Get your patient on Idhifa (Enasidenib Mesylate)

IDHIFA is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase-2 (IDH2) mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Select patients for the treatment of AML with IDHIFA based on the presence of IDH2 mutations in the blood or bone marrow [see Indications and Usage (1.1) and Clinical Studies (14.1) ] . Information on FDA-approved tests for the detection of IDH2 mutations in AML is available at http://www.fda.gov/CompanionDiagnostics .

The recommended dosage of IDHIFA is 100 mg taken orally once daily with or without food until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. For patients without disease progression or unacceptable toxicity, treat for a minimum of 6 months to allow time for clinical response.

Swallow tablets whole. Do not chew, split, or crush IDHIFA tablets. Administer IDHIFA tablets orally about the same time each day. If a dose of IDHIFA is vomited, missed, or not taken at the usual time, administer the dose as soon as possible on the same day, and return to the normal schedule the following day.

Assess blood counts and blood chemistries for leukocytosis and tumor lysis syndrome prior to the initiation of IDHIFA and monitor at a minimum of every 2 weeks for at least the first 3 months during treatment. Manage any abnormalities promptly [see Adverse Reactions (6.1) ] .

Interrupt dosing or reduce dose for toxicities. See Table 1 for dosage modification guidelines.

Based on animal embryo-fetal toxicity studies, IDHIFA can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1) ] .

Safety and effectiveness of IDHIFA in pediatric patients have not been established.

No dosage adjustment is required for IDHIFA based on age. In the clinical study, 61% of 214 patients were aged 65 years or older, while 24% were older than 75 years. No overall differences in effectiveness or safety were observed between patients aged 65 years or older and younger patients.

In the clinical trial, 14% of patients treated with IDHIFA experienced differentiation syndrome, which may be life-threatening or fatal if not treated. Differentiation syndrome is associated with rapid proliferation and differentiation of myeloid cells. While there is no diagnostic test for differentiation syndrome, symptoms in patients treated with IDHIFA included acute respiratory distress represented by dyspnea and/or hypoxia (68%) and need for supplemental oxygen (76%); pulmonary infiltrates (73%) and pleural effusion (45%); renal impairment (70%); fever (36%); lymphadenopathy (33%); bone pain (27%); peripheral edema with rapid weight gain (21%); and pericardial effusion (18%). Hepatic, renal, and multi-organ dysfunction have also been observed.

Differentiation syndrome has been observed with and without concomitant hyperleukocytosis, in as early as 1 day and up to 5 months after IDHIFA initiation.

If differentiation syndrome is suspected, initiate oral or intravenous corticosteroids (e.g., dexamethasone 10 mg every 12 hours) and hemodynamic monitoring until improvement. Taper corticosteroids only after resolution of symptoms. Symptoms of differentiation syndrome may recur with premature discontinuation of corticosteroid treatment. If severe pulmonary symptoms requiring intubation or ventilator support, and/or renal dysfunction persist for more than 48 hours after initiation of corticosteroids, interrupt IDHIFA until signs and symptoms are no longer severe [see Dosage and Administration (2.3) ] . Hospitalization for close observation and monitoring of patients with pulmonary and/or renal manifestation is recommended.

Based on animal embryo-fetal toxicity studies, IDHIFA can cause embryo-fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. In animal embryo-fetal toxicity studies, enasidenib caused embryo-fetal toxicities starting at 0.1 times the steady state clinical exposure based on the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) at the recommended human dose.

Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to the fetus. Advise females of reproductive potential to use effective non‑hormonal contraception during treatment with IDHIFA and for 2 months after the last dose. Advise males with female partners of reproductive potential to use effective contraception during treatment with IDHIFA and for 2 months after the last dose [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.3) ] .

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.

The safety evaluation of single-agent IDHIFA is based on 214 patients with relapsed or refractory AML who were assigned to receive 100 mg daily [see Clinical Studies (14.1) ] . The median duration of exposure to IDHIFA was 4.3 months (range 0.3 to 23.6). The 30-day and 60-day mortality rates observed with IDHIFA were 4.2% (9/214) and 11.7% (25/214), respectively.

Serious adverse reactions were reported in 77.1% of patients. The most frequent serious adverse reactions (≥2%) were leukocytosis (10%), diarrhea (6%), nausea (5%), vomiting (3%), decreased appetite (3%), tumor lysis syndrome (5%), and differentiation syndrome (8%). Differentiation syndrome events characterized as serious included pyrexia, renal failure acute, hypoxia, respiratory failure, and multi-organ failure.

Overall, 92 of 214 patients (43%) required a dose interruption due to an adverse reaction; the most frequent adverse reactions leading to dose interruption were differentiation syndrome (4%) and leukocytosis (3%). Ten of 214 patients (5%) required a dose reduction due to an adverse reaction; no adverse reaction required dose reduction in more than 2 patients. Thirty-six of 214 patients (17%) permanently discontinued IDHIFA due to an adverse reaction; the most frequent adverse reaction leading to permanent discontinuation was leukocytosis (1%).

The most common adverse reactions (≥20%) of any grade were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, elevated bilirubin and decreased appetite.

Adverse reactions reported in the trial are shown in Table 2.

Other clinically significant adverse reactions occurring in <10% of patients included:

• Respiratory, Thoracic, and Mediastinal Disorders: Pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome

Changes in selected post-baseline laboratory values that were observed in patients with relapsed or refractory AML are shown in Table 3.

Enasidenib is a small molecule inhibitor of the isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2) enzyme. Enasidenib targets the mutant IDH2 variants R140Q, R172S, and R172K at approximately 40-fold lower concentrations than the wild-type enzyme in vitro. Inhibition of the mutant IDH2 enzyme by enasidenib led to decreased 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) levels and induced myeloid differentiation in vitro and in vivo in mouse xenograft models of IDH2 mutated AML. In blood samples from patients with AML with mutated IDH2, enasidenib decreased 2-HG levels, reduced blast counts and increased percentages of mature myeloid cells.

The peak plasma concentration (C _max ) is 1.4 mcg/mL [coefficient of variation (CV%) 50%] after a single dose of 100 mg, and 13.1 mcg/mL (CV% 45%) at steady state for 100 mg daily. The area under concentration time curve (AUC) of enasidenib increases in an approximately dose proportional manner from 50 mg (0.5 times approved recommended dosage) to 450 mg (4.5 times approved recommended dosage) daily dose. Steady-state plasma levels are reached within 29 days of once-daily dosing. Accumulation is approximately 10-fold when administered once daily.

Carcinogenicity studies have not been performed with enasidenib.

Enasidenib was not mutagenic in an in vitro bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) assay. Enasidenib was not clastogenic in an in vitro human lymphocyte chromosomal aberration assay, or in an in vivo rat bone marrow micronucleus assay.

Fertility studies in animals have not been conducted with enasidenib. In repeat-dose toxicity studies with twice daily oral administration of enasidenib in rats up to 90-days in duration, changes were reported in male and female reproductive organs including seminiferous tubular degeneration, hypospermia, atrophy of the seminal vesicle and prostate, decreased corpora lutea and increased atretic follicles in the ovaries, and atrophy in the uterus.