Antimigraine. Selective 5-HT1 receptor agonist.

almotriptan d, l-hydrogen malate

Each tablet contains almotriptan 12.5 mg as almotriptan D,L-hydrogen malate.

Film-coated tablet. White, circular, biconvex film-coated tablet with a blue A printed on one side.

Acute treatment of the headache phase of migraine attacks with or without aura.

The recommended dose is one tablet containing 12.5 mg of almotriptan. A second dose may be taken if the symptoms reappear within 24 hours. This second dose may be taken provided that there is a minimum interval of two hours between the two doses.

The efficacy of a second dose for the treatment of the same attack when an initial dose is ineffective has not been examined in controlled trials. Therefore if a patient does not respond to the first dose, a second dose should not be taken for the same attack.

The maximum recommended dose is two doses in 24 hours.

Renal Impairment

Dosage adjustment is not required in patients with mild or moderate renal impairment. Patients with severe renal impairment should take no more than one 12.5 mg tablet in a 24 hour period.

Hepatic Impairment

There are no data concerning the use of almotriptan in patients with hepatic impairment

There are no data concerning the use of almotriptan in children and adolescents, therefore its use in this age group is not recommended.

No dosage adjustment is required in the elderly. The safety and effectiveness of almotriptan in patients older than 65 years has not been systematically evaluated.

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.

As with other 5-HT_1B/1D receptor agonists, almotriptan should not be used in patients with a history, symptoms or signs of ischaemic heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, documented silent ischaemia, Prinzmetal's angina) or severe hypertension and uncontrolled mild or moderate hypertension.

Patients with a previous cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischaemic attack (TIA). Peripheral vascular disease.

Concomitant administration with ergotamine, ergotamine derivatives (including methysergide) and other 5-HT_1B/1D agonists is contraindicated.

Patients with severe hepatic impairment.

Almotriptan should only be used where there is a clear diagnosis of migraine. It should not be used to treat basilar, hemiplegic or ophthalmoplegic migraine.

As with other acute migraine therapies, before treating headaches in patients not previously diagnosed as migraine sufferers and in migraine sufferers who present atypical symptoms, care should be taken to exclude other potentially serious neurological conditions. Cerebrovascular accidents have been reported in patients treated with 5-HT_1B/1D agonists. It should be noted that migraineurs may be at increased risk of certain cerebrovascular events (e.g. cerebrovascular accident, transient ischemic attack).

In very rare cases, as with other 5-HT_1B/1D receptor agonists, coronary vasospasm and myocardial infarction have been reported. Therefore almotriptan should not be administered to patients who could have an undiagnosed coronary condition without prior evaluation of potential underlying cardiovascular disease. Such patients include postmenopausal women, males over 40 and patients with other risk factors for coronary disease such as uncontrolled hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, obesity, diabetes, smoking or a clear family history of cardiovascular disease. These evaluations however, may not identify every patient who has cardiac disease and in very rare case, serious cardiac events have occurred in patients without underlying cardiovascular disease when 5-HT₁ agonists have been administered.

Following administration, almotriptan can be associated with transient symptoms including chest pain and tightness which may be intense and involve the throat. Where such symptoms are thought to indicate ischaemic heart disease, no further dose should be taken and appropriate evaluation should be carried out.

Caution should be exercised when prescribing almotriptan to patients with known hypersensitivity to sulphonamides.

It is advised to wait at least 6 hours following use of almotriptan before administering ergotamine. At least 24 hours should elapse after the administration of an ergotamine-containing preparation before almotriptan is given. Although additive vasospastic effects were not observed in a clinical trial in which 12 healthy subjects received oral almotriptan and ergotamine, such additive effects are theoretically possible.

Patients with severe renal impairment should not take more than one 12.5 mg tablet in a 24 hour period.

Caution is recommended in patients with mild to moderate hepatic disease and treatment is contraindicated in patients with severe hepatic disease.

Undesirable effects may be more common during concomitant use of triptans and herbal preparations containing St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum).

As with other 5-HT_1B/1D receptor agonists, almotriptan may cause mild, transient increases in blood pressure, which may be more pronounced in the elderly.

Medication overuse headache (MOH)

Prolonged use of any painkiller for headaches can make them worse. If this situation is experienced or suspected, medical advice should be obtained and treatment should be discontinued. The diagnosis of MOH should be suspected in patients who have frequent or daily headaches despite (or because of) the regular use of headache medications.

The maximum recommended dose of almotriptan should not be exceeded.

Interaction studies were performed with monoamine oxidase A inhibitors, beta-blockers, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, calcium channel blockers or inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 isoenzymes 3A4 and 2D6. There are no in vivo interaction studies assessing the effect of almotriptan on other drugs.

As with other 5-HT₁ agonists, the potential risk of a serotoninergic syndrome due to a pharmacodynamic interaction in case of concomitant treatment with MAOIs cannot be ruled out.

As with other 5-HT₁ agonists the potential risk of a serotoninergic syndrome due to a pharmacodynamic interaction in case of concomitant treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) or serotonine noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) cannot be ruled out.

Multiple dosing with the calcium channel blocker verapamil, a substrate of CYP3A4, resulted in a 20% increase in C_max and AUC of almotriptan. The increase is not considered clinically relevant. No clinically significant interactions were observed.

Multiple dosing with propranolol did not alter the pharmacokinetics of almotriptan. No clinically significant interactions were observed.

In vitro studies performed to evaluate the ability of almotriptan to inhibit the major CYP enzymes in human liver microsomes and human monoamine oxidase (MAO) showed that almotriptan would not be expected to alter the metabolism of drugs metabolised by CYP or MAO-A and MAO-B enzymes.

Almogran was evaluated in over 2700 patients for up to one year in clinical trials. The most common adverse reactions at the therapeutic dose were dizziness, somnolence, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. None of the adverse reactions had an incidence superior to 1.5%.

The following adverse reactions have been evaluated in clinical studies and/or reported in post-marketing experience. They have been listed by System Organ Class (SOC) and in descending order of frequency. Frequencies are defined as: very common (>1/10), common (1/100 to <1/10), uncommon (1/1000 to <1/100), rare (1/10000 to <1/1000), very rare (<1/10000) including isolated reports, and not known (cannot be estimated from the available data).

Nervous system disorders:

Common: dizziness, somnolence.

Uncommon: paraesthesia, headache.

Not known (cannot be estimated from the available data): seizures

Ear and labyrinth disorders:

Uncommon: tinnitus.

Cardiac disorders:

Uncommon: palpitations.

Very rare: coronary vasospasm, myocardial infarction, and tachycardia.

Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders:

Uncommon: throat tightness.

Gastrointestinal Disorders:

Common: nausea, vomiting.

Uncommon: diarrhoea, dyspepsia, dry mouth.

Musculoskeletal, connective tissue and bone disorders:

Uncommon: myalgia, bone pain.

General Disorders:

Common: fatigue.

Uncommon: chest pain, asthenia.

Almirall Prodesfarma

POM

03 November 2011