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The proportion of patients who discontinued treatment due to adverse events during the double-blind, controlled portion of pivotal studies was 5.9% for patients taking Humira and 5.4% for control treated patients.
The most commonly reported adverse reactions are infections (such as nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection and sinusitis), injection site reactions (erythema, itching, haemorrhage, pain or swelling), headache and musculoskeletal pain.
Serious adverse reactions have been reported for Humira. TNF-antagonists, such as Humira affect the immune system and their use may affect the body's defence against infection and cancer.
Fatal and life-threatening infections (including sepsis, opportunistic infections and TB), HBV reactivation and various malignancies (including leukaemia, lymphoma and HSTCL) have also been reported with use of Humira.
Serious haematological, neurological and autoimmune reactions have also been reported. These include rare reports of pancytopenia, aplastic anaemia, central and peripheral demyelinating events and reports of lupus, lupus-related conditions and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Paediatric population: In general, the adverse events in paediatric patients were similar in frequency and type to those seen in adult patients.
Tabulated list of adverse reactions: The following list of adverse reactions is based on experience from clinical trials and on postmarketing experience and are displayed by system organ class and frequency in Tables 29a and 29b as follows: very common (≥ 1/10); common (≥ 1/100 to < 1/10); uncommon (≥ 1/1,000 to < 1/100); rare (≥ 1/10,000 to < 1/1,000); and not known (cannot be estimated from the available data). Within each frequency grouping, undesirable effects are presented in order of decreasing seriousness. The highest frequency seen among the various indications has been included. An asterisk (*) appears in the SOC column if further information is found as follows and in Contraindications and Precautions. (See Tables 29a and 29b.)
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Click on icon to see table/diagram/imageHidradenitis suppurativa (for 40 mg only): The safety profile for patients with HS treated with Humira weekly was consistent with the known safety profile of Humira.
Uveitis: The safety profile for patients with uveitis treated with Humira every other week was consistent with the known safety profile of Humira.
Description of selected adverse reactions: Injection site reactions: In the pivotal controlled trials in adults and children, 12.9% of patients treated with Humira developed injection site reactions (erythema and/or itching, haemorrhage, pain or swelling), compared to 7.2% of patients receiving placebo or active control. Injection site reactions generally did not necessitate discontinuation of the medicinal product.
Infections: In the pivotal controlled trials in adults and children, the rate of infection was 1.51 per patient year in the Humira-treated patients and 1.46 per patient year in the placebo and active control-treated patients. The infections consisted primarily of nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection, and sinusitis. Most patients continued on Humira after the infection resolved.
The incidence of serious infections was 0.04 per patient year in Humira-treated patients and 0.03 per patient year in placebo and active control-treated patients.
In controlled and open label adult and paediatric studies with Humira, serious infections (including fatal infections, which occurred rarely) have been reported, which include reports of tuberculosis (including miliary and extra-pulmonary locations) and invasive opportunistic infections (e.g. disseminated or extrapulmonary histoplasmosis, blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, pneumocystis, candidiasis, aspergillosis and listeriosis). Most of the cases of tuberculosis occurred within the first eight months after initiation of therapy and may reflect recrudescence of latent disease.
Malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders: No malignancies were observed in 249 paediatric patients with an exposure of 655.6 patient years during Humira trials in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and enthesitis-related arthritis). In addition, no malignancies were observed in 192 paediatric patients with an exposure of 498.1 patient years during Humira trials in paediatric patients with Crohn's disease. No malignancies were observed in 77 paediatric patients with an exposure of 80.0 patient years during a Humira trial in paediatric patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. No malignancies were observed in 60 paediatric patients with an exposure of 58.4 patient years during a Humira trial in paediatric patients with uveitis.
During the controlled portions of pivotal Humira trials in adults of at least 12 weeks in duration in patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, axial spondyloarthritis without radiographic evidence of AS, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and uveitis, malignancies, other than lymphoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, were observed at a rate (95% confidence interval) of 6.8 (4.4, 10.5) per 1,000 patient-years among 5,291 Humira-treated patients versus a rate of 6.3 (3.4, 11.8) per 1,000 patient-years among 3,444 control patients (median duration of treatment was 4.0 months for Humira and 3.8 months for control-treated patients). The rate (95% confidence interval) of non-melanoma skin cancers was 8.8 (6.0, 13.0) per 1,000 patient-years among Humira-treated patients and 3.2 (1.3, 7.6) per 1,000 patient-years among control patients. Of these skin cancers, squamous cell carcinomas occurred at rates (95% confidence interval) of 2.7 (1.4, 5.4) per 1,000 patient-years among Humira-treated patients and 0.6 (0.1, 4.5) per 1,000 patient-years among control patients. The rate (95% confidence interval) of lymphomas was 0.7 (0.2, 2.7) per 1,000 patient-years among Humira-treated patients and 0.6 (0.1, 4.5) per 1,000 patient-years among control patients.
When combining controlled portions of these trials and ongoing and completed open label extension studies with a median duration of approximately 3.3 years including 6,427 patients and over 26,439 patient-years of therapy, the observed rate of malignancies, other than lymphoma and non-melanoma skin cancers is approximately 8.5 per 1,000 patient years. The observed rate of non-melanoma skin cancers is approximately 9.6 per 1,000 patient years, and the observed rate of lymphomas is approximately 1.3 per 1,000 patient years.
In post-marketing experience from January 2003 to December 2010, predominantly in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the reported rate of malignancies is approximately 2.7 per 1,000 patient treatment years. The reported rates for non-melanoma skin cancers and lymphomas are approximately 0.2 and 0.3 per 1,000 patient treatment years, respectively (see Precautions).
Rare post-marketing cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma have been reported in patients treated with adalimumab (see Precautions).
Autoantibodies: Patients had serum samples tested for autoantibodies at multiple time points in rheumatoid arthritis studies I-V. In these trials, 11.9% of patients treated with Humira and 8.1% of placebo and active control-treated patients that had negative baseline anti-nuclear antibody titres reported positive titres at Week 24. Two patients out of 3,441 treated with Humira in all rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis studies developed clinical signs suggestive of new-onset lupus-like syndrome. The patients improved following discontinuation of therapy. No patients developed lupus nephritis or central nervous system symptoms.
Hepato-biliary events: In controlled Phase 3 trials of Humira in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis with a control period duration ranging from 4 to 104 weeks, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 3.7% of Humira-treated patients and 1.6% of control-treated patients.
In controlled Phase 3 trials of Humira in patients with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis who were 4 to 17 years and enthesitis-related arthritis who were 6 to 17 years, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 6.1% of Humira-treated patients and 1.3% of control-treated patients. Most ALT elevations occurred with concomitant methotrexate use. No ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in the Phase 3 trial of Humira in patients with polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis who were 2 to < 4 years.
In controlled Phase 3 trials of Humira in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis with a control period ranging from 4 to 52 weeks. ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 0.9% of Humira-treated patients and 0.9% of controlled-treated patients.
In the Phase 3 trial of Humira in patients with paediatric Crohn's disease which evaluated efficacy and safety of two body weight adjusted maintenance dose regimens following body weight adjusted induction therapy up to 52 weeks of treatment, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 2.6% (5/192) of patients of whom 4 were receiving concomitant immunosuppressants at baseline.
In controlled Phase 3 trials of Humira in patients with plaque psoriasis with a control period duration ranging from 12 to 24 weeks, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 1.8% of Humira-treated patients and 1.8% of control-treated patients.
No ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in the Phase 3 trial of Humira in paediatric patients with plaque psoriasis.
In controlled trials of Humira (initial doses of 80 mg at Week 0 followed by 40 mg every other week starting at Week 1) in adult patients with uveitis up to 80 weeks with a median exposure of 166.5 days and 105.0 days in Humira-treated and control-treated patients, respectively, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 2.4% of Humira-treated patients and 2.4% of control-treated patients.
Across all indications in clinical trials patients with raised ALT were asymptomatic and in most cases elevations were transient and resolved on continued treatment. However, there have also been post-marketing reports of liver failure as well as less severe liver disorders that may precede liver failure, such as hepatitis including autoimmune hepatitis in patients receiving adalimumab.
40 mg: In controlled trials of Humira (initial doses of 160 mg at Week 0 and 80 mg at Week 2, followed by 40 mg every week starting at Week 4), in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa with a control period duration ranging from 12 to 16 weeks, ALT elevations ≥ 3 x ULN occurred in 0.3% of Humira-treated patients and 0.6% of control-treated patients.
Concurrent treatment with azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine: In adult Crohn's disease studies, higher incidences of malignant and serious infection-related adverse events were seen with the combination of Humira and azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine compared with Humira alone.
Reporting of suspected adverse reactions: Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions according to the local requirements.
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