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Cabergoline Ratiopharm

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SUMMARY OF PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS


1 NAME OF THE MEDICINAL PRODUCT


Cabergoline ratiopharm 1 mg tablets


2 QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION


Each tablet contains 1 mg cabergoline.


Excipient with known effect: lactose 75.3 mg


For the full list of excipients, see section 6.1.


3 PHARMACEUTICAL FORM


Tablet


White oval-shaped biconvex tablets. Each tablet is scored on both sides and has „CBG“ on one side and „1“ on the other side of the breakline.


The tablet can be divided into equal doses.


4 CLINICAL PARTICULARS


4.1 Therapeutic indications


Treatment of Parkinson’s disease:

If treatment with a dopamine agonist is being considered, cabergoline is indicated as second line therapy in patients who are intolerant or fail treatment with a non-ergot compound, as monotherapy, or as adjunctive treatment to levodopa plus dopa-decarboxylase inhibitor, in the management of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.


Treatment should be initiated under specialist supervision. The benefit of continued treatment should be regularly reassessed, taking into account the risk of fibrotic reactions and valvulopathy (see sections 4.3, 4.4 and 4.8).


4.2 Posology and method of administration


Posology


Adults and elderly patients

As expected for dopamine agonists, dose response for both efficacy and undesirable effects appears to be linked to individual sensitivity. Optimization of dose should be obtained through slow initial dose titration, from starting doses of 0.5 mg cabergoline (de novo patients) and 1 mg cabergoline (patients on L dopa) daily. The dosage of concurrent levodopa may be gradually decreased, while the dosage of cabergoline is increased, until the optimum balance is determined. In view of the long half-life of the compound, increments of the daily dose of 0.5-1 mg cabergoline should be done at weekly (initial weeks) or bi-weekly intervals, up to optimal doses.

The recommended therapeutic dosage is 2 to 3 mg cabergoline /day as adjuvant therapy to levodopa/carbidopa. The maximum daily dose is 3 mg. Cabergoline should be given as a single daily dose.


Paediatric population

The safety and efficacy of cabergoline has not been investigated in children or adolescents as Parkinson’s disease does not affect this population.


Patients with hepatic or renal dysfunction

For patients with severe hepatic dysfunction or end stage renal failure see section 4.4.


Method of administration

Cabergoline is to be administered by the oral route. In order to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal undesirable effects it is recommended that cabergoline is taken with meals for all therapeutic indications.


4.3 Contraindications



4.4 Special warnings and precautions for use


General

As with other ergot derivatives, cabergoline should be given with caution to patients with severecardiovascular disease, Raynaud's syndrome, peptic ulcer or gastrointestinal bleeding, or with a history of serious, particularly psychotic, mental disorders. The effects of alcohol on overall tolerability of cabergoline are currently unknown.


Hepatic Insufficiency

Lower doses of cabergoline should be considered in patients with severe hepatic insufficiency. Compared to normal volunteers and those with lesser degrees of hepatic insufficiency, an increase in AUC has been seen in patients with severe hepatic insufficiency (Child-Pugh Class C) who received a single 1 mg dose.


Postural Hypotension

Postural hypotension can occur following administration of cabergoline, particularly during the first days of administration of cabergoline. Care should be exercised when administering cabergoline concomitantly with other drugs known to lower blood pressure.


Fibrosis and Cardiac Valvulopathy and possibly related clinical phenomena

Fibrotic and serosal inflammatory disorders such as pleuritis, pleural effusion, pleural fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pericarditis, pericardial effusion, cardiac valvulopathy involving one or more valves (aortic, mitral and tricuspid)or retroperitoneal fibrosis have occurred after prolonged usageof ergot derivatives with agonist activity at the serotonin 5-HT2Breceptor, such as cabergoline. In some cases, symptoms or manifestations of cardiac valvulopathy improved after discontinuation of cabergoline.


Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) has been found to be abnormally increased in association with pleural effusion/fibrosis. Chest x-ray examination is recommended in cases of unexplained ESR increases to abnormal values.

Serum creatinine measurements can also be used to help in the diagnosis of fibrotic disorder. Following diagnosis of pleural effusion/pulmonary fibrosis or valvulopathy, the discontinuance of cabergolinehas been reported to result in improvement of signs and symptoms (see section 4.3).


Valvulopathy has been associated with cumulative doses, therefore, patients should be treated with the lowest effective dose. At each visit, the risk benefit profile of cabergoline treatment for the patient should be reassessed to determine the suitability of continued treatment with cabergoline.


Before initiating long-term treatment

All patients must undergo a cardiovascular evaluation, including echocardiogram, to assess the potential presence of asymptomatic valvular disease. It is also appropriate to perform baseline investigations of erythrocyte sedimentation rate or other inflammatory markers, lung function/chest x-ray and renal function prior to initiation of therapy.


In patients with valvular regurgitation, it is not known whether cabergoline treatment might worsen the underlying disease. If fibrotic valvular disease is detected, the patient should not be treated with cabergoline (see section 4.3).


During long-term treatment

Fibrotic disorders can have an insidious onset and patients should be regularly monitored for possible manifestations of progressive fibrosis. Therefore during treatment, attention should be paid to the signs and symptoms of:

Therefore, valvular fibrosis (and constrictive pericarditis) should be excluded if such symptoms occur.


Clinical diagnostic monitoring for development of fibrotic disorders, as appropriate, is essential. Following treatment initiation, the first echocardiogram must occur within 3-6 months; thereafter, the frequency of echocardiographic monitoring should be determined by appropriate individual clinical assessment with particular emphasis on the above-mentioned signs and symptoms, but must occur at least every 6 to 12 months.


Cabergoline should be discontinued if an echocardiogram reveals new or worsened valvular regurgitation, valvular restriction, valve leaflet thickening or fibrotic valvular disease (see section 4.3).

The need for other clinical monitoring (e.g., physical examination, including cardiac auscultation, X-ray, CT scan) should be determined on an individual basis.

Additional appropriate investigations such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and serum creatinine measurements should be performed if necessary to support a diagnosis of a fibrotic disorder.


Somnolence/Sudden Sleep Onset

Cabergoline has been associated with somnolence and episodes of sudden sleep onset in patients with Parkinson's disease. Sudden onset of sleep during daily activities, in some cases without awareness or warning signs, has been reported. Patients must be informed of this and advised to exercise caution while driving or operating machines during treatment with cabergoline. Patients who have experienced somnolence and/or an episode of sudden sleep onset must refrain from driving or operating machines. A reduction in dosage or termination of therapy may be considered(see section 4.7).


Renal Insufficiency

No overall differences in the pharmacokinetics of cabergoline were observed in moderate to severe renal disease. The pharmacokinetics of cabergoline has not been studied in patients having end-stage renal failure, or in patients on haemodialysis; these patients should be treated with caution.


Impulse control disorders

Patients should be regularly monitored for the development of impulse control disorders. Patients and carers should be made aware that behavioural symptoms of impulse control disorders including pathological gambling, increased libido, hypersexuality, compulsive spending or buying, binge eating and compulsive eating can occur in patients treated with dopamine agonists including cabergoline.Dose reduction/tapered discontinuation should be considered if such symptoms develop.


Other

This medicinal product contains lactose. Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicine.


4.5 Interaction with other medicinal products and other forms of interactions


The concomitant use of antiparkinson non-dopamine agonists (e.g. selegiline, amantadine, biperiden, trihexyphenidyl) was allowed in clinical studies for patients receiving cabergoline. In studies where the pharmacokinetic interactions of cabergoline with L-dopa or selegiline were evaluated, no interactions were observed.


No information is available about interaction between cabergoline and other ergot alkaloids; therefore, the concomitant use of these medications during long-term treatment with cabergoline is not recommended.


Since cabergoline exerts its therapeutic effect by direct stimulation of dopamine receptors, it should not be concurrently administered with drugs that have dopamine-antagonist activity (such as phenothiazines, butyrophenones, thioxanthenes, metoclopramide) since these might reduce the therapeutic effect of cabergoline.


As with other ergot derivatives, cabergoline should not be used in association with macrolide antibiotics (e.g. erythromycin) due to increased systemic bioavailability.


Interactions with other medicinal products that reduce blood pressure should be taken into consideration.


4.6 Fertility, pregnancy and lactation


Pregnancy

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies from the use of cabergoline in pregnant women. Animal studies have not demonstrated teratogenic effects, but reduced fertility and embryo-toxicity were observed in association with pharmacodynamic activity (see section 5.3).


In a twelve year observational study on pregnancy outcomes following cabergoline therapy, information is available on 256 pregnancies. Seventeen of these 256 pregnancies (6.6%) eventuated in major congenital malformations or abortion. Information is available on 23/258 infants who had a total of 27 neonatal abnormalities, both major and minor. Musculoskeletal malformations were the most common neonatal abnormality (10), followed by cardio-pulmonary abnormalities (5). There is no information on perinatal disorders or long-term development of infants exposed to intra-uterine cabergoline. Based on recent published literature, the prevalence of major congenital malformations in the general population has been reported to be 6.9% or greater. Rates of congenital abnormality vary between different populations. It is not possible to accurately determine if there is an increased risk as no control group was included.

It is recommended that contraception is used whilst on treatment with cabergoline.


Cabergoline should only be used during pregnancy if clearly indicated and after an accurate benefit/risk evaluation.

Due to the long half-life of the drug and limited data on in utero exposure, women planning to become pregnant should discontinue cabergoline one month before intended conception. If conception occurs during therapy, treatment should be discontinued as soon as pregnancy is confirmed to limit foetal exposure to the drug.

As a precautionary measure, women who become pregnant should be monitored to detect signs of pituitary enlargement since expansion of pre-existing pituitary tumours may occur during gestation.


Cabergoline restores ovulation and fertility in women with hyperprolactinaemic hypogonadism: since pregnancy might occur prior to reinitiation of menses, pregnancy testing is recommended as appropriate during the amenorrhoeic period and, once menses are reinitiated, every time a menstrual period is delayed by more than three days. Women not seeking pregnancy should be advised to use effective non-hormonal contraception during treatment and after cabergoline withdrawal.


Contraception should be continued for at least 4 weeks after stopping cabergoline.


Breastfeeding

In rats, cabergolineand/or its metabolites are excreted in milk. No information is available on the excretion in breast milk in humans; however, lactation is expected to be inhibited/suppressed by cabergoline, in view of its dopamine agonist properties. Mothers should be advised not to breast-feed while being treated with cabergoline.


4.7 Effects on ability to drive and use machines


Cabergoline reduces blood pressure, which may impair the reactions of certain patients. This should be taken into account in situations requiring intense awareness, such as when driving a car or operating machinery.


Patients should be careful when performing actions which require fast and accurate reaction during treatment initiation.

Patients being treated with cabergoline and presenting with somnolence and/or sudden sleep onset episodes must be informed to refrain from driving or engaging in activities where impaired alertness may put themselves or others at risk of serious injury or death(e.g. operating machines), until such episodes and somnolence have resolved (see section 4.4).


4.8 Undesirable effects


The following undesirable effects have been observed and reported during treatment with cabergoline with the following frequencies: 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).


MedDRA

System Organ Class

Frequency

Undesirable Effects

Immune system disorders

Uncommon

Hypersensitivity reaction

Psychiatric disorders

Common

Hallucinations, sleep disturbances, increased libido, confusion

Uncommon

Delusions, psychotic disorder

Not known

Aggression, hypersexuality, pathological gambling

Nervous system disorders

Common

Headache, somnolence, dizziness/vertigo, dyskinesia

Uncommon

Hyperkinesia

Not known

Sudden sleep onset, syncope, tremor

Eye disorders

Not known

Visual impairment

Cardiac disorders

Very Common

Valvulopathy (including regurgitation) and related disorders (pericarditis and pericardial effusion)

Common*

Angina pectoris

Vascular disorders

Common

Cabergoline generally exerts a hypotensive effect in patients on long-term treatment; postural hypotension

Uncommon

Erythromelalgia

Not known

Digital vasospasm

Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders

Common

Dyspnoea

Uncommon

Pleural effusion, pulmonary fibrosis

Very rare

Fibrosis ( including pleural fibrosis)

Not known

Respiratory disorder, respiratory failure, pleuritis, chest pain

Gastrointestinal disorders

Very common

Nausea

Common

Constipation, dyspepsia, gastritis, vomiting

Hepatobiliary disorders

Uncommon

Hepatic function abnormal

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders

Uncommon

Rash

Not known

Alopecia

Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders

Not known

Leg cramps

General disorders and administration site conditions

Very common

Peripheral oedema

Common

Asthenia

Uncommon

Oedema, fatigue

Investigations

Common

Liver function tests abnormal, decreased hemoglobin, hematocrit, and/or red blood cell (>15% vs baseline)

Not known

Blood creatinine phosphokinase increased

* When concomitant use with levodopa therapy


Impulse control disorders

Pathological gambling, increased libido, hypersexuality, compulsive spending or buying, binge eating and compulsive eating can occur in patients treated with dopamine agonists including cabergoline (see section 4.4).


Reporting of suspected adverse reactions

Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the national reporting system listed in Appendix V.


4.9 Overdose


Symptoms of overdose would likely be those of over-stimulation of dopamine receptors, e.g. nausea, vomiting, gastric complaints, postural hypotension, confusion/psychosis or hallucinations.


Supportive measures should be taken to remove unabsorbed drug and maintain blood pressure, if necessary.

In addition, the administration of dopamine antagonist drugs may be advisable.


5 PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES


5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties


Pharmacotherapeutic group: Dopamine agonist

ATC code: N04BC06


Cabergoline is a synthetic ergot alkaloid and an ergoline derivate with long-acting dopamine agonist and prolactin-inhibiting properties. A central dopaminergic effect via D2-receptor stimulation is achieved through higher doses than doses that reduce the levels of serum prolactin.


Controlled clinical studies have demonstrated that cabergoline is effective at an average dose of 4 mg/day following titration (up to 5-6 mg cabergoline/day in the different studies). Cabergoline reduces daily fluctuations in the motor function in patients with Parkinson’s disease that are being treated with levodopa/carbidopa. In newly diagnosed patients, cabergoline administered as monotherapy has been shown to produce somewhat less frequent clinical improvement compared with levodopa/carbidopa.


With regard to the endocrine effects of cabergoline not related to the antiprolactinaemic effect, available data from humans confirm the experimental findings in animals indicating that the test compound is endowed with a very selective action with no effect on basal secretion of other pituitary hormones or cortisol.


The pharmacodynamic actions of cabergoline not correlated with the therapeutic effect only relate to blood pressure decrease. The maximal hypotensive effect of cabergoline as single dose usually occurs during the first 6 hours after active substance intake and is dose-dependent both in terms of maximal decrease and frequency.


5.2 Pharmacokinetic properties


Absorption

After oral administrationcabergoline is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract as the peak plasmaconcentration is received within 0.5to4 hours.


Food does not appear to affect absorption and disposition of cabergoline.


Distribution

In-vitro” experiments showed that cabergoline at concentrations of 0.1 – 10 ng/ml is 41-42% bound to plasma proteins.


Biotransformation

In urine, the main metabolite identifiedis 6-allyl-8ß-carboxy-ergoline, which accounts for 4-6% of the dose. Three additional metabolites areidentified in urine, which account overall for less than 3% of the dose. The metabolites have been found to be much less potent than cabergoline in inhibiting prolactin secretion “in-vitro”.


Elimination

The elimination half-life of cabergoline is long(63-68 hours in healthy volunteers and 79-115 hours in hyperprolactinaemic patients).

On the basis of the elimination half-life, steady state conditions should be achieved after 4 weeks, as confirmed by the mean peak plasma levels of cabergoline obtained after a single dose (37 ± 8 pg/ml) and after a 4 week multiple-regimen (101 ± 43 pg/ml) for 0.5 mg cabergoline dose.

Ten days after administration about 18% and 72% of the doseis recovered in urine and faeces, respectively. Unchanged cabergoline in urine accounts for 2-3% of the dose.


Linearity/Non-linearity

The pharmacokinetic profile is linear up to 7 mg per day.


5.3 Preclinical safety data


There were maternotoxic effects but no teratogenic effects in mice given cabergoline at doses up to 8 mg/kg/day (approximately 55 times the maximum recommended human dose) during the period of organogenesis.

A dose of 0.012 mg/kg/day (approximately 1/7 the maximum recommended human dose) during the period of organogenesis in rats caused an increase in post-implantation embryofetal losses. These losses could be due to the prolactin inhibitory properties of cabergoline in rats. At daily doses of 0.5 mg/kg/day (approximately 19 times the maximum recommended human dose) during the period of organogenesis in the rabbit, cabergoline caused maternotoxicity characterized by a loss of body weight and decreased food consumption. Doses of 4 mg/kg/day (approximately 150 times the maximum recommended human dose) during the period of organogenesis in the rabbit caused an increased occurrence of various malformations. However, in another study in rabbits, no treatment-related malformations or embryofetotoxicity were observed at doses up to 8 mg/kg/day (approximately 300 times the maximum recommended human dose).


Almost all the findings noted throughout the series of preclinical safety studies are a consequence of the central dopaminergic effects or the long-lasting inhibition of PRL in species (rodents) with a specific hormonal physiology different to man.


6 PHARMACEUTICAL PARTICULARS


6.1 List of excipients


Anhydrous lactose

L-Leucin

Magnesium stearate (E572)


6.2 Incompatibilities


Not applicable.


6.3 Shelf life


2 years.


6.4 Special precautions for storage


Do not store above 25 °C.

Store in the original package in order to protect from moisture. The drying bag with silica gel must not be removed from the bottle.


6.5 Nature and contents of container

Brown glass bottles (type III) that contain a desiccation bag with silica gel. The brown glass bottle has an induction-sealed childproof aluminium membrane and a childproof PP cap. External box.


Packaging sizes: 2, 8, 14, 15, 16, 20, 28, 30, 32, 40, 48, 50, 60, 90, 96, 100 tablets.


Not all pack sizes may be marketed.


6.6 Special precautions for disposal


No special requirements.


7 MARKETING AUTHORISATION HOLDER


<[To be completed nationally]>


8 MARKETING AUTHORISATION NUMBER


<[To be completed nationally]>


9 DATE OF FIRST AUTHORISATION/RENEWAL OF AUTHORISATION


<[To be completed nationally]>


10 DATE OF REVISION OF SUMMARY OF PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS

10/2015

<[To be completed nationally]>


9