Fenofibric Acid

FENOFIBRIC ACID- fenofibric acid tablet
Palmetto Pharmaceuticals, Inc

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE

1.1 Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

Fenofibric acid tablets are indicated as adjunctive therapy to diet for treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia (≥ 500 mg/dL). Improving glycemic control in diabetic patients showing fasting chylomicronemia will usually obviate the need for pharmacologic intervention.

Markedly elevated levels of serum triglycerides > 2000 mg/dL may increase the risk of developing pancreatitis. The effect of fenofibrate therapy on reducing this risk has not been adequately studied.

1.2 Primary Hypercholesterolemia or Mixed Dyslipidemia

Fenofibric acid tablets are indicated as adjunctive therapy to diet to reduce elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (Total-C), triglycerides (TG), and apolipoprotein B (Apo B), and to increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia or mixed dyslipidemia.

1.3 Important Limitations of Use

Fenofibrate at a dose equivalent to 105 mg of fenofibric acid tablets was not shown to reduce coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ].

2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION

2.1 General Considerations

Fenofibric acid tablets can be given without regard to meals. Patients should be advised to swallow fenofibric acid tablets whole. Do not crush, dissolve or chew tablets.

Patients should be placed on an appropriate lipid-lowering diet before receiving fenofibric acid tablets and should continue this diet during treatment with fenofibric acid.

The initial treatment for dyslipidemia is dietary therapy specific for the type of lipoprotein abnormality. Excess body weight and excess alcoholic intake may be important factors in hypertriglyceridemia and should be addressed prior to any drug therapy. Physical exercise can be an important ancillary measure.

Diseases contributory to hyperlipidemia, such as hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus should be looked for and adequately treated. Estrogen therapy, thiazide diuretics and beta-blockers, are sometimes associated with massive rises in plasma triglycerides, especially in subjects with familial hypertriglyceridemia. In such cases, discontinuation of the specific etiologic agent may obviate the need for specific drug therapy of hypertriglyceridemia.

Periodic determination of serum lipids should be obtained during initial therapy in order to establish the lowest effective dose of fenofibric acid tablets. Therapy should be withdrawn in patients who do not have an adequate response after two months of treatment with the maximum recommended dose of 105 mg per day.

Consideration should be given to reducing the dosage of fenofibric acid tablets if lipid levels fall significantly below the targeted range.

2.2 Severe Hypertriglyceridemia

The initial dose is 35 to 105 mg per day. Dosage should be individualized according to patient response, and should be adjusted if necessary following repeat lipid determinations at 4 to 8 week intervals. The maximum dose is 105 mg once daily.

2.3 Primary Hypercholesterolemia or Mixed Dyslipidemia

The dose of fenofibric acid tablets is 105 mg per day.

2.4 Impaired Renal Function

In patients with mild-to-moderate renal impairment, treatment with fenofibric acid tablets should be initiated at a dose of 35 mg once daily, and increased only after evaluation of the effects on renal function and lipid levels at this dose. The use of fenofibric acid tablets should be avoided in patients with severe renal impairment [see Use in Specific Populations (8.6) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

2.5 Geriatric Patients

Dose selection for the elderly should be made on the basis of renal function [see Use in Specific Populations (8.5) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

3 DOSAGE FORMS AND STRENGTHS

  • 35-mg: White, round tablets. Debossed “AR 787”.
  • 105-mg: White, modified oval tablets. Debossed “AR 788”.

4 CONTRAINDICATIONS

Fenofibric acid tablets are contraindicated in:

5 WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS

5.1 Mortality and Coronary Heart Disease Morbidity

The effect of fenofibric acid tablets on coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality and non-cardiovascular mortality has not been established.

The Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Lipid (ACCORD Lipid) trial was a randomized placebo-controlled study of 5518 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on background statin therapy treated with fenofibrate. The mean duration of follow-up was 4.7 years. Fenofibrate plus statin combination therapy showed a non-significant 8% relative risk reduction in the primary outcome of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), a composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and cardiovascular disease death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.92, 95% CI 0.79–1.08) (p=0.32) as compared to statin monotherapy. In a gender subgroup analysis, the hazard ratio for MACE in men receiving combination therapy versus statin monotherapy was 0.82 (95% CI 0.69–0.99), and the hazard ratio for MACE in women receiving combination therapy versus statin monotherapy was 1.38 (95% CI 0.98–1.94) (interaction p=0.01). The clinical significance of this subgroup finding is unclear.

The Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study was a 5 year randomized, placebo-controlled study of 9795 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with fenofibrate. Fenofibrate demonstrated a non-significant 11% relative reduction in the primary outcome of coronary heart disease events (hazard ratio [HR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.75–1.05, p=0.16) and a significant 11% reduction in the secondary outcome of total cardiovascular disease events (HR 0.89 [0.80–0.99], p=0.04). There was a non-significant 11% (HR 1.11 [0.95, 1.29], p=0.18) and 19% (HR 1.19 [0.90, 1.57], p=0.22) increase in total and coronary heart disease mortality, respectively, with fenofibrate as compared to placebo.

Because of chemical, pharmacological, and clinical similarities between fenofibrate, clofibrate, and gemfibrozil, the adverse findings in 4 large randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies with these other fibrate drugs may also apply to fenofibric acid.

In the Coronary Drug Project, a large study of post myocardial infarction of patients treated for 5 years with clofibrate, there was no difference in mortality seen between the clofibrate group and the placebo group. There was however, a difference in the rate of cholelithiasis and cholecystitis requiring surgery between the two groups (3.0% vs. 1.8%).

In a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), 5000 subjects without known coronary artery disease were treated with placebo or clofibrate for 5 years and followed for an additional one year. There was a statistically significant, higher age – adjusted all-cause mortality in the clofibrate group compared with the placebo group (5.70% vs. 3.96%, p<0.01). Excess mortality was due to a 33% increase in non-cardiovascular causes, including malignancy, post-cholecystectomy complications, and pancreatitis. This appeared to confirm the higher risk of gallbladder disease seen in clofibrate-treated patients studied in the Coronary Drug Project.

The Helsinki Heart Study was a large (n=4081) study of middle-aged men without a history of coronary artery disease. Subjects received either placebo or gemfibrozil for 5 years, with a 3.5 year open extension afterward. Total mortality was numerically higher in the gemfibrozil randomization group but did not achieve statistical significance (p=0.19, 95% confidence interval for relative risk = 0.91–1.64). Although cancer deaths trended higher in the gemfibrozil group (p=0.11), cancers (excluding basal cell carcinoma) were diagnosed with equal frequency in both study groups. Due to the limited size of the study, the relative risk of death from any cause was not shown to be different than that seen in the 9 year follow-up data from World Health Organization study (relative risk=1.29).

A secondary prevention component of the Helsinki Heart Study enrolled middle-aged men excluded from the primary prevention study because of known or suspected coronary heart disease. Subjects received gemfibrozil or placebo for 5 years. Although cardiac deaths trended higher in the gemfibrozil group, this was not statistically significant (HR 2.2, 95% confidence interval: 0.94–5.05).

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