Elspar

Asparaginase is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body.

Asparaginase is used to treat acute lymphocytic lymphoma.

Asparaginase may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Your doctor or pharmacist can provide more information about asparaginase.

Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Copyright 1996-2013 Cerner Multum, Inc. Version: 2.03. Revision date: 12/15/2010.

Your use of the content provided in this service indicates that you have read,understood and agree to the End-User License Agreement,which can be accessed by clicking on this link.

Recommended Dose

The recommended dose of Elspar is 6,000 International Units/m2 intramuscularly (IM) or intravenously (IV) three times a week.

Instructions for Administration

When Elspar is administered IM, the volume at a single injection site should be limited to 2 mL. If a volume greater than 2 mL is to be administered, two injection sites should be used. Discard unused portion.

When administered IV, give Elspar over a period of not less than thirty minutes through the side arm of an infusion of Sodium Chloride Injection or Dextrose Injection 5% (D5W). Discard unused portion.

Preparation and Handling Precautions

For IM administration, reconstitute Elspar by adding 2 mL Sodium Chloride Injection to the 10,000 unit vial. Withdraw volume of reconstituted Elspar containing calculated dose into sterile syringe. The reconstituted solution contains 5,000 international units (IU)/mL.

For IV administration, reconstitute Elspar by adding 5 mL Sterile Water for Injection or Sodium Chloride Injection to the 10,000 unit vial. Withdraw volume of reconstituted Elspar containing calculated dose into sterile syringe. The reconstituted solution contains 2,000 IU/mL.

Use reconstituted Elspar within eight hours.

Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter, cloudiness or discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit. If any of these are present, discard the solution. However, occasionally, a very small number of gelatinous fiber-like particles may develop on standing. Filtration through a 5.0 micron filter during administration will remove the particles with no resultant loss in potency.

10,000 International Units as lyophilized powder in single-use vial.

Anaphylaxis and Serious Allergic Reactions

Serious allergic reactions can occur in patients receiving Elspar. The risk of serious allergic reactions is higher in patients with prior exposure to Elspar or other Escherichia coli-derived L-asparaginases. Observe patients for one hour after administration of Elspar in a setting with resuscitation equipment and other agents necessary to treat anaphylaxis (for example, epinephrine, oxygen, intravenous steroids, antihistamines). Discontinue Elspar in patients with serious allergic reactions.

Thrombosis

Serious thrombotic events, including sagittal sinus thrombosis can occur in patients receiving Elspar. Discontinue Elspar in patients with serious thrombotic events.

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis, in some cases fulminant or fatal, can occur in patients receiving Elspar. Evaluate patients with abdominal pain for evidence of pancreatitis. Discontinue Elspar in patients with pancreatitis.

Glucose Intolerance

Glucose intolerance can occur in patients receiving Elspar. In some cases, glucose intolerance is irreversible. Cases of diabetic ketoacidosis have been reported. Monitor serum glucose.

Coagulopathy

Increased prothrombin time, increased partial thromboplastin time, and hypofibrinogenemia can occur in patients receiving Elspar. CNS hemorrhages have been observed. Monitor coagulation parameters at baseline and periodically during and after treatment. Initiate treatment with fresh-frozen plasma to replace coagulation factors in patients with severe or symptomatic coagulopathy.

Hepatotoxicity and Abnormal Liver Function

Fulminant hepatic failure occurs. Hepatotoxicity and abnormal liver function, including elevations of AST (SGOT), ALT (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin (direct and indirect), and depression of serum albumin, and plasma fibrinogen can occur. Fatty changes in the liver have been documented on biopsy. Evaluate hepatic enzymes and bilirubin pretreatment and periodically during treatment.

5.7 Neurotoxicity

Patients treated with Elspar in a combination with other chemotherapeutic agents have been reported to develop posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES). PRES is a neurological disorder with clinical symptoms of headache, seizures, visual disturbances, altered mental status, and hypertension. Symptoms can be nonspecific, and diagnosis requires confirmation by radiological procedures. Interrupt use of Elspar if PRES is suspected or diagnosed. Prompt blood pressure and seizure control is advised.

5.8 Potential for Medication Errors

Medication errors involving Elspar have occurred. In particular, different formulations and routes of administration (I.M. and I.V.) of asparaginase have been interchanged inappropriately, which may result in subtherapeutic blood levels of asparaginase or additional toxicity related to an overdose. Prior to administering Elspar, the formulation of asparaginase should be confirmed. Do not confuse or substitute E. coli asparaginase, Erwinia asparaginase, and pegylated E. coli asparaginase [polyethylene glycol (PEG) asparaginase].

The following serious adverse reactions occur with Elspar treatment [see Warnings and Precautions (5)]:

• Anaphylaxis and serious allergic reactions
• Serious thrombosis
• Pancreatitis
• Glucose intolerance
• Coagulopathy
• Hepatotoxicity and abnormal liver function
• Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome

The most common adverse reactions with Elspar are allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis), hyperglycemia, pancreatitis, central nervous system (CNS) thrombosis, coagulopathy, hyperbilirubinemia, and elevated transaminases.

Clinical Trials and Post-Marketing Experience

The adverse reactions included in this section were identified in single-arm clinical trials in which Elspar was administered as part of a multi-agent regimen or from spontaneous post-marketing reports or published literature.

Because these adverse events were identified in clinical trials that were not designed to isolate the adverse effects of Elspar or were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Serious Adverse Reactions

Anaphylaxis and serious allergic reactions. Allergic reactions have occurred with the first dose and with subsequent doses of Elspar. The risk of serious allergic reactions appears to be higher in patients with prior exposure to Elspar or other Escherichia coli-derived L-asparaginases.

Serious thrombosis, including sagittal sinus thrombosis

Pancreatitis, in some cases fulminant or fatal

Glucose intolerance, in some cases irreversible

Coagulopathy, including increased prothrombin time, increased partial thromboplastin time, and decreased fibrinogen, protein C, protein S and antithrombin III. CNS hemorrhages have been reported.

Hepatotoxicity, in some cases fatal, can occur.

Central Nervous System effects including coma, seizures, and hallucinations.

Common Adverse Reactions

Azotemia, liver function abnormalities, including hyperbilirubinemia, and elevated transaminases.

Other

Hyperammonemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperlipidemia including hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia

Immunogenicity

As with all therapeutic proteins, there is a potential for immunogenicity, defined as development of binding and/or neutralizing antibodies to the product.

Elspar is a bacterial protein and can elicit antibodies in patients treated with the drug. In 2 prospectively designed clinical trials (N=59 and 24), approximately one quarter of the patients developed antibodies that bound to Elspar as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Clinical hypersensitivity reactions to Elspar in studies were common ranging from 32.5% to 75%. In these studies, concomitant medications and dosing schedules varied. Patients with hypersensitivity reactions were more likely to have antibodies than those without hypersensitivity reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions have been associated with increased clearance of Elspar. Incidence of antibody formation was lower upon first administration of Elspar than second administration. The frequency of antibody formation in adults relative to children is unknown. There is insufficient information to comment on neutralizing antibodies; however, higher levels of antibody correlated with a decrease in asparaginase activity.

The detection of antibody formation is highly dependent on the sensitivity and specificity of the assay, and the observed incidence of antibody positivity in an assay may be influenced by several factors including sample handling, concomitant medications and underlying disease. Therefore, comparison of the incidence of antibodies to Elspar with the incidence of antibodies to other products may be misleading.

No formal drug interaction studies between Elspar and other drugs have been performed.

Elspar (asparaginase) contains the enzyme L-asparagine amidohydrolase, type EC-2, derived from Escherichia coli. Elspar activity is expressed in terms of International Units according to the recommendation of the International Union of Biochemistry. One International Unit of asparaginase is defined as that amount of enzyme required to generate 1 μmol of ammonia per minute at pH 7.3 and 37°C. The specific activity of Elspar is at least 225 International Units per milligram of protein.

Elspar is provided as a sterile, white lyophilized plug or powder. Each vial contains 10,000 International Units of asparaginase and 80 mg of mannitol.

Advise patients to contact health care professional immediately to report any of the following:

• swelling of the face, arms or legs, with or without pain in the arm or leg
• acute difficulty in breathing/shortness of breath
• severe headache, seizures, change in mental status
• new onset chest pain
• severe abdominal pain

Advise patients to inform their healthcare professional of:

• excessive thirst or an increase in the volume or frequency of urination
• pregnancy

Lundbeck, Deerfield, IL 60015, U.S.A.
U.S. Lic. No. 1822

® Trademark of Lundbeck

Revised: January 2013

PRINCIPAL DISPLAY PANEL

NDC 67386-411-51

12 Single Use Vials
Discard Unused Portion

Asparaginase
Elspar®

Contains the enzyme L-asparagine amidohydrolase, type EC-2, derived from Escherichia coli.

10,000 International Units/Vial

For intramuscular or intravenous use only
No U.S. standard of potency. No preservative.
Rx only

All drugs may cause side effects. However, many people have no side effects or only have minor side effects. Call your doctor or get medical help if any of these side effects or any other side effects bother you or do not go away:

• Upset stomach or throwing up.

These are not all of the side effects that may occur. If you have questions about side effects, call your doctor. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. You may also report side effects at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch.