Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug product cannot be directly compared to rates in clinical trials of another drug, and may not reflect rates observed in practice.
Adverse reactions outlined below have been reported from clinical trials and data collected in registries.
Hemophilia A or B Patients with Inhibitors
In two studies for hemophilia A or B patients with inhibitors treated for bleeding episodes (N=298), adverse reactions were reported in ≥2% of the patients that were treated with NovoSeven for 1,939 bleeding episodes (see Table 3 below).
Table 3: Adverse Reactions Reported in ≥2% of the 298 Patients with Hemophilia A or B with Inhibitors
Body System Reactions | # of adverse reactions (n=1,939 treatments) | # of patients (n=298 patients) |
Body as a whole |
Fever | 16 | 13 |
Platelets, Bleeding, and Clotting |
Fibrinogen plasma decreased | 10 | 5 |
Cardiovascular |
Hypertension | 9 | 6 |
Serious adverse reactions included thrombosis, pain, thrombophlebitis deep, pulmonary embolism, decreased therapeutic response, cerebrovascular disorder, angina pectoris, DIC, anaphylactic shock and abnormal hepatic function. The serious adverse reactions of DIC and therapeutic response decreased had a fatal outcome.
In two clinical trials evaluating safety and efficacy of NovoSeven administration in the peri-operative setting in hemophilia A or B patients with inhibitors (N=51), the following serious adverse reactions were reported: acute post-operative hemarthrosis (n=1), internal jugular thrombosis adverse reaction (n=1), decreased therapeutic response (n=4).
Immunogenicity
There have been no confirmed reports of inhibitory antibodies against NovoSeven or FVII in patients with congenital hemophilia A or B with alloantibodies.
The incidence of antibody formation is dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. Additionally, the observed incidence of antibody (including neutralizing antibody) positivity in an assay may be influenced by several factors including assay methodology, sample handling, timing of sample collection, concomitant medications, and underlying disease. For these reasons, comparison of the incidence of antibodies to NovoSeven RT with the incidence of antibodies to other products may be misleading.
Congenital Factor VII Deficiency
Data collected from the compassionate/emergency use programs, the published literature, a pharmacokinetics study, and the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society2 (HTRS) registry showed that 75 patients with Factor VII deficiency had received NovoSeven: 70 patients for 124 bleeding episodes, surgeries, or prophylaxis; 5 patients in the pharmacokinetics trial. The following adverse reactions were reported: intracranial hypertension (n=1), IgG antibody against rFVIIa and FVII (n=1), localized phlebitis (n=1).
Immunogenicity
In 75 patients with factor FVII deficiency treated with NovoSeven RT, one patient developed IgG antibody against rFVIIa and FVII. Patients with factor VII deficiency treated with NovoSeven RT should be monitored for factor VII antibodies.
The incidence of antibody formation is dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. Additionally, the observed incidence of antibody (including neutralizing antibody) positivity in an assay may be influenced by several factors including assay methodology, sample handling, timing of sample collection, concomitant medications, and underlying disease. For these reasons, comparison of the incidence of antibodies to NovoSeven RT with the incidence of antibodies to other products may be misleading.
Acquired Hemophilia
Data collected from four compassionate use programs, the HTRS registry, and the published literature showed that 139 patients with acquired hemophilia received NovoSeven for 204 bleeding episodes, surgeries and traumatic injuries. Of these 139 patients, 6 patients experienced 8 serious adverse reactions. Serious adverse reactions included shock (n=1), cerebrovascular accident (n=1) and thromboembolic events (n=6) which included cerebral artery occlusion, cerebral ischemia, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. Three of the serious adverse reactions had a fatal outcome.
Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia
Data collected from the Glanzmann’s Thrombasthenia Registry (GTR) and the HTRS registry showed that 140 patients with Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia received NovoSeven RT for 518 bleeding episodes, surgeries or traumatic injuries. The following adverse reactions were reported: deep vein thrombosis (n=1), headache (n=2), fever (n=2), nausea (n=1), and dyspnea (n=1).