This is Michael Brady Lynch, lead trial attorney for The Michel Brady Lynch Firm.
Well, it is about time the FDA acted on the problem of ketoacidosis and the drug Invokana.
December 4, 2015
Invokana and SGLT2 Inhibitors: Drug Safety Communication – Labels to Include Warnings About Too Much Acid in the Blood and Serious Urinary Tract Infections
ISSUE: An FDA safety review has resulted in adding warnings to the labels of a specific class of type 2 diabetes medicines called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors about the risks of too much acid in the blood and of serious urinary tract infections. Both conditions can result in hospitalization. The popular drug Invokana falls within this class of medication requiring new safety warnings.
Invokana Ketoacidosis Warning
The FDA issued a Drug Safety Communication in May 2015 warning about the risk of ketoacidosis with SGLT2 inhibitors and alerting that the Agency would continue to evaluate this safety issue. A review of the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from March 2013 to May 2015 identified 73 cases of ketoacidosis in patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes treated with SGLT2 inhibitors (see the Drug Safety Communication Data Summary). Symptoms of ketoacidosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tiredness, and trouble breathing.
FDA also identified 19 cases of life-threatening blood infections (urosepsis) and kidney infections (pyelonephritis) that started as urinary tract infections with the SGLT2 inhibitors reported to FAERS from March 2013 through October 2014. All 19 patients were hospitalized, and a few required admission to an intensive care unit or dialysis in order to treat kidney failure.
As a result, on December 4, 2015, the FDA added new, long-awaited Warnings and Precautions to the labels of all SGLT2 inhibitors such as Invokana to describe these two safety issues and to provide prescribing and monitoring recommendations.
Equally important, the FDA took the added step of also requiring manufacturers of SGLT2 inhibitors to conduct a required postmarketing study. This required enhanced pharmacovigilance study requests that manufacturers perform analyses of spontaneous postmarketing reports of ketoacidosis in patients treated with SGLT2 inhibitors, including specialized follow-up to collect additional information, for a period of 5 years. This study will be very telling as to what and when the manufacturer of Invokana knew about the rates of ketoacidosis prior to the the FDA action requiring a new warning label.
Invokana Recommendation
BACKGROUND: SGLT2 inhibitors, including Invokana, are a class of prescription medicines that are FDA-approved for use with diet and exercise to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. Medicines in the SGLT2 inhibitor class include canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and empagliflozin.
RECOMMENDATION: Patients should stop taking their SGLT2 inhibitor and seek medical attention immediately if they have any symptoms of ketoacidosis.
Health care professionals should assess for ketoacidosis and urinary tract infections in patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors who present with suggestive symptoms. Ketoacidosis associated with the use of SGLT2 inhibitors can occur even if the blood sugar level is not very high. If ketoacidosis is suspected, the SGLT2 inhibitor should be discontinued and treatment instituted promptly.
Healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse events or side effects related to the use of these products to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program:
Complete and submit the report Online: www.fda.gov/MedWatch/report
Download form or call 1-800-332-1088 to request a reporting form, then complete and return to the address on the pre-addressed form, or submit by fax to 1-800-FDA-0178
Read the MedWatch Safety Alert, including a link to the FDA Drug Safety Communication, at:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm475553.htm