Source: FDA, National Drug Code (US) Revision Year: 2020
Like other topical corticosteroids, mometasone furoate has anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, and vasoconstrictive properties. The mechanism of the anti-inflammatory activity of the topical steroids, in general, is unclear. However, corticosteroids are thought to act by the induction of phospholipase A2 inhibitory proteins, collectively called lipocortins. It is postulated that these proteins control the biosynthesis of potent mediators of inflammation such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes by inhibiting the release of their common precursor arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is released from membrane phospholipids by phospholipase A2.
Studies performed with ELOCON Cream indicate that it is in the medium range of potency as compared with other topical corticosteroids.
In a study evaluating the effects of mometasone furoate cream on the HPA axis, 15 grams were applied twice daily for 7 days to six adult subjects with psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. The cream was applied without occlusion to at least 30% of the body surface. The results showed that the drug caused a slight lowering of adrenal corticosteroid secretion [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].
Ninety-seven pediatric subjects ages 6 to 23 months with atopic dermatitis were enrolled in an open-label HPA axis safety study. ELOCON Cream was applied once daily for approximately 3 weeks over a mean body surface area of 41% (range 15%-94%). In approximately 16% of subjects who showed normal adrenal function by Cortrosyn test before starting treatment, adrenal suppression was observed at the end of treatment with ELOCON Cream. The criteria for suppression were: basal cortisol level of ≤5 mcg/dL, 30-minute post-stimulation level of ≤18 mcg/dL, or an increase of <7 mcg/dL. Follow-up testing 2 to 4 weeks after stopping treatment, available for 5 of the subjects, demonstrated suppressed HPA axis function in one subject, using these same criteria [see Use in Specific Populations (8.4)].
The extent of percutaneous absorption of topical corticosteroids is determined by many factors including the vehicle and the integrity of the epidermal barrier. Studies in humans indicate that approximately 0.4% of the applied dose of ELOCON Cream enters the circulation after 8 hours of contact on normal skin without occlusion. Inflammation and/or other disease processes in the skin may increase percutaneous absorption.
Long-term animal studies have not been performed to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of ELOCON Cream. Long-term carcinogenicity studies of mometasone furoate were conducted by the inhalation route in rats and mice. In a 2-year carcinogenicity study in Sprague Dawley rats, mometasone furoate demonstrated no statistically significant increase of tumors at inhalation doses up to 67 mcg/kg (approximately 0.04 times the estimated maximum clinical topical dose from ELOCON Cream on a mcg/m² basis). In a 19-month carcinogenicity study in Swiss CD-1 mice, mometasone furoate demonstrated no statistically significant increase in the incidence of tumors at inhalation doses up to 160 mcg/kg (approximately 0.05 times the estimated maximum clinical topical dose from ELOCON Cream on a mcg/m² basis).
Mometasone furoate increased chromosomal aberrations in an in vitro Chinese hamster ovary cell assay, but did not increase chromosomal aberrations in an in vitro Chinese hamster lung cell assay. Mometasone furoate was not mutagenic in the Ames test or mouse lymphoma assay, and was not clastogenic in an in vivo mouse micronucleus assay, a rat bone marrow chromosomal aberration assay, or a mouse male germ-cell chromosomal aberration assay. Mometasone furoate also did not induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in vivo in rat hepatocytes.
In reproductive studies in rats, impairment of fertility was not produced in male or female rats by subcutaneous doses up to 15 mcg/kg (approximately 0.01 times the estimated maximum clinical topical dose from ELOCON Cream on a mcg/m² basis).
The safety and efficacy of the ELOCON Cream for the treatment of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses were evaluated in two randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled clinical trials, one in psoriasis and one in atopic dermatitis. A total 366 subjects (12-81 years of age), of whom 177 received ELOCON Cream and 181 subjects received vehicle cream, were evaluated in these trials. ELOCON Cream or the vehicle cream were applied once daily for 21 days.
The two trials showed ELOCON Cream is effective in the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
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