Pravastatin Sodium 40 mg Tablet, 30-count

5.1Skeletal Muscle Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria have been reported with pravastatin and other drugs in this class. A history of renal impairment may be a risk factor for the development of rhabdomyolysis. Such patients merit closer monitoring for skeletal muscle effects.

Uncomplicated myalgia has also been reported in pravastatin-treated patients [see Adverse Reactions (6)]. Myopathy, defined as muscle aching or muscle weakness in conjunction with increases in creatine phosphokinase (CPK) values to greater than 10 times the ULN, was rare (<0.1%) in pravastatin clinical trials. Myopathy should be considered in any patient with diffuse myalgias, muscle tenderness or weakness, and/or marked elevation of CPK.

Predisposing factors include advanced age (≥65), uncontrolled hypothyroidism, and renal impairment. There have been rare reports of immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM), an autoimmune myopathy, associated with statin use. IMNM is characterized by: proximal muscle weakness and elevated serum CPK, which persist despite discontinuation of statin treatment; muscle biopsy showing necrotizing myopathy without significant inflammation and improvement with immunosuppressive agents.

All patients should be advised to promptly report to their physician unexplained muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, particularly if accompanied by malaise or fever or if muscle signs and symptoms persist after discontinuing pravastatin sodium tablets. Pravastatin therapy should be discontinued if markedly elevated CPK levels occur or myopathy is diagnosed or suspected. Pravastatin therapy should also be temporarily withheld in any patient experiencing an acute or serious condition predisposing to the development of renal failure secondary to rhabdomyolysis, e.g., sepsis; hypotension; major surgery; trauma; severe metabolic, endocrine, or electrolyte disorders; or uncontrolled epilepsy.

The risk of myopathy during treatment with statins is increased with concurrent therapy with either erythromycin, cyclosporine, niacin, or fibrates. However, neither myopathy nor significant increases in CPK levels have been observed in 3 reports involving a total of 100 post-transplant patients (24 renal and 76 cardiac) treated for up to 2 years concurrently with pravastatin 10 to 40 mg and cyclosporine. Some of these patients also received other concomitant immunosuppressive therapies.

Further, in clinical trials involving small numbers of patients who were treated concurrently with pravastatin and niacin, there were no reports of myopathy. Also, myopathy was not reported in a trial of combination pravastatin (40 mg/day) and gemfibrozil (1200 mg/day), although 4 of 75 patients on the combination showed marked CPK elevations versus 1 of 73 patients receiving placebo. There was a trend toward more frequent CPK elevations and patient withdrawals due to musculoskeletal symptoms in the group receiving combined treatment as compared with the groups receiving placebo, gemfibrozil, or pravastatin monotherapy.

The use of fibrates alone may occasionally be associated with myopathy. The benefit of further alterations in lipid levels by the combined use of pravastatin with fibrates should be carefully weighed against the potential risks of this combination. Cases of myopathy, including rhabdomyolysis, have been reported with pravastatin coadministered with colchicine, and caution should be exercised when prescribing pravastatin with colchicine [see Drug Interactions (7.3)].

5.2Liver Statins, like some other lipid-lowering therapies, have been associated with biochemical abnormalities of liver function. In 3 long-term (4.8 to 5.9 years), placebo-controlled clinical trials (WOS, LIPID, CARE), 19,592 subjects (19,768 randomized) were exposed to pravastatin or placebo [see Clinical Studies (14)]. In an analysis of serum transaminase values (ALT, AST), incidences of marked abnormalities were compared between the pravastatin an…

Pravastatin is generally well tolerated; adverse reactions have usually been mild and transient. In 4-month-long placebo-controlled trials, 1.7% of pravastatin-treated patients and 1.2% of placebo-treated patients were discontinued from treatment because of adverse experiences attributed to study drug therapy; this difference was not statistically significant.

6.1Adverse Clinical Events Short-Term Controlled Trials In the pravastatin sodium tablets placebo-controlled clinical trials database of 1313 patients (age range 20 to 76 years, 32.4% women, 93.5% Caucasians, 5% Blacks, 0.9% Hispanics, 0.4% Asians, 0.2% Others) with a median treatment duration of 14 weeks, 3.3% of patients on pravastatin sodium tablets and 1.2% patients on placebo discontinued due to adverse events regardless of causality. The most common adverse reactions that led to treatment discontinuation and occurred at an incidence greater than placebo were: liver function test increased, nausea, anxiety/depression, and dizziness.

All adverse clinical events (regardless of causality) reported in ≥2% of pravastatin-treated patients in placebo-controlled trials of up to 8 months duration are identified in Table 1: Table 1: Adverse Events in ≥2% of Patients Treated with Pravastatin 5 to 40 mg and at an Incidence Greater Than Placebo in Short-Term Placebo-Controlled Trials (% of patients) Body System/Event 5 mg N=100 10 mg N=153 20 mg N=478 40 mg N=171 Any Dose N=902 Placebo N=411 Cardiovascular Angina Pectoris 5.0 4.6 4.8 3.5 4.5

3.4Dermatologic Rash 3.0 2.6 6.7 1.2 4.5

1.4Gastrointestinal Nausea/Vomiting Diarrhea Flatulence Dyspepsia/Heartburn Abdominal Distension 4.0 8.0 2.0 0.0 2.0 5.9 8.5 3.3 3.3 3.3 10.5 6.5 4.6 3.6 2.1 2.3 4.7 0.0 0.6 0.6 7.4 6.7 3.2 2.5 2.0 7.1 5.6 4.4 2.7

2.4General Fatigue Chest Pain Influenza 4.0 4.0 4.0 1.3 1.3 2.6 5.2 3.3 1.9 0.0 1.2 0.6 3.4 2.7 2.0 3.9 1.9

0.7Musculoskeletal Musculoskeletal Pain Myalgia 13.0 1.0 3.9 2.6 13.2 2.9 5.3 1.2 10.1 2.3 10.2

1.2Nervous System Headache Dizziness 5.0 4.0 6.5 1.3 7.5 5.2 3.5 0.6 6.3 3.5 4.6

3.4Respiratory Pharyngitis Upper Respiratory Infection Rhinitis Cough 2.0 6.0 7.0 4.0 4.6 9.8 5.2 1.3 1.5 5.2 3.8 3.1 1.2 4.1 1.2 1.2 2.0 5.9 3.9 2.5 2.7 5.8 4.9

1.7Investigation ALT Increased g-GT Increased CPK Increased 2.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.6 1.3 4.0 2.1 5.2 1.2 0.6 2.9 2.9 2.0 4.1 1.2 1.2

3.6The safety and tolerability of pravastatin sodium tablets at a dose of 80 mg in 2 controlled trials with a mean exposure of 8.6 months was similar to that of pravastatin sodium tablets at lower doses except that 4 out of 464 patients taking 80 mg of pravastatin had a single elevation of CK >10 times ULN compared to 0 out of 115 patients taking 40 mg of pravastatin. Long-Term Controlled Morbidity and Mortality Trials In the pravastatin sodium tablets placebo-controlled clinical trials database of 21,483 patients (age range 24 to 75 years, 10.3% women, 52.3% Caucasians, 0.8% Blacks, 0.5% Hispanics, 0.1% Asians, 0.1% Others, 46.1% Not Recorded) with a median treatment duration of 261 weeks, 8.1% of patients on pravastatin sodium tablets and 9.3% patients on placebo discontinued due to adverse events regardless of causality.

Adverse event data were pooled from 7 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study [WOS]; Cholesterol and Recurrent Events study [CARE]; Long-term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease study [LIPID]; Pravastatin Limitation of Atherosclerosis in the Coronary Arteries study [PLAC I]; Pravastatin, Lipids and Atherosclerosis in the Carotids study [PLAC II]; Regression Growth Evaluation Statin Study [REGRESS]; and Kuopio Atherosclerosis Prevention Study [KAPS]) involving a total of 10,764 patients treated with pravastatin 40 mg and 10,719 patients treated with placebo.

The safety and tolerability profile in the pravastatin group was comparable to that of the placebo group. Patients were exposed to pravastatin for a mean of 4.0 to 5.1 years in WOS, CARE,…

For the concurrent therapy of either cyclosporine, fibrates, niacin (nicotinic acid), or erythromycin, the risk of myopathy increases [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

7.1Cyclosporine The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased with concomitant administration of cyclosporine. Limit pravastatin to 20 mg once daily for concomitant use with cyclosporine [see Dosage and Administration (2.6), Warnings and Precautions (5.1), and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)].

7.2Clarithromycin and Other Macrolide Antibiotics The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased with concomitant administration of clarithromycin. Limit pravastatin to 40 mg once daily for concomitant use with clarithromycin [see Dosage and Administration (2.7), Warnings and Precautions (5.1), and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)]. Other macrolides (e.g., erythromycin and azithromycin) have the potential to increase statin exposures while used in combination.

Pravastatin should be used cautiously with macrolide antibiotics due to a potential increased risk of myopathies.

7.3Colchicine The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased with concomitant administration of colchicine [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].

7.4Gemfibrozil Due to an increased risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis when HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are coadministered with gemfibrozil, concomitant administration of pravastatin with gemfibrozil should be avoided [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].

7.5Other Fibrates Because it is known that the risk of myopathy during treatment with HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors is increased with concurrent administration of other fibrates, pravastatin should be administered with caution when used concomitantly with other fibrates [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].

7.6Niacin The risk of skeletal muscle effects may be enhanced when pravastatin is used in combination with niacin; a reduction in pravastatin dosage should be considered in this setting [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].