Epoetin alfa

Epoetin alfa
Clinical data
AHFS/Drugs.com Monograph
MedlinePlus a692034
Pregnancy
category
  • Unknown
Routes of
administration		 IV or subcutaneous
ATC code B03XA01 (WHO)
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
CAS Number 11096-26-7 N
DrugBank DB00016 YesY
ChemSpider none
UNII 64FS3BFH5W N
ChEMBL CHEMBL1201565 N
Chemical and physical data
Formula C815H1317N233O241S5
Molar mass 18396.1 g/mol
 NYesY (what is this?)  (verify)

Epoetin alfa (rINN) /ɛˈpoʊ.ᵻtᵻn/ is human erythropoietin produced in cell culture using recombinant DNA technology.[1] Authorised by the European Medicines Agency on 28 August 2007, it stimulates erythropoiesis (increases red blood cell levels) and is used to treat anemia, commonly associated with chronic renal failure and cancer chemotherapy.

Epoetin is manufactured by Amgen and is marketed by Amgen under the trade names Epogen and by Johnson & Johnson's subsidiary, Janssen Biotech, formerly Ortho Biotech Products, LP, as Procrit, pursuant to a Product License Agreement. Epogen and Procrit are the same drug. Its annual cost to U.S. patients was $8,447 per patient per year in 2009.[2] Darbepoetin alfa (rINN) /dɑrbəˈpɔɪtɨn/ is a glycosylation analog of erythropoietin containing 2 additional N-linked carbohydrate chains,[3] also manufactured by Amgen. Darbepoetin is marketed by Amgen under the trade name Aranesp. The FDA warnings and safety precautions for Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp are identical.

For several years, epoetin alfa has been the single greatest drug expenditure paid for by U.S. Medicare. In 2010, Medicare paid $2 billion.[4][5] Targeting to higher hemoglobin levels in some studies is associated with higher risks of thrombotic events, strokes and death.[6]

Medical uses

Erythropoietin is available as a therapeutic agent produced by recombinant DNA technology in mammalian cell culture. It is used in treating anemia resulting from chronic kidney disease and myelodysplasia, from the treatment of cancer (chemotherapy and radiation).

Anemia due to chronic kidney disease

In patients who require dialysis or chronic kidney disease(CKD)), iron should be given with erythropoietin depending some laboratory parameters such as Ferritin and Transferrin saturation.[7] Dialysis patients in the US are most often given Epogen; outside of the US other brands of epoetin may be used.

Outside of people on dialysis, erythropoietin is used most commonly to treat anemia in people with chronic kidney disease who are not on dialysis (those in stage 3 or 4 CKD and those living with a kidney transplant). There are two types of erythropoietin for people with anemia due to chronic kidney disease (not on dialysis):

Anemia due to treatment for cancer

In March 2008, a panel of advisers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supported keeping ESAs from Amgen and Johnson & Johnson on the market for use in cancer patients. The FDA has focused its concern on study results from some clinical trials showing an increased risk of death and tumor growth in chemotherapy patients taking the anti-anemia drugs.

Anemia in critically ill patients

Erythropoietin is used to treat people with anemia, due to critical illness.

In a randomized controlled trial,[8] erythropoietin was shown to not change the number of blood transfusions required by critically ill patients. A surprising finding in this study was a small mortality reduction in patients receiving erythropoietin. This result was statistically significant after 29 days but not at 140 days. This mortality difference was most marked in patients admitted to the ICU for trauma. The authors speculate several hypotheses for potential etiologies of this reduced mortality, but, given the known increase in thrombosis and increased benefit in trauma patients as well as marginal nonsignificant benefit (adjusted hazard ratio of 0.9) in surgery patients, it could be speculated that some of the benefit might be secondary to the procoagulant effect of erythropoetin. Regardless, this study suggests further research may be necessary to see which critical care patients, if any, might benefit from administration of erythropoeitin. Any benefit of erythropoetin use must be weighed against the increased likelihood of thrombosis, which has been demonstrated in numerous trials .

Neurological diseases

Erythropoietin has been hypothesized to be beneficial in certain neurological diseases like schizophrenia and stroke.[9] Some research has suggested that EPO improves the survival rate in children suffering from cerebral malaria, caused by the malaria parasite's blocking of blood vessels in the brain.[10][11][12] However the possibility that erythropoietin may be neuroprotective is inconsistent with the poor transport of EPO into the brain[13] and the low levels of Epo receptors expressed on neuronal cells.

Adverse effects

Epoetin alfa is generally well tolerated. Common side effects include high blood pressure, headache, crippling cluster migraine (resistant to remedies), joint-pain and clotting at the injection site. Rare cases of stinging at the injection site, skin rash and flu-like symptoms (joint and muscle pain) have occurred within a few hours following administration. More serious side effects, including allergic reactions, seizures and thrombotic events (e.g., heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolism) rarely occur. Chronic self-administration of the drug by two individuals caused increases in blood hemoglobin and hematocrit to abnormally high levels, resulting in dyspnea and abdominal pain.[14]

Erythropoietin is associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular complications in patients with kidney disease if it is used to target increase hemoglobin levels above 13.0 g/dl.[15]

Early treatment with erythropoietin in some clinical studies correlated with an increase in the risk of Retinopathy of prematurity in premature infants who had anemia of prematurity, raising concern that the angiogenic actions of erythropoietin may exacerbate retinopathy.[16][17] However, since anemia itself increases the risk of retinopathy, the correlation with erythropoietin treatment may be incidental, and merely reflect that anemia induces retinopathy. In addition, meta-analyses of the effect of Epo treatment vs no treatment or placebo, was neutral.(need reference)

Safety advisories in anemic cancer patients

Amgen sent a "dear doctor" letter in January 2007 that highlighted results from a recent anemia of cancer trial, and warned doctors to consider use in that off-label indication with caution.

Amgen advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the results of the DAHANCA 10 clinical trial. The DAHANCA 10 data monitoring committee found that 3-year loco-regional cancer control in subjects treated with Aranesp was significantly worse than for those not receiving Aranesp (p=0.01).

In response to these advisories, the FDA released a Public Health Advisory[18] on March 9, 2007, and a clinical alert[19] for doctors on February 16, 2007, about the use of erythropoeisis-stimulating agents (ESAs) such as epogen and darbepoetin. The advisory recommended caution in using these agents in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or off chemotherapy, and indicated a lack of clinical evidence to support improvements in quality of life or transfusion requirements in these settings.

In addition, on March 9, 2007, drug manufacturers agreed to new black box warnings about the safety of these drugs.

On March 22, 2007, a congressional inquiry into the safety of erythropoeitic growth factors was reported in the news media. Manufacturers were asked to suspend drug rebate programs for physicians and to also suspend marketing the drugs to patients.

Several publications and FDA communications have increased the level of concern related to adverse effects of ESA therapy in selected groups. In a revised Black Box Warning, the FDA notes significant risks associated with ESA use. ESAs should be used only in patients with cancer when treating anemia specifically caused by chemotherapy, and not for other causes of anemia. Further, it states that ESAs should be discontinued once the patient's chemotherapy course has been completed.[20][21][22][23]

Interactions

Drug interactions with erythropoietin include:

Controversy

The publication of an editorial questioning the benefits of high dose epoetin was canceled by the marketing branch of a journal after being accepted by the editorial branch highlighting concerns of conflict of interest in publishing.[25]

In 2011, author Kathleen Sharp published a book, Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever,[26] alleging drug maker Johnson & Johnson encouraged doctors to prescribe epoetin in high doses, particularly for cancer patients, because this would increase sales by hundreds of millions of dollars. Former sales representatives Mark Duxbury and Dean McClennan, claim that the bulk of their business selling epoetin to hospitals and clinics was Medicare fraud, totaling $3 billion.[27] In a lawsuit, Duxbury alleged his employer wrongfully terminated him in 1998. He lived in Gig Harbor, Washington. He was born on March 23, 1960 and died on Tuesday, October 13, 2009, at age 49, while his case was still in litigation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Walsh G, Spada S (2005). "Epogen/Procrit". Directory of approved biopharmaceutical products. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 39–41. ISBN 0-415-26368-9.
  2. ↑ Engelberg AB, Kesselheim AS, Avorn J (November 2009). "Balancing innovation, access, and profits--market exclusivity for biologics". N. Engl. J. Med. 361 (20): 1917–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp0908496. PMID 19828525.
  3. ↑ Elliott, S (2003). "Enhancement of therapeutic protein in vivo activities through glycoengineering". Nature Biotechnology. 21: 414–421. doi:10.1038/nbt799.
  4. ↑ "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives.] Medicare. Information on Highest-Expenditure Part B Drugs." (PDF), United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), 28 June 2013, retrieved 29 June 2015
  5. ↑ "Capitol Health Call: High-Cost Drugs Account for Most of Medicare Part B Spending", JAMA, 14 August 2013, retrieved 29 June 2015
  6. ↑ Anemia drugs made billions, but at what cost? By Peter Whoriskey, Washington Post, July 19, 2012
  7. ↑ Macdougall IC, Tucker B, Thompson J, Tomson CR, Baker LR, Raine AE (1996). "A randomized controlled study of iron supplementation in patients treated with erythropoietin". Kidney Int. 50 (5): 1694–9. doi:10.1038/ki.1996.487. PMID 8914038.
  8. ↑ Corwin HL, Gettinger A, Fabian TC, May A, Pearl RG, Heard S, An R, Bowers PJ, Burton P, Klausner MA, Corwin MJ (September 2007). "Efficacy and safety of epoetin alfa in critically ill patients". The New England Journal of Medicine. 357 (10): 965–76. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa071533. PMID 17804841.
  9. ↑ Ehrenreich H, Degner D, Meller J, et al. (January 2004). "Erythropoietin: a candidate compound for neuroprotection in schizophrenia" (PDF). Molecular Psychiatry. 9 (1): 42–54. doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4001442. PMID 14581931.
  10. ↑ Casals-Pascual C, Idro R, Picot S, Roberts DJ, Newton CR (2009). "Can erythropoietin be used to prevent brain damage in cerebral malaria?". Trends Parasitol. 25 (1): 30–6. doi:10.1016/j.pt.2008.10.002. PMID 19008152.
  11. ↑ Core A, Hempel C, Kurtzhals JA, Penkowa M (2011). "Plasmodium berghei ANKA: erythropoietin activates neural stem cells in an experimental cerebral malaria model.". Exp Parasitol. 127 (2): 500–5. doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2010.09.010. PMID 21044627.
  12. ↑ McKie, Robin (2008-02-17). "Kidney drug could save children from malaria brain damage". London: The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Banks, WA (2004). "Passage of erythropoietic agents across the blood-brain barrier:". Eur J Pharmacol. 505 (1-3): 93–101. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2004.10.035.
  14. ↑ R. Baselt, Disposition of Toxic Drugs and Chemicals in Man, 8th edition, Biomedical Publications, Foster City, CA, 2008, pp. 547-549.
  15. ↑ Drüeke TB, Locatelli F, Clyne N, Eckardt KU, Macdougall IC, Tsakiris D, Burger HU, Scherhag A (2006). "Normalization of hemoglobin level in patients with chronic kidney disease and anemia". N. Engl. J. Med. 355 (20): 2071–84. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa062276. PMID 17108342.
  16. ↑ Ohlsson A, Aher SM (2006). "Early erythropoietin for preventing red blood cell transfusion in preterm and/or low birth weight infants". Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 3: CD004863. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004863.pub2. PMID 16856062.
  17. ↑ Aher SM, Ohlsson A (2006). "Early versus late erythropoietin for preventing red blood cell transfusion in preterm and/or low birth weight infants". Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 3: CD004865. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004865.pub2. PMID 16856063.
  18. ↑ "FDA Public Health Advisory: Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESAs): Epoetin alfa (marketed as Procrit, Epogen), Darbepoetin alfa (marketed as Aranesp)". Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  19. ↑ "Information for Healthcare Professionals: Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (ESA)". Archived from the original on 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
  20. ↑ "Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents: Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa), Epogen (epoetin alfa), and Procrit (epoetin alfa)". MedWatch - 2007 Safety Information Alerts. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2008-01-03. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  21. ↑ "Procrit (Epoetin alfa) for injection" (PDF). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2007-08-11. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  22. ↑ "Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) for Injection" (PDF). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2007-11-08. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  23. ↑ "Information on Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents (ESA) (marketed as Procrit, Epogen, and Aranesp)". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  24. ↑ Drug Interactions of Erythropoietin Alfa at Drugs.com
  25. ↑ Hardell L, Walker MJ, Walhjalt B, Friedman LS, Richter ED (March 2007). "Secret ties to industry and conflicting interests in cancer research". Am. J. Ind. Med. 50 (3): 227–33. doi:10.1002/ajim.20357. PMID 17086516.
  26. ↑ Maryann Napoli (October 5, 2011), Whistleblower’s story: New book reviewed, Center for Medical Consumers, retrieved 2012-02-12
  27. ↑ Edwards, Jim (August 17, 2009), Drug Rep in $3B Procrit Case: "80% of My Sales Were Medicare Fraud"; Carried $400K in "Cash", CBS news, event occurs at 4:58 PM, retrieved 2012-02-12
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