IMPORTANT DRUG INFORMATION UPDATE: Xofigo® (radium Ra 223 dichloride) injection, for intravenous use: Delaying a dose and impact on patients

WHIPPANY, NJ USA - October 21, 2014 -

Dear Healthcare Professional,

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals would like to inform you of the following:

Summary

In order to alleviate the current shortage of Xofigo® (radium Ra 223 dichloride) Injection (Xofigo®), Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals (Bayer) is currently coordinating with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to increase the availability of the drug. Bayer is currently experiencing a drug shortage for Xofigo® (radium Ra 223 dichloride) due to a production issue.

At this point Bayer is unable to anticipate when distribution of Xofigo® can be resumed. This may have an impact on treatment decisions for patients. Bayer is in regular communications with physicians and investigators who treat patients with Xofigo® to provide information on product availability.

Further information on the drug shortage and treatment recommendations

Radium-223 (radium Ra 223 dichloride) is a therapeutic alpha particle-emitting pharmaceutical indicated for the treatment of adults with castration-resistant prostate cancer, symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral metastases. The recommended dose of radium-223 is 50 kBq (1.35 microcurie) per kg body weight, given at 4 week intervals for 6 injections.[1]

Product that was released for distribution was not affected.

Recently produced Xofigo® drug product batches did not pass routine quality checks. These batches have not been released for distribution and the production has been stopped. These routine quality checks are in place to identify a quality issue before distribution occurs. Bayer is taking the necessary actions to ensure high quality standards are restored and that production can be quickly resumed.

A Xofigo® drug shortage will lead to interruption of patients’ treatment, and inability to initiate treatment for new patients until product is available. Given that there will be a treatment disruption, Bayer has examined available data from the Phase III ALSYMPCA study on treatment delays (ALpharadin in SYMptomatic Prostate CAncer; EudraCT number: 2007-006195-11; NCT00699751).

In the ALSYMPCA protocol, the following advice was given with respect to delaying a dose:

Study visits during the treatment period should occur at 4 weeks intervals (within a window of -3 days to +7 days). The same visit interval (4 weeks) applies between all treatments. A study drug administration may be delayed by no more than 4 weeks for recovery of adverse events. In case of a treatment delay greater than 4 weeks, treatment should be discontinued.[2]

In an ad hoc analysis of this trial, ~30% (N=178/600) of patients had a delay in receiving radium-223. Of these 178 patients, 56 patients had delays caused by an adverse event and the remaining 122 patients had delays caused by other reasons.[3]

The exposure to a full course (six injections) of radium-223 was similar regardless of whether patients experienced a delay, or not.[3]

In addition, the impact of delayed administration of radium-223 on overall survival (OS) was analyzed. The analysis suggests a similar benefit on OS regardless of whether patients had a delay or not.[3] However, caution should be used in interpreting these data as this was an unplanned, sub-group analysis.

For those patients currently on Xofigo® that have experienced a cancellation or a dosing delay, their treating physician should take into consideration the duration of the delay as well as alternative treatment options when determining the best care for their patient. When Xofigo® production resumes, continued treatment with Xofigo®should be considered after careful benefit/risk evaluation.

Bayer is committed to helping patients access Xofigo® and will provide updates as new information becomes available. The Bayer clinical development group is working with investigators of Bayer-sponsored clinical trials and will update them directly.

Bayer regrets this situation and is working diligently to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

Company contact point

Healthcare providers with any questions about the information contained in this letter or the safe and effective use of Xofigo should contact the Bayer Call Center at:

US: 1-888-84-Bayer, or 1-888-842-2937

Reporting Adverse Events

Healthcare providers and patients are encouraged to report adverse events in patients taking Xofigo® to Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals at 1-888-842-2937.

Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

  • Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm
  • Regular Mail or Fax: Download form www.fda.gov/MedWatch/getforms.htm or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178

For additional information, please contact Bayer at 1-888-842-2937 or visit www.Xofigo.com

Sincerely,

Dario Mirski, MD
Vice President and Head, US Medical Affairs
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Annexes

References:

    1. Xofigo® Prescribing information
    2. Parker C, Nilsson S, Heinrich D, et al. Alpha emitter radium-223 and survival in metastatic prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:213–223 (Supplementary Material)
    3. Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Data on file.

DHCP-Letter Bayer

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