Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in clinical trials of micafungin for injection cannot be directly compared to rates in clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.
The overall safety of micafungin for injection was assessed in 520 health volunteers and 3,227 adult and pediatric patients who received single or multiple doses of micafungin for injection across 46 clinical trials, including the invasive candidiasis, esophageal candidiasis and prophylaxis trials. The doses of micafungin for injection administered included doses above and below the recommended doses [see Dosage and Administration (2.1, 2.2)] and ranged from 0.75 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg in pediatric patients and 12.5 mg to 150 mg/day or greater in adult patients.
Clinical Trials Experience in Adults
In clinical trials with micafungin for injection, 2,497/2,748 (91%) adult patients experienced at least one adverse reaction.
Candidemia and Other Candida Infections
In a randomized, double-blind trial for the treatment of candidemia and other Candida infections, adverse reactions occurred in 183/200 (92%) and 171/193 (89%) patients in the micafungin for injection 100 mg/day and caspofungin (a 70 mg loading dose followed by a 50 mg/day dose) treatment groups, respectively. Selected treatment-emergent adverse reactions occurring in 5% or more of the patients and more frequently in the micafungin for injection treatment group, are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Selected* Adverse Reactions in Adult Patients with Candidemia and Other Candida Infections
Adverse Reactions by System Organ Class† | Micafungin for Injection 100 mg n (%) | Caspofungin§ n (%) |
Number of Patients | 200 | 193 |
Gastrointestinal Disorders | 81 (41) | 76 (39) |
Diarrhea | 15 (8) | 14 (7) |
Vomiting | 18 (9) | 16 (8) |
Metabolism and Nutrition Disorders | 77 (39) | 73 (38) |
Hypoglycemia | 12 (6) | 9 (5) |
Hyperkalemia | 10 (5) | 5 (3) |
General Disorders/Administration Site Conditions | 59 (30) | 51 (26) |
Investigations | 36 (18) | 37 (19) |
Blood Alkaline Phosphatase Increased | 11 (6) | 8 (4) |
Cardiac Disorders | 35 (18) | 36 (19) |
Atrial Fibrillation | 5 (3) | 0 |
Patient base: all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of trial drug.
* During IV treatment + 3 days.
† Within a system organ class, patients may experience more than 1 adverse reaction.
§ 70 mg loading dose on day 1 followed by 50 mg/day thereafter (caspofungin).
In a second, supportive, randomized, double-blind study for treatment of candidemia and other Candida infections, adverse reactions occurred in 245/264 (93%) and 250/265 (94%) adult and pediatric patients in the micafungin for injection (100 mg/day) and amphotericin B liposome (3 mg/kg/day) treatment groups, respectively. In this trial, the following adverse reactions were reported in patients at least 16 years of age in the icafungin for injection and amphotericin B liposome treatment groups, respectively: nausea (10% vs. 8%); diarrhea (11% vs. 11%), vomiting (13% vs. 9%), abnormal liver function tests (4% vs. 3%); increased aspartate aminotransferase (3% vs. 2%), and increased blood alkaline phosphatase (3% vs. 2%).
Esophageal Candidiasis
In a randomized, double-blind study for treatment of esophageal candidiasis, a total of 202/260 (78%) patients who received micafungin for injection 150 mg/day and 186/258 (72%) patients who received intravenous fluconazole 200 mg/day experienced an adverse reaction. Adverse reactions resulting in discontinuation were reported in 17 (7%) micafungin for injection-treated patients; and in 12 (5%) fluconazole-treated patients. Selected treatment-emergent adverse reactions occurring in 5% or more of the patients and more frequently in the micafungin for injection group, are shown in Table 4.
Table 4. Selected* Adverse Reactions in Adult Patients with Esophageal Candidiasis
Adverse Reactions by System Organ Class†
| Micafungin for Injection 150 mg/day n (%) | Fluconazole 200 mg/day n (%) |
Number of Patients | 260 | 258 |
Gastrointestinal Disorders | 84 (32) | 93 (36) |
Diarrhea | 27 (10) | 29 (11) |
Nausea | 20 (8) | 23 (9) |
Vomiting | 17 (7) | 17 (7) |
General Disorders/Administration Site Conditions | 52 (20) | 45 (17) |
Pyrexia | 34 (13) | 21 (8) |
Nervous System Disorders | 42 (16) | 40 (16) |
Headache | 22 (9) | 20 (8) |
Vascular Disorders | 54 (21) | 21 (8) |
Phlebitis | 49 (19) | 13 (5) |
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders | 36 (14) | 26 (10) |
Rash | 14 (5) | 6 (2) |
Patient base: all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of trial drug.
* During treatment + 3 days.
† Within a system organ class, patients may experience more than 1 adverse reaction.
Prophylaxis of Candida Infections in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients
A double-blind trial was conducted in a total of 882 patients scheduled to undergo an autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The median duration of treatment was 18 days (range 1 to 51 days) in both treatment arms.
All adult patients who received micafungin for injection (382) or fluconazole (409) experienced at least one adverse reaction during the study. Treatment-emergent adverse reactions resulting in micafungin for injection discontinuation were reported in 15 (4%) adult patients; while those resulting in fluconazole discontinuation were reported in 32 (8%). Selected adverse reactions reported in 15% or more of adult patients and more frequently in the micafungin for injection treatment arm, are shown in Table 5.
Table 5. Selected Adverse Reactions in Adult Patients During Prophylaxis of Candida Infection in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients
System Organ Class
| Micafungin for injection 50 mg/day n (%) | Fluconazole 400 mg/day n (%) |
Number of Patients | 382 | 409 |
Gastrointestinal Disorders | 377 (99) | 404 (99) |
Diarrhea | 294 (77) | 327 (80) |
Nausea | 270 (71) | 290 (71) |
Vomiting | 252 (66) | 274 (67) |
Abdominal Pain | 100 (26) | 93 (23) |
Blood and Lymphatic System Disorders | 368 (96) | 385 (94) |
Neutropenia | 288 (75) | 297 (73) |
Thrombocytopenia | 286 (75) | 280 (69) |
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders | 257 (67) | 275 (67) |
Rash | 95 (25) | 91 (22) |
Nervous System Disorders | 250 (65) | 254 (62) |
Headache | 169 (44) | 154 (38) |
Psychiatric Disorders | 233 (61) | 235 (58) |
Insomnia | 142 (37) | 140 (34) |
Anxiety | 84 (22) | 87 (21) |
Cardiac Disorders | 133 (35) | 138 (34) |
Tachycardia | 99 (26) | 91 (22) |
Patient base: all randomized patients who received at least 1 dose of trial drug.
Other selected adverse reactions reported at less than 5% in adult clinical trials are listed below:
- Blood and lymphatic system disorders: coagulopathy, pancytopenia, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
- Cardiac disorders: cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, pericardial effusion
- General disorders and administration site conditions: infusion reaction, injection site thrombosis
- Hepatobiliary disorders: hepatocellular damage, hepatomegaly, jaundice, hepatic failure
- Immune disorders: hypersensitivity, anaphylactic reaction
- Metabolism and nutrition disorders: hypernatremia, hypokalemia
- Nervous system disorders: convulsions, encephalopathy, intracranial hemorrhage
- Psychiatric disorders: delirium
- Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: urticaria
Clinical Trials Experience in Pediatric Patients
The safety of micafungin for injection was assessed in 479 pediatric patients through 16 years of age who received at least one dose of micafungin for injection acress 11 clinical trials.
Of the 479 pediatric patients, 264 (55%) were male, 319 (67%) were white, with the following age distribution: 116 (24%) to <2 years, 108 (23%) 2 to 5 years, 140 (29%) 6 to 11 years, and 115 (24%) 12 to 16 years of age. The mean treatment duration was 24.8 days. A total of 246 patients received at least one dose of micafungin for injection ranging from 2 to 10 mg/kg. Overall, 439/479 (92%) patients experienced at least one adverse reaction. Adverse reactions occurring in >15% or more of micafungin-treated pediatric patients are: vomiting (31%), diarrhea (22%), pyrexia (22%), nausea (19%), abdominal pain (16%), and thrombocytopenia (15%).
Two randomized, double-blind active-controlled trials included pediatric patients. In the invasive candidiasis/candidemia trial, the efficacy and safety of micafungin for injection (2 mg/kg/day for patients weighing 40 kg or less and 100 mg/day for patients weighing greater than 40 kg) was compared to amphotericin B liposome (3 mg/kg/day) in 112 pediatric patients. Treatment-emergent adverse reactions occurred in 51/56 (91%) of patients in the micafungin for injection group and 52/56 (93%) of patients in the amphotericin B liposome group. Treatment-emergent adverse reactions resulting in drug discontinuation were reported in 2 (4%) micafungin for injection-treated pediatric patients and in 9 (16%) amphotericin B liposome-treated pediatric patients.
The prophylaxis study in patients undergoing HSCT investigated the efficacy of micafungin for injection (1 mg/kg/day for patients weighing 50 kg or less and 50 mg/day for patients weighing greater than 50 kg) as compared to fluconazole (8 mg/kg/day for patients weighing 50 kg or less and 400 mg/day for patients weighing greater than 50 kg). All 91 pediatric patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse reaction. Three (7%) pediatric patients discontinued micafungin for injection due to adverse reaction, while one (2%) patient discontinued fluconazole.
Selected adverse reactions, occurring in 15% or more of the patients and more frequently in a micafungin for injection group, for for the two comparative trials are shown in Table 6.
Table 6. Selected Adverse Reactions in Pediatric Patients with Candidemia and Other Candida Infections (C/IC), and in Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Recipients During Prophylaxis of Candida Infections
Adverse Reactions† | C/IC* | Prophylaxis |
Micafungin for Injection n = 56 n (%) | Amphotericin B liposome n = 56 n (%) | Micafungin for Injection n = 43 n (%) | Fluconazole n = 48 n (%) |
Gastrointestinal disorders | 22 (40) | 18 (32) | 43 (100) | 45 (94) |
Vomiting | 10 (18) | 8 (14) | 28 (65) | 32 (67) |
Diarrhea | 4 (7) | 5 (9) | 22 (51) | 31 (65) |
Nausea | 4 (7) | 4 (7) | 30 (70) | 25 (52) |
Abdominal pain | 2 (4) | 2 (4) | 15 (35) | 12 (25) |
Abdominal distension | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 8 (19) | 6 (13) |
General disorders and administration site conditions | 14 (25) | 14 (25) | 41 (95) | 46 (96) |
Pyrexia | 5 (9) | 9 (16) | 26 (61) | 31 (65) |
Infusion-related reaction | 0 | 3 (5) | 7 (16) | 4 (8) |
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders | 11 (20) | 8 (14) | 33 (77) | 38 (79) |
Pruritus | 0 | 1 (2) | 14 (33) | 15 (31) |
Rash | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 13 (30) | 13 (27) |
Urticaria | 0 | 1 (2) | 8 (19) | 4 (8) |
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders | 9 (16) | 13 (23) | 30 (70) | 33 (69) |
Epistaxis | 0 | 0 | 4 (9) | 8 (17) |
Blood and lymphatic system disorders | 17 (30) | 13 (23) | 40 (93) | 44 (92) |
Thrombocytopenia | 5 (9) | 3 (5) | 31 (72) | 37 (77) |
Neutropenia | 3 (5) | 4 (7) | 33 (77) | 34 (71) |
Anemia | 10 (18) | 6 (11) | 22 (51) | 24 (50) |
Febrile neutropenia | 0 | 0 | 7 (16) | 7 (15) |
Investigations | 12 (21) | 8 (14) | 24 (56) | 25 (52) |
Alanine aminotransferase increased | 0 | 0 | 7 (16) | 1 (2) |
Urine output decreased | 0 | 0 | 10 (23) | 8 (17) |
Cardiac disorders | 7 (13) | 3 (5) | 10 (23) | 17 (35) |
Tachycardia | 2 (4) | 1 (2) | 7 (16) | 12 (25) |
Renal and urinary disorders | 4 (7) | 4 (7) | 16 (37) | 15 (31) |
Hematuria | 0 | 0 | 10 (23) | 7 (15) |
Psychiatric disorders | 3 (5) | 1 (2) | 20 (47) | 9 (19) |
Anxiety | 0 | 0 | 10 (23) | 3 (6) |
* Study population included 20 pediatric patients younger than 4 months of age (10 in each arm)
† Within a system organ class, patients may experience more than 1 adverse reaction.
Other clinically significant adverse reactions reported at less than 15% in pediatric clinical trials are listed below:
- Hepatobiliary disorders: hyperbilirubinemia
- Investigations: liver tests abnormal
- Renal Disorders: renal failure
Additional pediatric use information is approved for Astellas Pharma US Inc.’s Mycamine® (micafungin for injection). However, due to Astellas Pharma US Inc.’s marketing exclusivity rights, this drug product is not labeled with that information.