Priacin Drug Interactions

Contraindicated Drugs: Concomitant Use of the Following Drugs is Contraindicated: Potent Inhibitors of CYP3A4: Simvastatin is metabolized by CYP3A4 but has no CYP3A4 inhibitory activity; therefore it is not expected to affect the plasma concentrations of other drugs metabolized by CYP3A4. Potent inhibitors of CYP3A4 increase the risk of myopathy by reducing the elimination of simvastatin.
Concomitant use of drugs labeled as having a potent inhibitory effect on CYP3A4 (eg, itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, HIV protease inhibitors, boceprevir, telaprevir, nefazodone) is contraindicated.
Other Drug Interactions: Other Fibrates: The risk of myopathy is increased by gemfibrozil and other fibrates (except fenofibrate); these lipid-lowering drugs can cause myopathy when given alone. When simvastatin and fenofibrate are given concomitantly, there is no evidence that the risk of myopathy exceeds the sum of the individual risks of each agent.
Fusidic Acid: The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis may be increased by concomitant administration of fusidic acid.
Calcium Channel Blockers: The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased by concomitant administration of verapamil, diltiazem or amlodipine.
Moderate Inhibitors of CYP3A4: Patients taking other medicines labeled as having a moderate inhibitory effect on CYP3A4 concomitantly with simvastatin, particularly higher simvastatin doses, may have an increased risk of myopathy.
Niacin (Nicotinic Acid ≥1 g/day): Cases of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis have been observed with simvastatin coadministered with lipid-modifying doses (≥1 g/day) of niacin.
Colchicine: There have been reports of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis with the concomitant administration of colchicine and simvastatin in patients with renal insufficiency. Close clinical monitoring of such patients taking this combination is advised.
Ciclosporin: The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased by concomitant administration of ciclosporin particularly with higher doses of simvastatin (see Dosage & Administration and Precautions). Therefore, the dose of simvastatin should not exceed 10 mg daily in patients receiving concomitant medication with ciclosporin. Although the mechanism is not fully understood, ciclosporin has been shown to increase the area under the curve (AUC) of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. The increase in AUC for simvastatin acid is presumably due, in part, to inhibition of CYP3A4.
Danazol: The risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis is increased by concomitant administration of danazol with higher doses of simvastatin (see Dosage & Administration and Precautions).
Gemfibrozil: Gemfibrozil increases the AUC of simvastatin acid by 1.9-fold, possibly due to inhibition of the glucuronidation pathway (see Dosage & Administration and Precautions).
Amiodarone and Verapamil: The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is increased by concomitant administration of amiodarone or verapamil with simvastatin (see Precautions). In an ongoing clinical trial, myopathy has been reported in 6% of patients receiving simvastatin 80 mg and amiodarone.
An analysis of the available clinical trials showed an approximately 1% incidence of myopahty in patients receiving simvastain 40 or 80 mg and verapamil. In a pharmacokinetic study, concomitant administration with verapamil resulted in a 2.3-fold increase in exposure of simvastatin acid, presumably due, in part, to inhibition of CYP3A4. Therefore, the dose of simvastatin should not exceed 20 mg daily in patients receiving concomitant medication with amiodarone or verapamil, unless the clinical benefit is likely to outweigh the increased risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis.
Diltiazem: The risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis is increased by concomitant administration of diltiazem and simvastatin 80 mg (see Precautions). In a pharmacokinetic study, concomitant administration of diltiazem caused a 2.7-fold increase in exposure of simvastatin acid, presumably due, to inhibition of CYP3A4. Therefore, the dose of simvastain should not exceed 40 mg daily in patients receiving concomitant medication with diltiazem, unless the clinical benefit is likely to outweigh the increased risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis.
Effects of Simvastatin on Pharmacokinetics of Other Medicinal Products: Simvastatin does not have an inhibitory effect on cytochrome P450 3A4. Therefore, simvastatin is not expected to affect plasma concentrations of substances metabolised via cytochrome P450 3A4.
Oral Anticoagulants: In 2 clinical studies 1 in normal volunteers and the other in hypercholesterolaemic patients, simvastatin 20-40 mg/day modestly potentiated the effect of coumarin anticoagulants: the prothrombin time, reported as international normalized ration (INR), increased from a baseline of 1.7-1.8 and from 2.6-3.4 in the volunteer and patient studies, respectively. Very rare cases of elevated INR have been reported. In patients taking coumarin anticoagulants, prothrombin time should be determined before starting simvastain and frequently enough during early therapy to ensure that no significant alteration of prothrombin time occurs. Once a stable prothrombin time has been documented, prothrombin times can be monitored at the intervals usually recommended for patients on coumarin anticoagulants. If the dose of simvastatin is changed or discontinued, the same procedure should be repeated. Simvastatin therapy has not been associated with bleeding or with changes in prothrombin time in patients not taking anticoagulants.
Other Interactions: Grapefruit juice contains ≥1 components that inhibit CYP3A4 and can increase the plasma levels of drugs metabolized by CYP3A4. The effect of typical consumption (one 250-mL glass daily) is minimal (13% increase in active plasma HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity as measured by the area under the concentration-time curve) and of no clinical relevance. However, because large quantities significantly increase the plasma levels of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity, grapefruit juice should be avoided during simvastatin therapy.