ACEON ®

WARNINGS

Anaphylactoid and Possibly Related Reactions: Presumably because angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors affect the metabolism of eicosanoids and polypeptides, including endogenous bradykinin, patients receiving ACE inhibitors (including ACEON Tablets) may be subject to a variety of adverse reactions, some of them serious.
Head and Neck Angioedema: Angioedema involving the face, extremities, lips, tongue, glottis and/or larynx has been reported in patients treated with ACE inhibitors, including ACEON (perindopril erbumine) Tablets (0.1% of patients treated with ACEON Tablets in U.S. clinical trials). In such cases, ACEON Tablets should be promptly discontinued and the patient carefully observed until the swelling disappears. In instances where swelling has been confined to the face and lips, the condition has generally resolved without treatment, although antihistamines have been useful in relieving symptoms. Angioedema associated with involvement of the tongue, glottis or larynx may be fatal due to airway obstruction. Appropriate therapy, such as subcutaneous epinephrine solution 1:1000 (0.3 to 0.5 mL), should be promptly administered. Patients with a history of angioedema unrelated to ACE inhibitor therapy may be at increased risk of angioedema while receiving an ACE inhibitor.

Intestinal Angioedema: Intestinal angioedema has been reported in patients treated with ACE inhibitors. These patients presented with abdominal pain (with or without nausea or vomiting); in some cases there was no prior history of facial angioedema and C-1 esterase levels were normal. The angioedema was diagnosed by procedures including abdominal CT scan or ultrasound, or at surgery, and symptoms resolved after stopping the ACE inhibitor. Intestinal angioedema should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients on ACE inhibitors presenting with abdominal pain.

Anaphylactoid Reactions During Desensitization: Two patients undergoing desensitizing treatment with hymenoptera venom while receiving ACE inhibitors sustained life-threatening anaphylactoid reactions. In the same patients, these reactions were avoided when ACE inhibitors were temporarily withheld, but they reappeared upon inadvertent rechallenge.

Anaphylactoid Reactions During Membrane Exposure: Anaphylactoid reactions have been reported in patients dialyzed with high-flux membranes and treated concomitantly with an ACE inhibitor. Anaphylactoid reactions have also been reported in patients undergoing low-density lipoprotein apheresis with dextran sulfate absorption.

Hypotension: Like other ACE inhibitors, ACEON Tablets can cause symptoma271 tic hypotension. ACEON Tablets has been associated with hypotension in 0.3% of uncomplicated hypertensive patients in U.S. placebo-controlled trials. Symptoms related to orthostatic hypotension were reported in another 0.8% of patients.

Symptomatic hypotension associated with the use of ACE inhibitors is more likely to occur in patients who have been volume and/or salt-depleted, as a result of prolonged diuretic therapy, dietary salt restriction, dialysis, diarrhea or vomiting. Volume and/or salt depletion should be corrected before initiating therapy with ACEON Tablets. (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.)

In patients with congestive heart failure, with or without associated renal insufficiency, ACE inhibitors may cause excessive hypotension, and may be associated with oliguria or azotemia, and rarely with acute renal failure and death. In patients with ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease such an excessive fall in blood pressure could result in a myocardial infarction or a cerebrovascular accident.

In patients at risk of excessive hypotension, ACEON Tablets therapy should be started under very close medical supervision. Patients should be followed closely for the first two weeks of treatment and whenever the dose of ACEON Tablets and/or diuretic is increased.

If excessive hypotension occurs, the patient should be placed immediately in a supine position and, if necessary, treated with an intravenous infusion of physiological saline. ACEON Tablets treatment can usually be continued following restoration of volume and blood pressure.

Neutropenia/Agranulocytosis: Another ACE inhibitor, captopril, has been shown to cause agranulocytosis and bone marrow depression, rarely in uncomplicated patients but more frequently in patients with renal impairment, especially patients with a collagen vascular disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma. Available data from clinical trials of ACEON Tablets are insufficient to show whether ACEON Tablets causes agranulocytosis at similar rates.

Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality: ACE inhibitors can cause fetal and neonatal morbidity and death when administered to pregnant women. Several dozen cases have been reported in the world literature. When pregnancy is detected, ACE inhibitors should be discontinued as soon as possible.

The use of ACE inhibitors during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy has been associated with fetal and neonatal injury, including hypotension, neonatal skull hypoplasia, anuria, reversible or irreversible renal failure and death. Oligohydramnios has also been reported, presumably resulting from decreased fetal renal function; oligohydramnios in this setting has been associated with fetal limb contractures, craniofacial deformation and hypoplastic lung development.

Prematurity, 315 aturity, intrauterine growth retardation, patent ductus arteriosus, and other structural cardiac malformations, as well as neurological malformations, have been reported following exposure to ACE inhibitors during the first trimester of pregnancy.

When patients become pregnant, physicians should make every effort to discontinue the use of ACEON Tablets as soon as possible. Rarely (probably less often than once in every thousand pregnancies), no alternative to ACE inhibitors will be found. In these rare cases, the mothers should be apprised of the potential hazards to their fetuses, and serial ultrasound examinations should be performed to assess the intra-amniotic environment.

If oligohydramnios is observed, ACEON Tablets should be discontinued unless it is considered life-saving for the mother. Contraction stress testing (CST), a non-stress test (NST) or biophysical profiling (BPP) may be appropriate, depending upon the week of pregnancy. Patients and physicians should be aware, however, that oligohydramnios may not appear until after the fetus has sustained irreversible injury.

Infants with histories of in utero exposure to ACE inhibitors should be closely observed for hypotension, oliguria and hyperkalemia. If oliguria occurs, attention should be directed toward support of blood pressure and renal perfusion. Exchange transfusion or dialysis may be required as a means of reversing hypotension and/or substituting for disordered renal function. Perindopril, which crosses the placenta, can theoretically be removed from the neonatal circulation by these means, but limited experience has not shown that such removal is central to the treatment of these infants.

No teratogenic effects of perindopril were seen in studies of pregnant rats, mice, rabbits and cynomolgus monkeys. On a mg/m2 basis, the doses used in these studies were 6 times (in mice), 670 times (in rats), 50 times (in rabbits) and 17 times (in monkeys) the maximum recommended human dose (assuming a 50 kg adult). On a mg/kg basis, these multiples are 60 times (in mice), 3,750 times (in rats), 150 times (in rabbits) and 50 times (in monkeys) the maximum recommended human dose.

Hepatic Failure: Rarely, ACE inhibitors have been associated with a syndrome that starts with cholestatic jaundice and progresses to fulminant hepatic necrosis and (sometimes) death. The mechanism of this syndrome is not understood. Patients receiving ACE inhibitors who develop jaundice or marked elevations of hepatic enzymes should discontinue the ACE inhibitor and receive appropriate medical follow-up.

PRECAUTIONS

General:
Impaired Renal Function: As a consequence of inhibiting the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, changes in renal function may be anticipated in susceptible individuals. Hypertensive Patients with Congestive Heart Failure: In patients with severe congestive heart failure, where renal function may depend on the activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, treatment with ACE inhibitors, including ACEON Tablets, 360 s, may be associated with oliguria and/or progressive azotemia, and rarely with acute renal failure and/or death.

Hypertensive Patients with Renal Artery Stenosis: In hypertensive patients with unilateral or bilateral renal artery stenosis, increases in blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine may occur. Experience with ACE inhibitors suggests that these increases are usually reversible upon discontinuation of the drug. In such patients, renal function should be monitored during the first few weeks of therapy.

Some hypertensive patients without apparent pre-existing renal vascular disease have developed increases in blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, usually minor and transient. These increases are more likely to occur in patients treated concomitantly with a diuretic and in patients with pre-existing renal impairment. Reduction of dosages of ACEON Tablets, the diuretic or both may be required. In some cases, discontinuation of either or both drugs may be necessary.

Evaluation of hypertensive patients should always include an assessment of renal function. (See DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.)

Hyperkalemia: Elevations of serum potassium have been observed in some patients treated with ACE inhibitors, including ACEON Tablets. In U.S. controlled clinical trials, 1.4% of the patients receiving ACEON Tablets and 2.3% of patients receiving placebo showed increased serum potassium levels to greater than 5.7 mEq/L. Most cases were isolated single values that did not appear clinically relevant and were rarely a cause for withdrawal. Risk factors for the development of hyperkalemia include renal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus and the concomitant use of agents such as potassium-sparing diuretics, potassium supplements and/or potassium containing salt substitutes. Drugs associated with increases in serum potassium should be used cautiously, if at all, with ACEON Tablets. (See PRECAUTIONS: Drug Interactions.)

Cough: Presumably due to the inhibition of the degradation of endogenous bradykinin, persistent nonproductive cough has been reported with all ACE inhibitors, always resolving after discontinuation of therapy. ACE inhibitor-induced cough should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cough. In controlled trials with perindopril, cough was present in 12% of perindopril patients and 4.5% of patients given placebo.

Surgery/Anesthesia: In patients undergoing surgery or during anesthesia with agents that produce hypotension, ACEON Tablets may block angiotensin II formation that would otherwise occur secondary to compensatory renin release. Hypotension attributable to this mechanism can be corrected by volume expansion.

Information for Patients:
Angioedema: Angioedema, including laryngeal edema, can occur with ACE inhibitor therapy, especially following the first dose. Patients should be told to report immediately signs or symptoms suggesting angioedema (swelling of face, extremities, eyes, lips, tongue, hoarseness or difficulty in swallowing or breathing) and to take no more drug before consulting a physician.

Symptomatic 406 tic Hypotension: As with any antihypertensive therapy, patients should be cautioned that lightheadedness can occur, especially during the first few days of therapy and that it should be reported promptly. Patients should be told that if fainting occurs, ACEON Tablets should be discontinued and a physician consulted.

All patients should be cautioned that inadequate fluid intake or excessive perspiration, diarrhea or vomiting can lead to an excessive fall in blood pressure in association with ACE inhibitor therapy.

Hyperkalemia: Patients should be advised not to use potassium supplements or salt substitutes containing potassium without a physician’s advice.

Neutropenia: Patients should be told to report promptly any indication of infection (e.g., sore throat, fever) which could be a sign of neutropenia.

Pregnancy: Female patients of childbearing age should be told about the consequences of exposure to ACE inhibitors during pregnancy. Discuss other treatment options with women planning to become pregnant. Women who do become pregnant while on an ACE inhibitor (including ACEON) should be asked to stop the medication and contact their physician as soon as possible.

Drug Interactions:
Diuretics: Patients on diuretics, and especially those started recently, may occasionally experience an excessive reduction of blood pressure after initiation of ACEON Tablets therapy. The possibility of hypotensive effects can be minimized by either discontinuing the diuretic or increasing the salt intake prior to initiation of treatment with perindopril. If diuretics cannot be interrupted, close medical supervision should be provided with the first dose of ACEON Tablets, for at least two hours and until blood pressure has stabilized for another hour. (See WARNINGS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION.)

The rate and extent of perindopril absorption and elimination are not affected by concomitant diuretics. The bioavailability of perindoprilat was reduced by diuretics, however, and this was associated with a decrease in plasma ACE inhibition.

Potassium Supplements and Potassium-Sparing Diuretics: ACEON Tablets may increase serum potassium because of its potential to decrease aldosterone production. Use of potassium sparing diuretics (spironolactone, amiloride, triamterene and others), potassium supplements or other drugs capable of increasing serum potassium (indomethacin, heparin, cyclosporine and others) can increase the risk of hyperkalemia. Therefore, if concomitant use of such agents is indicated, they should be given with caution and the patient’s serum potassium should be monitored frequently.

Lithium: Increased serum lithium and symptoms of lithium toxicity have been reported in patients receiving concomitant lithium and ACE inhibitor therapy. These drugs should be coadministered with caution and frequent monitoring of serum lithium concentration is recommended. Use of a diuretic may further increase the risk of lithium toxicity.

Gold: Nitritoid reactions (symptoms include facial flushing, nausea, vomiting and hypotension) have been reported rarely in patients on therapy with injectable gold (sodium aurothiomalate) and concomitant ACE Inhibitor therapy including ACEON.

Digoxin: A controlled pharmacokinetic study has shown no effect on plasma digoxin concentrations when coadministered with ACEON Tablets, but an effect of digoxin on the plasma concentration of perindopril/perindoprilat has not been excluded.

Gentamicin: Animal data have suggested the possibility of interaction between perindopril and gentamicin. However, this has not been investigated in human studies. Coadministration of both drugs should proceed with caution.

Food Interaction: Oral administration of ACEON Tablets with food does not significantly lower the rate or extent of perindopril absorption relative to the fasted state. However, the extent of biotransformation of perindopril to the active metabolite, perindoprilat, is reduced approximately 43%, resulting in a reduction in the plasma ACE inhibition curve of approximately 20%, probably clinically insignificant. In clinical trials, perindopril was generally administered in a non-fasting state.

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility:
Carcinogenesis: No evidence of carcinogenic effect was observed in studies in rats and mice when perindopril was administered at dosages up to 20 times (mg/kg) or 2 to 4 times (mg/m2) the maximum proposed clinical doses (16 mg/day) for 104 weeks.

Mutagenesis: No genotoxic potential was detected for ACEON Tablets, perindoprilat and other metabolites in various in vitro and in vivo investigations, including the Ames test, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae D4 test, cultured human lymphocytes, TK ± mouse lymphoma assay, mouse and rat micronucleus tests and Chinese hamster bone marrow assay.

Impairment of Fertility: There was no meaningful effect on reproductive performance or fertility in the rat given up to 30 times (mg/kg) or 6 times (mg/m2) the proposed maximum clinical dosage of ACEON Tablets during the period of spermatogenesis in males or oogenesis and gestation in females.

Pregnancy: Pregnancy Category D. (See WARNINGS: Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality.)

Nursing Mothers: Milk of lactating rats contained radioactivity following administration 14C perindopril. It is not known whether perindopril is secreted in human milk. Because many drugs are secreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when ACEON Tablets is given to nursing mothers.

Pediatric Use: Safety and effectiveness of ACEON Tablets in pediatric patients have not been established.

Geriatric Use: The mean blood pressure effect of perindopril was somewhat smaller in patients over 60 than in younger patients, although the difference was not significant. Plasma concentrations of both perindopril and perindoprilat were increased in elderly patients compared to concentrations in younger patients. No adverse effects were clearly increased in older patients with the exception of dizziness and possibly rash.

Perindopril should be used with caution when administered to elderly patients who are at an increased risk for falls due to age, their underlying disease and/or their concurrent use of medications(s) associated with falls. Falls and fall-related events may be exacerbated by the central nervous system effects of dizziness and syncope as well as the symptomatic hypotension, including orthostatic, associated with perindopril. Experience with ACEON Tablets in elderly patients at daily doses exceeding 8 mg is limited.