Amisulpride 50mg Tablets
Out of date information, search anotherSUMMARY OF PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
1 NAME OF THE MEDICINAL PRODUCT
Amisulpride 50mg tablets
2. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION
Active ingredient: amisulpride 50 mg per tablet.
Excipient with known effect: lactose monohydrate.
For the full list of excipients, see section 6.1.
3 PHARMACEUTICAL FORM
Tablet
White round shaped tablet embossed “AS 50” on one side and a score-line on the reverse
The scoreline is only to facilitate breaking for ease of swallowing and not to divide into equal doses.
4 CLINICAL PARTICULARS
4.1 Therapeutic indications
Amisulpride is indicated for the treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenic disorders, in which positive symptoms (such as delusions, hallucinations, thought disorders) and/or negative symptoms (such as blunted affect, emotional and social withdrawal) are prominent, including patients characterised by predominant negative symptoms.
4.2. Posology and method of administration
Posology
For acute psychotic episodes, oral doses between 400 mg/d and 800 mg/d are recommended. In individual cases, the daily dose may be increased up to 1200 mg/d. Doses above 1200 mg/d have not been extensively evaluated for safety and therefore should not be used. No specific titration is required when initiating the treatment with Amisulpride. Doses should be adjusted according to individual response.
For patients with mixed positive and negative symptoms, doses should be adjusted to obtain optimal control of positive symptoms.
Maintenance treatment should be established individually with the minimally effective dose.
For patients characterised by predominant negative symptoms, oral doses between 50 mg/d and 300 mg/d are recommended. Doses should be adjusted individually.
Amisulpride can be administered once daily at oral doses up to 300 mg, higher doses should be administered bid.
The minimum effective dose should be used.
Elderly: The safety of amisulpride has been examined in a limited number of elderly patients. Amisulpride should be used with particular caution because of a possible risk of hypotension and sedation. Reduction in dosage may also be required because of renal insufficiency.
Children:
The efficacy and safety of amisulpride from puberty to the age of 18 years have not been established. There are limited data available on the use of amisulpride in adolescents in schizophrenia. Therefore, the use of amisulpride from puberty to the age of 18 years is not recommended; in children up to puberty amisulpride is contraindicated, as its safety has not yet been established (see section: 4.3)..
Renal insufficiency: Amisulpride is eliminated by the renal route. In renal insufficiency, the dose should be reduced to half in patients with creatinine clearance (CRcL) between 30-60 ml/min and to a third in patients with CRcL between 10-30 ml/min.
As there is no experience in patients with severe renal impairment (CRcl < 10 ml/min) particular care is recommended in these patients (see 4.4).
Hepatic insufficiency: since the drug is weakly metabolised a dosage reduction should not be necessary.
4.3 Contraindications
Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient or to any of the excipients.
Concomitant prolactin-dependent tumours e.g. pituitary gland prolactinomas or breast cancer. Phaeochromocytoma.
Children up to puberty.
Pregnancy or lactation.
Women of childbearing potential unless using adequate contraception.
Combination with the following medications which could induce torsades de pointes:
- Class Ia antiarrhythmic agents such as quinidine, disopyramide, procainamide
- Class III antiarrhythmic agents such as amiodarone, sotalol
- Others medications such as bepridil, cisapride, sultopride, thioridazine, IV erythromycin, IV vincamine, halofantrine, pentamidine, sparfloxacin.
This list is not exhaustive.
In combination with levodopa (see section 4.5)
4.4. Special warnings and precautions for use
As with other neuroleptics, Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, a potentially fatal complication characterized by hyperthermia, muscle rigidity, autonomic instability, altered consciousness and elevated CPK, may occur. In the event of hyperthermia, particularly with high daily doses, all antipsychotic drugs including amisulpride should be discontinued.
Amisulpride is eliminated by the renal route. In cases of renal insufficiency, the dose should be decreased or intermittent treatment could be considered (see section 4.2).
Amisulpride may lower the seizure threshold. Therefore patients with a history of epilepsy should be closely monitored during amisulpride therapy.
In elderly patients, amisulpride, like other neuroleptics, should be used with particular caution because of a possible risk of hypotension and sedation. Reduction in dosage may also be required because of renal insufficiency.
As with other antidopaminergic agents, caution should be also exercised when prescribing amisulpride to patients with Parkinson’s disease since it may cause worsening of the disease. Amisulpride should be used only if neuroleptic treatment cannot be avoided.
Acute withdrawal symptoms including nausea, vomiting and insomnia have very rarely been described after abrupt cessation of high therapeutic doses of antipsychotic drugs. Recurrence of psychotic symptoms may also occur, and the emergence of involuntary movement disorders (such as akathisa, dystonia and dyskinesia) has been reported with amisulpride. Therefore, gradual withdrawal of amisulpride is advisable.
Prolongation of the QT interval
Caution should be exercised when amisulpride is prescribed in patients with known cardiovascular disease or family history of QT prolongation and concomitant use with neuroleptics should be avoided.
Amisulpride induces a dose-dependent prolongation of the QT interval. This effect, known to potentiate the risk of serious ventricular arrhythmias such as torsades de pointes is enhanced by the pre-existence of bradycardia, hypokalaemia, congenital or acquired long QT interval.
Hypokalaemia should be corrected.
Before any administration, and if possible according to the patient’s clinical status, it is recommended to monitor factors which could favour the occurrence of this rhythm disorder:
- bradycardia less than 55 bpm,
- hypokalaemia,
- congenital prolongation of the QT interval,
- on-going treatment with a medication likely to produce pronounced bradycardia (< 55 bpm), hypokalaemia, decreased intracardiac conduction, or prolongation of the QTc interval (see section 4.5).
Stroke:
In randomized clinical trials versus placebo performed in a population of elderly patients with dementia and treated with certain atypical antipsychotic drugs, a 3-fold increase of the risk of cerebrovascular events has been observed. The mechanism of such risk increase is not known. An increase in the risk with other antipsychotic drugs or other populations of patients cannot be excluded. Amisulpride should be used in caution in patients with stroke risk factors.
Elderly patients with dementia:
Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. Analyses of seventeen placebo-controlled trials (modal duration of 10 weeks), largely in patients taking atypical antipsychotic drugs, revealed a risk of death in drug-treated patients of between 1.6 to 1.7 times the risk of death in placebo-treated patients. Over the course of a typical 10-week controlled trial, the rate of death in drug-treated patients was about 4.5%, compared to a rate of about 2.6% in the placebo group. Although the causes of death in clinical trials with atypical antipsychotics were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g. heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g. pneumonia) in nature. Observational studies suggest that, similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs, treatment with conventional antipsychotic drugs may increase mortality.
The extent to which the findings of increased mortality in observational studies may be attributed to the antipsychotic drug as opposed to some characteristic(s) of the patients is not clear.
Amisulpride is not licensed for the treatment of dementia-related behavioural disturbances.
Venous thromboembolism:
Cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been reported with antipsychotic drugs. Since patients treated with antipsychotics often present with acquired risk factors for VTE, all possible risk factors for VTE should be identified before and during treatment with amisulpride and preventive measures undertaken.
Leucopenia, neutropenia and agranulocytosis have been reported with antipsychotics, including amisulpride. Unexplained infections or fever may be evidence of blood dyscrasia (see section 4.8), and requires immediate haematological investigation.
Hyperglycemia has been reported in patients treated with some atypical antipsychotic agents, including amisulpride, therefore patients with an established diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or with risk factors for diabetes who are started on amisulpride, should get appropriate glycaemic monitoring.
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 interaction
COMBINATIONS WHICH ARE CONTRAINDICATED Medications which could induce torsades de pointes:
- Class Ia antiarrhythmic agents such as quinidine, disopyramide, procainamide.
- Class III antiarrhythmic agents such as amiodarone, sotalol.
- Others medications such as bepridil, cisapride, sultopride, thioridazine, IV erythromycin, IV vincamine, halofantrine, pentamidine, sparfloxacin. This list is not exhaustive.
Levodopa: reciprocal antagonism of effects between levodopa and neuroleptics. Amisulpride may oppose the effect of dopamine agonists e.g. bromocriptine, ropinirole.
COMBINATIONS WHICH ARE NOT RECOMMENDED
Amisulpride may enhance the central effects of alcohol.
COMBINATIONS WHICH REQUIRE PRECAUTIONS FOR USE
Medications which enhance the risk of torsades de pointes:
Bradycardia-inducing medications such as beta-blockers, bradycardia-inducing calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem and verapamil, clonidine, guanfacine; digitalis.
Medications which induce hypokalaemia: hypokalemic diuretics, stimulant laxatives, IV amphotericin B, glucocorticoids, tetracosactides.
Neuroleptics such as pimozide, haloperidol; imipramine antidepressants; lithium.
COMBINATIONS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT
CNS depressants including narcotics, anaesthetics, analgesics, sedative H1 antihistamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and other anxiolytic drugs, clonidine and derivatives.
Antihypertensive drugs and other hypotensive medications.
Some other antihistaminics Some antimalarials (e.g. mefloquine)
4.6. Fertility, pregnancy and lactation
Pregnancy
In animals, amisulpride did not show reproductive toxicity. A decrease in fertility linked to the pharmacological effects of the drug (prolactin mediated effect) was observed. No teratogenic effects of amisulpride were noted.
Very limited clinical data on exposed pregnancies are available. Therefore, the safety of amisulpride during human pregnancy has not been established.
For women of childbearing potential, effective contraception should be fully discussed with the physician prior to treatment.
Neonates exposed to antipsychotics, including amisulpride, during the third trimester of pregnancy are at risk of adverse reactions including extrapyramidal and/or withdrawal symptoms that may vary in severity and duration following delivery (see section 4.8). There have been reports of agitation, hypertonia, hypotonia, tremor, somnolence, respiratory distress, or feeding disorder. Consequently, newborns should be monitored carefully.
Lactation
It is not known whether amisulpride is excreted in breast milk, breast-feeding is therefore contra-indicated.
4.7. Effects on ability to drive and use machines
Even used as recommended, amisulpride may cause somnolence so that the ability to drive vehicles or operate machinery can be impaired (see section 4.8).
4.8. Undesirable effects
Adverse reactions have been ranked under headings of frequency using the following convention: very common (>1/10); common (>1/100; <1/10); uncommon (>1/1,000, <1/100); rare (>1/10,000; <1/1,000); very rare (<1/10,000); frequency not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).
Clinical trials data:
The following adverse effects have been observed in controlled clinical trials. It should be noted that in some instances it can be difficult to differentiate adverse events from symptoms of the underlying disease.
Immune system disorders Uncommon: Allergic reactions.
Endocrine disorders
Common: Amisulpride causes an increase in plasma prolactin levels which is reversible after drug discontinuation. This may result in galactorrhoea, amenorrhoea, gynaecomastia, breast pain, and erectile dysfunction.
Metabolism and nutrition disorders Uncommon: Hyperglycemia (see section 4.4)
Psychiatric disorders
Common: Insomnia, anxiety, agitation, orgasmic dysfunction.
Acute withdrawal reactions have very rarely been reported (see Section 4.4).
Nervous system disorders
Very common: Extrapyramidal symptoms may occur: tremor, rigidity, hypokinesia, hypersalivation, akathisia, dyskinesia. These symptoms are generally mild at optimal dosages and partially reversible without discontinuation of amisulpride upon administration of antiparkinsonian medication. The incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms which is dose related, remains very low in the treatment of patients with predominantly negative symptoms with doses of 50-300 mg/day.
Common: Acute dystonia (spasm torticollis, oculogyric crisis, trismus) may appear. This is reversible without discontinuation of amisulpride upon treatment with an antiparkinsonian agent. Somnolence.
Uncommon: Tardive dyskinesia characterized by rhythmic, involuntary movements primarily of the tongue and/or face have been reported, usually after long term administration. Antiparkinsonian medication is ineffective or may induce aggravation of the symptoms. Seizures.
Cardiac disorders Common: Hypotension.
Uncommon: Bradycardia.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Common: Constipation, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth.
Investigations Common: Weight gain.
Uncommon: Elevations of hepatic enzymes, mainly transaminases Post Marketing data
In addition, cases of the following adverse reactions have been reported through spontaneous reporting only.
Blood and Lymphatic system disorders
Frequency not known: Leukopenia, neutropenia and agranulocytosis (see section 4.4)
Nervous system disorders
Frequency not known: Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (see section 4.4), which is a potentially fatal complication.
Cardiac disorders
Very rare: QT prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias such as torsades de pointes, venticular tachycardia which may result in ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest, sudden death (see section 4.4.
Vascular disorders
Frequency not known: Venous thromboembolism, including pulmonary embolism, sometimes fatal, and deep vein thrombosis.
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders Frequency not known: Angioedema, urticarial
Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions
Frequency not known: Drug withdrawal syndrome neonatal (see section 4.6)
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 Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.
4.9. Overdose
Experience with amisulpride in overdosage is limited. Exaggeration of the known pharmacological effects of the drug has been reported. These include drowsiness, sedation, hypotension, extrapyramidal symptoms and coma. Fatal outcomes have been reported mainly in combination with other psychotropic agents.
In cases of acute overdose, the possibility of multiple drug intake should be considered.
Since amisulpride is weakly dialysed, hemodialysis is of no use to eliminate the drug.
There is no specific antidote to amisulpride. Appropriate supportive measures should therefore be instituted: close supervision of vital functions and continuous cardiac monitoring (risk of prolongation of QT interval) until the patient recovers.
If severe extrapyramidal symptoms occur, anticholinergic agents should be administered.
5 PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties
Pharmacotherapeutic group: Antipsychotics ATC Code: NO5A LO5
Amisulpride binds selectively with a high affinity to human dopaminergic D2/D3 receptor subtypes whereas it is devoid of affinity for D1, D4 and D5 receptor subtypes.
Unlike classical and atypical neuroleptics, amisulpride has no affinity for serotonin, ^-adrenergic, histamine H1 and cholinergic receptors. In addition, amisulpride does not bind to sigma sites.
In animal studies, at high doses, amisulpride blocks dopamine receptors located in the limbic structures in preference to those in the striatum.
At low doses it preferentially blocks pre-synaptic D2/D3 receptors, producing dopamine release responsible for its disinhibitory effects.
This pharmacological profile explains the clinical efficacy of Amisulpride against both negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
5.2 Pharmacokinetic properties
In man, amisulpride shows two absorption peaks: one which is attained rapidly, one hour post-dose and a second between 3 and 4 hours after administration. Corresponding plasma concentrations are 39 ±3 and 54 ± 4ng/ml after a 50mg dose.
The volume of distribution is 5.8 l/kg, plasma protein binding is low (16%) and no drug interactions are suspected.
Absolute bioavailability is 48%. Amisulpride is weakly metabolised: two inactive metabolites, accounting for approximately 4% of the dose, have been identified. There is no accumulation of amisulpride and its pharmacokinetics remain unchanged after the administration of repeated doses. The elimination half-life of amisulpride is approximately 12 hours after an oral dose.
Amisulpride is eliminated unchanged in the urine. Fifty percent of an intravenous dose is excreted via the urine, of which 90% is eliminated in the first 24 hours. Renal clearance is in the order of 20 l/h or 330ml/min.
A carbohydrate rich meal (containing 68% fluids) significantly decreases the AUCs, Tmax and Cmax of amisulpride but no changes were seen after a high fat meal. However, the significance of these findings in routine clinical use is not known.
Hepatic insufficiency: since the drug is weakly metabolised a dosage reduction should not be necessary in patients with hepatic insufficiency.
Renal insufficiency: The elimination half-life is unchanged in patients with renal insufficiency while systemic clearance is reduced by a factor of 2.5 to 3.
The AUC of amisulpride in mild renal failure increased two fold and almost tenfold in moderate renal failure (see chapter 4.2). Experience is however limited and there is no data with doses greater than 50mg.
Amisulpride is very weakly dialysed.
Limited pharmacokinetic data in elderly subjects (>65 years) show that a 1030% rise occurs in Cmax, T% and AUC after a single oral dose of 50mg. No data are available after repeat dosing.
5.3 Preclinical safety data
An overall review of the completed safety studies indicates that Amisulpride is devoid of any general, organ-specific, teratogenic, mutagenic or carcinogenic risk. Changes observed in rats and dogs at doses below the maximum tolerated dose are either pharmacological effects or are devoid of major toxicological significance under these conditions. Compared with the maximum recommended dosages in man, maximum tolerated doses are 2 and 7 times greater in the rat (200mg/kg/d) and dog (120mg/kg/d) respectively in terms of AUC. No carcinogenic risk, relevant to man, was identified in the rat at up to 1.5 to 4.5 times the expected human AUC.
A mouse carcinogenicity study (120mg/kg/d) and reproductive studies (160, 300 and 500mg/kg/d respectively in rat, rabbit and mouse) were performed. The exposure of the animals to amisulpride during these latter studies was not evaluated.
6 PHARMACEUTICAL PARTICULARS
6.1 List of excipients
Maize starch Lactose monohydrate Methylcellulose Silica colloidal hydrated Magnesium stearate
6.2 Incompatibilities
Not applicable
6.3 Shelf life
3 years
6.4 Special precautions for storage
No special precautions for storage
6.5 Nature and contents of container
250pmPVC/20pm hard temper aluminium foil blister packs containing 30, 60 or 150 tablets
Not all pack sizes may be marketed
6.6 Special precautions for disposal
No special precautions
7 MARKETING AUTHORISATION HOLDER
Generics [UK] Ltd t/a Mylan
Station Close
Potters Bar
Herts
EN6 1TL
8 MARKETING AUTHORISATION NUMBER
PL 04569/0797
9 DATE OF FIRST AUTHORISATION/RENEWAL OF THE AUTHORISATION
21/04/2006
10 DATE OF REVISION OF THE TEXT
13/11/2013