Valbenazine

Chemical formula: C₂₄H₃₈N₂O₄  Molecular mass: 418.578 g/mol  PubChem compound: 24795069

Pregnancy

Risk Summary

The limited available data on valbenazine use in pregnant women are insufficient to inform a drug-associated risk. In animal reproductive studies, no malformations were observed when valbenazine was administered orally to rats and rabbits during the period of organogenesis at doses up to 1.8 or 24 times, respectively, the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2 body surface area. However, administration of valbenazine to pregnant rats during organogenesis through lactation produced an increase in the number of stillborn pups and postnatal pup mortalities at doses <1 times the MRHD based on mg/m2 [see Data]. Advise a pregnant woman of the potential risk to a fetus.

The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes. The background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in the U.S. general population is 2 to 4% and 15 to 20% of clinically recognized pregnancies, respectively.

Data

Animal Data

Valbenazine was administered orally to pregnant rats during the period of organogenesis at 1, 5, and 15 mg/kg/day, which are approximately 0.1, 0.6, and 2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2 body surface area. Valbenazine produced a significant decrease in maternal body weight gain at 0.6 and 2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. No adverse embryo fetal effects were produced when valbenazine was administered at doses up to 2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2.

Valbenazine was administered orally to pregnant rabbits during the period of organogenesis at 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg/day, which are approximately 5, 12, and 24 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. No malformations were observed at doses up to 24 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. However, valbenazine produced a delay in fetal development (decreased fetal weights and delayed ossification) at 24 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2, likely secondary to maternal toxicity (decreased food intake and loss in body weight).

Valbenazine was administered orally to pregnant rats during the period of organogenesis through lactation (day 7 of gestation through day 20 postpartum) at 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg/day, which are approximately 0.1, 0.4, and 1.2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. Valbenazine produced an increase in the incidence of stillbirths and postnatal pup mortality at 0.4 and 1.2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. Valbenazine did not affect neurobehavioral function including learning and memory and had no effect on sexual maturation at doses <1 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2 (because of death in the majority of the high dose group (1.2 times the MRHD), these parameters were not assessed in this group).

Nursing mothers

Risk Summary

There is no information regarding the presence of valbenazine or its metabolites in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. Valbenazine and its metabolites have been detected in rat milk at concentrations higher than in plasma following oral administration of valbenazine at doses 0.1 to 1.2 times the MRHD based on mg/m². Based on animal findings of increased perinatal mortality in exposed fetuses and pups, advise a woman not to breastfeed during treatment with valbenazine and for 5 days after the final dose.

Carcinogenesis, mutagenesis and fertility

Carcinogenesis

Valbenazine did not increase tumors in rats treated orally for 91 weeks at 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/kg/day. These doses are <1 times (0.06, 0.1, and 0.24 times, respectively) the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2.

Valbenazine did not increase tumors in hemizygous Tg.rasH2 mice treated orally for 26 weeks at 10, 30 and 75 mg/kg/day, which are 0.6, 1.9 and 4.6 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2.

Mutagenesis

Valbenazine was not mutagenic in the in vitro bacterial reverse mutation test (Ames) or clastogenic in the in vitro mammalian chromosomal aberrations assay in human peripheral blood lymphocytes or in the in vivo rat bone marrow micronucleus assay.

Impairment of Fertility

In a fertility study, rats were treated orally with valbenazine at 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg/day prior to mating and through mating, for a minimum of 10 weeks (males) or through Day 7 of gestation (females). These doses are 0.1, 0.4, and 1.2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2, respectively. Valbenazine delayed mating in both sexes, which led to lower number of pregnancies and disrupted estrous cyclicity at the high dose, 1.2 times the MRHD of 80 mg/day based on mg/m2. Valbenazine had no effects on sperm parameters (motility, count, density) or on uterine parameters (corpora lutea, number of implants, viable implants, pre-implantation loss, early resorptions and post-implantation loss) at any dose.

Adverse reactions


  • Hypersensitivity
  • Somnolence
  • QT Prolongation
  • Parkinsonism

Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

Variable and Fixed Dose Placebo-Controlled Trial Experience

The safety of valbenazine was evaluated in 3 placebo-controlled studies, each 6 weeks in duration (fixed dose, dose escalation, dose reduction), including 445 patients. Patients were 26 to 84 years of age with moderate to severe tardive dyskinesia and had concurrent diagnoses of mood disorder (27%) or schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (72%). The mean age was 56 years. Patients were 57% Caucasian, 39% African-American, and 4% other. With respect to ethnicity, 28% were Hispanic or Latino. All subjects continued previous stable regimens of antipsychotics; 85% and 27% of subjects, respectively, were taking atypical and typical antipsychotic medications at study entry.

Adverse Reactions Leading to Discontinuation of Treatment

A total of 3% of valbenazine treated patients and 2% of placebo-treated patients discontinued because of adverse reactions.

Common Adverse Reactions

Adverse reactions that occurred in the 3 placebo-controlled studies at an incidence of ≥2% and greater than placebo are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Adverse Reactions in 3 Placebo-Controlled Studies of 6-week Treatment Duration Reported at ≥2% and >Placebo:

Adverse Reaction1 Valbenazine (n=262)(%) Placebo (n=183)(%)
General Disorders
Somnolence (somnolence, fatigue, sedation) 10.9% 4.2%
Nervous System Disorders
Anticholinergic effects (dry mouth, constipation, disturbance in attention, vision blurred, urinary retention) 5.4% 4.9%
Balance disorders/fall (fall, gait disturbance, dizziness, balance disorder) 4.1% 2.2%
Headache 3.4% 2.7%
Akathisia (akathisia, restlessness) 2.7% 0.5%
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Vomiting 2.6% 0.6%
Nausea 2.3% 2.1%
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Arthralgia 2.3% 0.5%

1 Within each adverse reaction category, the observed adverse reactions are listed in order of decreasing frequency.

Other Adverse Reactions Observed During the Premarketing Evaluation of Valbenazine

Other adverse reactions of ≥1% incidence and greater than placebo are shown below. The following list does not include adverse reactions: 1) already listed in previous tables or elsewhere in the labeling, 2) for which a drug cause was remote, 3) which were so general as to be uninformative, 4) which were not considered to have clinically significant implications, or 5) which occurred at a rate equal to or less than placebo.

Endocrine Disorders: blood glucose increased

General Disorders: weight increased

Infectious Disorders: respiratory infections

Neurologic Disorders: drooling, dyskinesia, extrapyramidal symptoms (non-akathisia)

Psychiatric Disorders: anxiety, insomnia

During controlled trials, there was a dose-related increase in prolactin. Additionally, there was a dose-related increase in alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin, suggesting a potential risk for cholestasis.

Postmarketing Experience

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of valbenazine that are not included in other sections of labeling. Because these reactions are 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.

Immune System Disorders: hypersensitivity reactions (including allergic dermatitis, angioedema, pruritis, and urticaria)

Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: rash

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