcer incidence within 12 months in the 307 patients treated with famotidine was 35.7%, compared to an incidence of 75.5% in the 325 patients treated with placebo (p<0.01).

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