Abilify Maintena is indicated for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients stabilised with oral aripiprazole.

ABILIFY is indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults and in adolescents aged 15 years and older.

ABILIFY is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder and for the prevention of a new manic episode in adults who experienced predominantly manic episodes and whose manic episodes responded to aripiprazole treatment.

ABILIFY is indicated for the treatment up to 12 weeks of moderate to severe manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder in adolescents aged 13 years and older.

Posology

For patients who have never taken aripiprazole, tolerability with oral aripiprazole must occur prior to initiating treatment with Abilify Maintena.

The recommended starting and maintenance dose of Abilify Maintena is 400 mg.

Titration of the dose of this medicinal product is not required. It should be administered once monthly as a single injection (no sooner than 26 days after the previous injection).

After the first injection, treatment with 10 mg to 20 mg oral aripiprazole should be continued for 14 consecutive days to maintain therapeutic aripiprazole concentrations during initiation of therapy.

If there are adverse reactions with the 400 mg dosage, reduction of the dose to 300 mg once monthly should be considered.

Missed doses

Special populations

Elderly

The safety and efficacy of Abilify Maintena in the treatment of schizophrenia in patients 65 years of age or older has not been established.

Renal impairment

No dosage adjustment is required for patients with renal impairment.

Hepatic impairment

No dosage adjustment is required for patients with mild or moderate hepatic impairment. In patients with severe hepatic impairment, the data available are insufficient to establish recommendations. In these patients dosing should be managed cautiously. Oral formulation should be preferred.

Known CYP2D6 poor metabolisers

In patients who are known to be CYP2D6 poor metabolisers, the starting and maintenance dose should be 300 mg. When used concomitantly with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors the dose should be reduced to 200 mg.

Dose adjustments due to interactions

Dosage adjustments should be made in patients taking concomitant strong CYP3A4 inhibitors or strong CYP2D6 inhibitors for more than 14 days. If the CYP3A4 inhibitor or CYP2D6 inhibitor is withdrawn, the dosage may need to be increased to the previous dose. In case of adverse reactions despite dose adjustments of Abilify Maintena, the necessity of concomitant use of CYP2D6 or CYP3A4 inhibitor should be reassessed.

Concomitant use of CYP3A4 inducers with Abilify Maintena should be avoided for more than 14 days because the blood levels of aripiprazole are decreased and may be below the effective levels.

Dose adjustments of Abilify Maintena in patients who are taking concomitant strong CYP2D6 inhibitors, strong CYP3A4 inhibitors, and/or CYP3A4 inducers for more than 14 days

* 200 mg and 160 mg can be achieved via adjustment of the injection volume only by using Abilify Maintena powder and solvent for prolonged-release suspension for injection.

Paediatric population

The safety and efficacy of Abilify Maintena in children and adolescents aged 0-17 years have not been established. No data are available.

Method of administration

Abilify Maintena is only intended for intramuscular use and should not be administered intravenously or subcutaneously. It should only be administered by a healthcare professional.

Abilify Maintena powder and solvent for prolonged-release suspension for injection

The suspension should be injected immediately after reconstitution but can be stored below 25 °C for up to 4 hours in the vial.

Abilify Maintena powder and solvent for prolonged-release suspension for injection in pre-filled syringe

The suspension should be injected immediately after reconstitution but can be stored below 25 °C for up to 2 hours in the syringe.

The suspension should be injected slowly as a single injection (doses must not be divided) into the gluteal or deltoid muscle. Care should be taken to avoid inadvertent injection into a blood vessel.

Gluteal muscle administration

The recommended needle for gluteal administration is a 38 mm (1.5 inch), 22 gauge hypodermic safety needle; for obese patients (Body mass index > 28 kg/m²), a 51 mm (2 inch), 21 gauge hypodermic safety needle should be used. Gluteal injections should be alternated between the two gluteal muscles.

Deltoid muscle administration

The recommended needle for deltoid administration is a 25 mm (1 inch), 23 gauge hypodermic safety needle; for obese patients, a 38 mm (1.5 inch), 22 gauge hypodermic safety needle should be used.

Deltoid injections should be alternated between the two deltoid muscles.

The powder and solvent vials and the pre-filled syringe are for single-use only.

Full instructions for use and handling of Abilify Maintena are provided in the package leaflet (information intended for healthcare professionals).

Posology

Adults

Schizophrenia: the recommended starting dose for ABILIFY is 10 or 15 mg/day with a maintenance dose of 15 mg/day administered on a once-a-day schedule without regard to meals. ABILIFY is effective in a dose range of 10 to 30 mg/day. Enhanced efficacy at doses higher than a daily dose of 15 mg has not been demonstrated although individual patients may benefit from a higher dose. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 30 mg.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder: the recommended starting dose for ABILIFY is 15 mg administered on a once-a-day schedule without regard to meals as monotherapy or combination therapy. Some patients may benefit from a higher dose. The maximum daily dose should not exceed 30 mg.

Recurrence prevention of manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder: for preventing recurrence of manic episodes in patients, who have been receiving aripiprazole as monotherapy or combination therapy, continue therapy at the same dose. Adjustments of daily dosage, including dose reduction should be considered on the basis of clinical status.

Paediatric population

Schizophrenia in adolescents aged 15 years and older: the recommended dose for ABILIFY is 10 mg/day administered on a once-a-day schedule without regard to meals. Treatment should be initiated at 2 mg (using ABILIFY oral solution 1 mg/ml) for 2 days, titrated to 5 mg for 2 additional days to reach the recommended daily dose of 10 mg. When appropriate, subsequent dose increases should be administered in 5 mg increments without exceeding the maximum daily dose of 30 mg. ABILIFY is effective in a dose range of 10 to 30 mg/day. Enhanced efficacy at doses higher than a daily dose of 10 mg has not been demonstrated although individual patients may benefit from a higher dose.

ABILIFY is not recommended for use in patients with schizophrenia below 15 years of age due to insufficient data on safety and efficacy.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder in adolescents aged 13 years and older: the recommended dose for ABILIFY is 10 mg/day administered on a once-a-day schedule without regard to meals. Treatment should be initiated at 2 mg (using ABILIFY oral solution 1 mg/ml) for 2 days, titrated to 5 mg for 2 additional days to reach the recommended daily dose of 10 mg. The treatment duration should be the minimum necessary for symptom control and must not exceed 12 weeks. Enhanced efficacy at doses higher than a daily dose of 10 mg has not been demonstrated, and a daily dose of 30 mg is associated with a substantially higher incidence of significant adverse reactions including EPS related events, somnolence, fatigue and weight gain. Doses higher than 10 mg/day should therefore only be used in exceptional cases and with close clinical monitoring. Younger patients are at increased risk of experiencing adverse events associated with aripiprazole. Therefore, ABILIFY is not recommended for use in patients below 13 years of age.

Irritability associated with autistic disorder: the safety and efficacy of ABILIFY in children and adolescents aged below 18 years have not yet been established.

Tics associated with Tourette's disorder: the safety and efficacy of ABILIFY in children and adolescents 6 to 18 years of age have not yet been established.

Special populations

Hepatic impairment

No dosage adjustment is required for patients with mild to moderate hepatic impairment. In patients with severe hepatic impairment, the data available are insufficient to establish recommendations. In these patients dosing should be managed cautiously. However, the maximum daily dose of 30 mg should be used with caution in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

Renal impairment

No dosage adjustment is required in patients with renal impairment.

Elderly

The safety and efficacy of ABILIFY in the treatment of schizophrenia or manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder in patients aged 65 years and older has not been established. Owing to the greater sensitivity of this population, a lower starting dose should be considered when clinical factors warrant.

Gender

No dosage adjustment is required for female patients as compared to male patients.

Smoking status

According to the metabolic pathway of aripiprazole no dosage adjustment is required for smokers.

Dose adjustments due to interactions

When concomitant administration of strong CYP3A4 or CYP2D6 inhibitors with aripiprazole occurs, the aripiprazole dose should be reduced. When the CYP3A4 or CYP2D6 inhibitor is withdrawn from the combination therapy, aripiprazole dose should then be increased.

When concomitant administration of strong CYP3A4 inducers with aripiprazole occurs, the aripiprazole dose should be increased. When the CYP3A4 inducer is withdrawn from the combination therapy, the aripiprazole dose should then be reduced to the recommended dose.

Method of administration

ABILIFY is for oral use.

The orodispersible tablet should be placed in the mouth on the tongue, where it will rapidly disperse in saliva. It can be taken with or without liquid. Removal of the intact orodispersible tablet from the mouth is difficult. Since the orodispersible tablet is fragile, it should be taken immediately on opening the blister. Alternatively, disperse the tablet in water and drink the resulting suspension.

Orodispersible tablets or oral solution may be used as an alternative to ABILIFY tablets for patients who have difficulty swallowing ABILIFY tablets.

During antipsychotic treatment, improvement in the patient's clinical condition may take several days to some weeks. Patients should be closely monitored throughout this period.

Use in patients who are in an acutely agitated or severely psychotic state

Abilify Maintena should not be used to manage acutely agitated or severely psychotic states when immediate symptom control is warranted.

Suicidality

The occurrence of suicidal behaviour is inherent in psychotic illnesses, and in some cases has been reported early after initiation or switch of antipsychotic treatment, including treatment with aripiprazole. Close supervision of high risk patients should accompany antipsychotic treatment.

Cardiovascular disorders

Aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients with known cardiovascular disease (history of myocardial infarction or ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, or conduction abnormalities), cerebrovascular disease, conditions which would predispose patients to hypotension (dehydration, hypovolemia, and treatment with antihypertensive medicinal products) or hypertension, including accelerated or malignant. Cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been reported with antipsychotic medicinal products. Since patients treated with antipsychotics often present with acquired risk factors for VTE, all possible risk factors for VTE should be identified before and during treatment with aripiprazole and preventive measures undertaken.

QT prolongation

In clinical trials of treatment with oral aripiprazole, the incidence of QT prolongation was comparable to placebo. Aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients with a family history of QT prolongation.

Tardive dyskinesia

In clinical trials of one year or less duration, there were uncommon reports of treatment emergent dyskinesia during treatment with aripiprazole. If signs and symptoms of tardive dyskinesia appear in a patient on aripiprazole, dose reduction or discontinuation should be considered. These symptoms can temporally deteriorate or can even arise after discontinuation of treatment.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)

NMS is a potentially fatal symptom complex associated with antipsychotics. In clinical trials, rare cases of NMS were reported during treatment with aripiprazole. Clinical manifestations of NMS are hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status and evidence of autonomic instability (irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis and cardiac dysrhythmia). Additional signs may include elevated creatine phosphokinase, myoglobinuria (rhabdomyolysis), and acute renal failure. However, elevated creatine phosphokinase and rhabdomyolysis, not necessarily in association with NMS, have also been reported. If a patient develops signs and symptoms indicative of NMS, or presents with unexplained high fever without additional clinical manifestations of NMS, all antipsychotics, including aripiprazole, must be discontinued.

Seizure

In clinical trials, uncommon cases of seizure were reported during treatment with aripiprazole. Therefore, aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients who have a history of seizure disorder or have conditions associated with seizures.

Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis

Increased mortality

In three placebo-controlled trials of oral aripiprazole in elderly patients with psychosis associated with Alzheimer's disease (n = 938; mean age: 82.4 years; range: 56-99 years), patients treated with aripiprazole were at an increased risk of death compared to placebo. The rate of death in oral aripiprazole-treated patients was 3.5 % compared to 1.7 % in placebo. Although the causes of deaths were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g. heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g. pneumonia) in nature.

Cerebrovascular adverse reactions

In the same trials with oral aripiprazole, cerebrovascular adverse reactions (e.g. stroke, transient ischaemic attack), including fatalities, were reported in patients (mean age: 84 years; range: 78-88 years). Overall, 1.3 % of oral aripiprazole-treated patients reported cerebrovascular adverse reactions compared with 0.6 % of placebo-treated patients in these trials. This difference was not statistically significant. However, in one of these trials, a fixed-dose trial, there was a significant dose- response relationship for cerebrovascular adverse reactions in patients treated with aripiprazole.

Aripiprazole is not indicated for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.

Hyperglycaemia and diabetes mellitus

Hyperglycaemia, in some cases extreme and associated with ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar coma or death, has been reported in patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, including aripiprazole. Risk factors that may predispose patients to severe complications include obesity and family history of diabetes. In clinical trials with aripiprazole, there were no significant differences in the incidence rates of hyperglycaemia-related adverse reactions (including diabetes) or in abnormal glycaemia laboratory values compared to placebo. Precise risk estimates for hyperglycaemia-related adverse reactions in patients treated with aripiprazole and with other atypical antipsychotics are not available to allow direct comparisons. Patients treated with any antipsychotics, including aripiprazole, should be observed for signs and symptoms of hyperglycaemia (such as polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia and weakness) and patients with diabetes mellitus or with risk factors for diabetes mellitus should be monitored regularly for worsening of glucose control.

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity reactions, characterised by allergic symptoms, may occur with aripiprazole.

Weight gain

Weight gain is commonly seen in schizophrenic patients due to use of antipsychotics known to cause weight gain, co-morbidities, poorly managed life-style and might lead to severe complications. Weight gain has been reported post-marketing among patients prescribed oral aripiprazole. When seen, it is usually in those with significant risk factors such as history of diabetes, thyroid disorder or pituitary adenoma. In clinical trials aripiprazole has not been shown to induce clinically relevant weight gain.

Dysphagia

Oesophageal dysmotility and aspiration have been associated with the use of antipsychotics, including aripiprazole. Aripiprazole should be used cautiously in patients at risk for aspiration pneumonia.

Pathological gambling and other impulse control disorders

Patients can experience increased urges, particularly for gambling, and the inability to control these urges while taking aripiprazole. Other urges, reported, include: increased sexual urges, compulsive shopping, binge or compulsive eating, and other impulsive and compulsive behaviours. It is important for prescribers to ask patients or their caregivers specifically about the development of new or increased gambling urges, sexual urges, compulsive shopping, binge or compulsive eating, or other urges while being treated with aripiprazole. It should be noted that impulse-control symptoms can be associated with the underlying disorder; however, in some cases, urges were reported to have stopped when the dose was reduced or the medication was discontinued. Impulse control disorders may result in harm to the patient and others if not recognised. Consider dose reduction or stopping the medication if a patient develops such urges while taking aripiprazole.

During antipsychotic treatment, improvement in the patient's clinical condition may take several days to some weeks. Patients should be closely monitored throughout this period.

Suicidality

The occurrence of suicidal behaviour is inherent in psychotic illnesses and mood disorders and in some cases has been reported early after initiation or switch of antipsychotic treatment, including treatment with aripiprazole. Close supervision of high-risk patients should accompany antipsychotic treatment.

Cardiovascular disorders

Aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients with known cardiovascular disease (history of myocardial infarction or ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, or conduction abnormalities), cerebrovascular disease, conditions which would predispose patients to hypotension (dehydration, hypovolemia, and treatment with antihypertensive medicinal products) or hypertension, including accelerated or malignant. Cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been reported with antipsychotic medicinal products. Since patients treated with antipsychotics often present with acquired risk factors for VTE, all possible risk factors for VTE should be identified before and during treatment with aripiprazole and preventive measures undertaken.

QT prolongation

In clinical trials of aripiprazole, the incidence of QT prolongation was comparable to placebo. Aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients with a family history of QT prolongation.

Tardive dyskinesia

In clinical trials of one year or less duration, there were uncommon reports of treatment emergent dyskinesia during treatment with aripiprazole. If signs and symptoms of tardive dyskinesia appear in a patient on aripiprazole, dose reduction or discontinuation should be considered. These symptoms can temporally deteriorate or can even arise after discontinuation of treatment.

Other extrapyramidal symptoms

In paediatric clinical trials of aripiprazole akathisia and Parkinsonism were observed. If signs and symptoms of other EPS appear in a patient taking aripiprazole, dose reduction and close clinical monitoring should be considered.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)

NMS is a potentially fatal symptom complex associated with antipsychotics. In clinical trials, rare cases of NMS were reported during treatment with aripiprazole. Clinical manifestations of NMS are hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status and evidence of autonomic instability (irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis and cardiac dysrhythmia). Additional signs may include elevated creatine phosphokinase, myoglobinuria (rhabdomyolysis), and acute renal failure. However, elevated creatine phosphokinase and rhabdomyolysis, not necessarily in association with NMS, have also been reported. If a patient develops signs and symptoms indicative of NMS, or presents with unexplained high fever without additional clinical manifestations of NMS, all antipsychotics, including aripiprazole, must be discontinued.

Seizure

In clinical trials, uncommon cases of seizure were reported during treatment with aripiprazole. Therefore, aripiprazole should be used with caution in patients who have a history of seizure disorder or have conditions associated with seizures.

Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis

Increased mortality

In three placebo-controlled trials (n = 938; mean age: 82.4 years; range: 56-99 years) of aripiprazole in elderly patients with psychosis associated with Alzheimer's disease, patients treated with aripiprazole were at increased risk of death compared to placebo. The rate of death in aripiprazole-treated patients was 3.5 % compared to 1.7 % in the placebo group. Although the causes of deaths were varied, most of the deaths appeared to be either cardiovascular (e.g. heart failure, sudden death) or infectious (e.g. pneumonia) in nature.

Cerebrovascular adverse reactions

In the same trials, cerebrovascular adverse reactions (e.g. stroke, transient ischaemic attack), including fatalities, were reported in patients (mean age: 84 years; range: 78-88 years). Overall, 1.3 % of aripiprazole-treated patients reported cerebrovascular adverse reactions compared with 0.6 % of placebo-treated patients in these trials. This difference was not statistically significant. However, in one of these trials, a fixed-dose trial, there was a significant dose response relationship for cerebrovascular adverse reactions in patients treated with aripiprazole.

Aripiprazole is not indicated for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis.

Hyperglycaemia and diabetes mellitus

Hyperglycaemia, in some cases extreme and associated with ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar coma or death, has been reported in patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, including aripiprazole. Risk factors that may predispose patients to severe complications include obesity and family history of diabetes. In clinical trials with aripiprazole, there were no significant differences in the incidence rates of hyperglycaemia-related adverse reactions (including diabetes) or in abnormal glycaemia laboratory values compared to placebo. Precise risk estimates for hyperglycaemia-related adverse reactions in patients treated with aripiprazole and with other atypical antipsychotics are not available to allow direct comparisons. Patients treated with any antipsychotics, including aripiprazole, should be observed for signs and symptoms of hyperglycaemia (such as polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia and weakness) and patients with diabetes mellitus or with risk factors for diabetes mellitus should be monitored regularly for worsening of glucose control.

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity reactions, characterised by allergic symptoms, may occur with aripiprazole.

Weight gain

Weight gain is commonly seen in schizophrenic and bipolar mania patients due to co-morbidities, use of antipsychotics known to cause weight gain, poorly managed life-style, and might lead to severe complications. Weight gain has been reported post-marketing among patients prescribed aripiprazole. When seen, it is usually in those with significant risk factors such as history of diabetes, thyroid disorder or pituitary adenoma. In clinical trials aripiprazole has not been shown to induce clinically relevant weight gain in adults. In clinical trials of adolescent patients with bipolar mania, aripiprazole has been shown to be associated with weight gain after 4 weeks of treatment. Weight gain should be monitored in adolescent patients with bipolar mania. If weight gain is clinically significant, dose reduction should be considered.

Dysphagia

Oesophageal dysmotility and aspiration have been associated with the use of antipsychotics, including aripiprazole. Aripiprazole should be used cautiously in patients at risk for aspiration pneumonia.

Pathological gambling and other impulse control disorders

Patients can experience increased urges, particularly for gambling, and the inability to control these urges while taking aripiprazole. Other urges, reported, include: increased sexual urges, compulsive shopping, binge or compulsive eating, and other impulsive and compulsive behaviours. It is important for prescribers to ask patients or their caregivers specifically about the development of new or increased gambling urges, sexual urges, compulsive shopping, binge or compulsive eating, or other urges while being treated with aripiprazole. It should be noted that impulse-control symptoms can be associated with the underlying disorder; however, in some cases, urges were reported to have stopped when the dose was reduced or the medication was discontinued. Impulse control disorders may result in harm to the patient and others if not recognised. Consider dose reduction or stopping the medication if a patient develops such urges while taking aripiprazole.

Phenylketonurics

ABILIFY orodispersible tablets contain aspartame, a source of phenylalanine which may be harmful for people with phenylketonuria.

Lactose

ABILIFY orodispersible tablets contain lactose. Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicinal product.

Patients with ADHD comorbidity

Despite the high comorbidity frequency of Bipolar I Disorder and ADHD, very limited safety data are available on concomitant use of aripiprazole and stimulants; therefore, extreme caution should be taken when these medicinal products are co-administered.

Summary of the safety profile

The most frequently observed adverse drug reactions (ADRs) reported in > 5 % of patients in two double-blind, long-term trials of Abilify Maintena were weight increased (9.0 %), akathisia (7.9 %), insomnia (5.8 %), and injection site pain (5.1 %).

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

The incidences of the ADRs associated with aripiprazole therapy are tabulated below. The table is based on adverse events reported during clinical trials and/or post-marketing use.

All ADRs are listed by system organ class and frequency; 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), very rare (< 1/10,000) and not known (cannot be estimated from the available data). Within each frequency grouping, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.

The frequency of adverse reactions reported during post-marketing use cannot be determined as they are derived from spontaneous reports. Consequently, the frequency of these adverse events is qualified as "not known".

Description of selected adverse reactions

Injection site reactions

During the double-blind, controlled phases of the two long-term trials, injection site reactions were observed; those seen were generally mild to moderate in severity, and resolved over time. Injection site pain (incidence 5.1 %), had a median onset on day 2 after the injection and a median duration of 4 days.

In an open label study comparing bioavailability of Abilify Maintena administered in the deltoid or gluteal muscle, injection site related reactions were slightly more frequent in the deltoid muscle. The majority were mild and improved on subsequent injections. When compared to studies where Abilify Maintena was injected in the gluteal muscle, repeated occurrence of injection site pain was more frequent in the deltoid muscle.

Leukopenia

Neutropenia has been reported in the clinical program with Abilify Maintena and typically started around day 16 after first injection, and lasted a median of 18 days.

Extrapyramidal Symptoms (EPS)

In trials in stable patients with schizophrenia, Abilify Maintena was associated with a higher frequency of EPS symptoms (18.4 %) than oral aripiprazole treatment (11.7 %). Akathisia was the most frequently observed symptom (8.2 %) and typically started around day 10 after first injection, and lasted a median of 56 days. Subjects with akathisia typically received anti-cholinergic medicines as treatment, primarily benzatropine mesilate and trihexyphenidyl. Less often substances such as propranolol and benzodiazepines (clonazepam and diazepam) were administered to control akathisia. Parkinsonism events followed in frequency of 6.9 % for Abilify Maintena, 4.15 % for oral aripiprazole 10-30 mg tablets and 3.0 % for placebo, respectively.

Dystonia

Class effect: Symptoms of dystonia, prolonged abnormal contractions of muscle groups, may occur in susceptible individuals during the first few days of treatment. Dystonic symptoms include spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to tightness of the throat, swallowing difficulty, difficulty breathing, and/or protrusion of the tongue. While these symptoms can occur at low doses, they occur more frequently and with greater severity with high potency and at higher doses of first generation antipsychotic medicinal products. An elevated risk of acute dystonia is observed in males and younger age groups.

Weight

During the Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase of the 38-week long-term trial, the incidence of weight gain of > 7 % from baseline to last visit was 9.5 % for Abilify Maintena and 11.7 % for the oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg. The incidence of weight loss of > 7 % from baseline to last visit was 10.2 % for Abilify Maintena and 4.5 % for oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg. During the Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase of the 52-week long-term trial, the incidence of weight gain of > 7 % from baseline to last visit was 6.4 % for Abilify Maintena and 5.2 % for placebo. The incidence of weight loss of > 7 % from baseline to last visit was 6.4 % for Abilify Maintena and 6.7 % for placebo. During double-blind treatment, mean change in body weight from baseline to last visit was -0.2 kg for Abilify Maintena and -0.4 kg for placebo (p = 0.812).

Prolactin

Pathological gambling and other impulse control disorders

Pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping and binge or compulsive eating can occur in patients treated with aripiprazole.

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 via Yellow Card Scheme, Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

Summary of the safety profile

The most commonly reported adverse reactions in placebo-controlled trials were akathisia and nausea each occurring in more than 3 % of patients treated with oral aripiprazole.

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

The incidences of the Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) associated with aripiprazole therapy are tabulated below. The table is based on adverse events reported during clinical trials and/or post-marketing use.

All ADRs are listed by system organ class and frequency; 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), very rare (< 1/10,000) and not known (cannot be estimated from the available data). Within each frequency grouping, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.

The frequency of adverse reactions reported during post-marketing use cannot be determined as they are derived from spontaneous reports. Consequently, the frequency of these adverse events is qualified as "not known".

Description of selected adverse reactions

Adults

Extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS)

Schizophrenia: in a long term 52-week controlled trial, aripiprazole-treated patients had an overall-lower incidence (25.8 %) of EPS including Parkinsonism, akathisia, dystonia and dyskinesia compared with those treated with haloperidol (57.3 %). In a long term 26-week placebo-controlled trial, the incidence of EPS was 19 % for aripiprazole-treated patients and 13.1 % for placebo-treated patients. In another long-term 26-week controlled trial, the incidence of EPS was 14.8 % for aripiprazole-treated patients and 15.1 % for olanzapine-treated patients.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder: in a 12-week controlled trial, the incidence of EPS was 23.5 % for aripiprazole-treated patients and 53.3 % for haloperidol-treated patients. In another 12-week trial, the incidence of EPS was 26.6 % for patients treated with aripiprazole and 17.6 % for those treated with lithium. In the long term 26-week maintenance phase of a placebo-controlled trial, the incidence of EPS was 18.2 % for aripiprazole-treated patients and 15.7 % for placebo-treated patients.

Akathisia

In placebo-controlled trials, the incidence of akathisia in bipolar patients was 12.1 % with aripiprazole and 3.2 % with placebo. In schizophrenia patients the incidence of akathisia was 6.2 % with aripiprazole and 3.0 % with placebo.

Dystonia

Class effect: Symptoms of dystonia, prolonged abnormal contractions of muscle groups, may occur in susceptible individuals during the first few days of treatment. Dystonic symptoms include: spasm of the neck muscles, sometimes progressing to tightness of the throat, swallowing difficulty, difficulty breathing, and/or protrusion of the tongue. While these symptoms can occur at low doses, they occur more frequently and with greater severity with high potency and at higher doses of first generation antipsychotic medicinal products. An elevated risk of acute dystonia is observed in males and younger age groups.

Prolactin

Laboratory parameters

Comparisons between aripiprazole and placebo in the proportions of patients experiencing potentially clinically significant changes in routine laboratory and lipid parameters revealed no medically important differences. Elevations of CPK (Creatine Phosphokinase), generally transient and asymptomatic, were observed in 3.5 % of aripiprazole treated patients as compared to 2.0 % of patients who received placebo.

Paediatric population

Schizophrenia in adolescents aged 15 years and older

In a short-term placebo-controlled clinical trial involving 302 adolescents (13-17 years) with schizophrenia, the frequency and type of adverse reactions were similar to those in adults except for the following reactions that were reported more frequently in adolescents receiving aripiprazole than in adults receiving aripiprazole (and more frequently than placebo):

Somnolence/sedation and extrapyramidal disorder were reported very commonly (> 1/10), and dry mouth, increased appetite, and orthostatic hypotension were reported commonly (> 1/100, < 1/10). The safety profile in a 26-week open-label extension trial was similar to that observed in the short-term, placebo-controlled trial.

The safety profile of a long-term, double-blind placebo controlled trial was also similar except for the following reactions that were reported more frequently than paediatric patients taking placebo: weight decreased, blood insulin increased, arrhythmia, and leukopenia were reported commonly (> 1/100, < 1/10).

In the pooled adolescent schizophrenia population (13-17 years) with exposure up to 2 years, incidence of low serum prolactin levels in females (<3 ng/ml) and males (< 2 ng/ml) was 29.5 % and 48.3 %, respectively. In the adolescent (13-17 years) schizophrenia population with aripiprazole exposure of 5 to 30 mg up to 72 months, incidence of low serum prolactin levels in females (<3 ng/ml) and males (< 2 ng/ml) was 25.6 % and 45.0 %, respectively.

In two long term trials with adolescent (13-17 years) schizophrenia and bipolar patients treated with aripiprazole, incidence of low serum prolactin levels in females (< 3 ng/ml) and males (< 2 ng/ml) was 37.0 % and 59.4 %, respectively.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder in adolescents aged 13 years and older

The frequency and type of adverse reactions in adolescents with Bipolar I Disorder were similar to those in adults except for the following reactions: very commonly (> 1/10) somnolence (23.0 %), extrapyramidal disorder (18.4 %), akathisia (16.0 %), and fatigue (11.8 %); and commonly (> 1/100, < 1/10) abdominal pain upper, heart rate increased, weight increased, increased appetite, muscle twitching, and dyskinesia.

The following adverse reactions had a possible dose response relationship; extrapyramidal disorder (incidences were 10 mg, 9.1 %, 30 mg, 28.8 %, placebo, 1.7 %,); and akathisia (incidences were 10 mg, 12.1 %, 30 mg, 20.3 %, placebo, 1.7 %).

Mean changes in body weight in adolescents with Bipolar I Disorder at 12 and 30 weeks for aripiprazole were 2.4 kg and 5.8 kg, and for placebo 0.2 kg and 2.3 kg, respectively.

In the paediatric population somnolence and fatigue were observed more frequently in patients with bipolar disorder compared to patients with schizophrenia.

In the paediatric bipolar population (10-17 years) with exposure up to 30 weeks, incidence of low serum prolactin levels in females (< 3 ng/ml) and males (< 2 ng/ml) was 28.0 % and 53.3 %, respectively.

Pathological gambling and other impulse control disorders

Pathological gambling, hypersexuality, compulsive shopping and binge or compulsive eating can occur in patients treated with aripiprazole.

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 via Yellow Card Scheme, Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard.

No cases of overdose associated with adverse reactions were reported in clinical studies with Abilify Maintena. Care must be taken to avoid inadvertent injection of this medicinal product into a blood vessel. Following any confirmed or suspected accidental overdose/inadvertent intravenous administration, close observation of the patient is needed and if any potentially medically serious sign or symptom develops, monitoring, which should include continuous electrocardiographic monitoring, is required. The medical supervision and monitoring should continue until the patient recovers.

A simulation of dose dumping showed that the predicted median aripiprazole concentration reaches a peak of 4500 ng/ml or approximately 9 times the upper therapeutic range. In case of dose dumping, aripiprazole concentrations are predicted to descend rapidly to the upper limit of the therapeutic window after approximately 3 days. By the 7th day, the median aripiprazole concentrations further decline to concentrations following an IM depot dose with no dose dumping. While overdose is less likely with parenteral than oral medicinal products, reference information for oral aripiprazole overdose is presented below.

Signs and symptoms

In clinical trials and post-marketing experience, accidental or intentional acute overdose of aripiprazole alone was identified in adult patients with reported estimated doses up to 1,260 mg (41 times highest recommended daily aripiprazole dose) with no fatalities. The potentially medically important signs and symptoms observed included lethargy, increased blood pressure, somnolence, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In addition, reports of accidental overdose with aripiprazole alone (up to 195 mg) in children have been received with no fatalities. The potentially medically serious signs and symptoms reported included somnolence, transient loss of consciousness and extrapyramidal symptoms.

Management of overdose

Management of overdose should concentrate on supportive therapy, maintaining an adequate airway, oxygenation and ventilation, and management of symptoms. The possibility of multiple medicinal product involvement should be considered. Therefore, cardiovascular monitoring should be started immediately and should include continuous electrocardiographic monitoring to detect possible arrhythmias. Following any confirmed or suspected overdose with aripiprazole, close medical supervision and monitoring should continue until the patient recovers.

Haemodialysis

Although there is no information on the effect of haemodialysis in treating an overdose with aripiprazole, haemodialysis is unlikely to be useful in overdose management since aripiprazole is highly bound to plasma proteins.

Signs and symptoms

In clinical trials and post-marketing experience, accidental or intentional acute overdose of aripiprazole alone was identified in adult patients with reported estimated doses up to 1,260 mg with no fatalities. The potentially medically important signs and symptoms observed included lethargy, increased blood pressure, somnolence, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In addition, reports of accidental overdose with aripiprazole alone (up to 195 mg) in children have been received with no fatalities. The potentially medically serious signs and symptoms reported included somnolence, transient loss of consciousness and extrapyramidal symptoms.

Management of overdose

Management of overdose should concentrate on supportive therapy, maintaining an adequate airway, oxygenation and ventilation, and management of symptoms. The possibility of multiple medicinal product involvement should be considered. Therefore cardiovascular monitoring should be started immediately and should include continuous electrocardiographic monitoring to detect possible arrhythmias. Following any confirmed or suspected overdose with aripiprazole, close medical supervision and monitoring should continue until the patient recovers.

Activated charcoal (50 g), administered one hour after aripiprazole, decreased aripiprazole C_max by about 41 % and AUC by about 51 %, suggesting that charcoal may be effective in the treatment of overdose.

Haemodialysis

Although there is no information on the effect of haemodialysis in treating an overdose with aripiprazole, haemodialysis is unlikely to be useful in overdose management since aripiprazole is highly bound to plasma proteins.

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Psycholeptics, other antipsychotics, ATC code: N05AX12

Mechanism of action

It has been proposed that aripiprazole's efficacy in schizophrenia is mediated through a combination of partial agonism at dopamine D₂ and serotonin 5-HT_1A receptors and antagonism at serotonin 5-HT_2A receptors. Aripiprazole exhibited antagonist properties in animal models of dopaminergic hyperactivity and agonist properties of dopaminergic hypoactivity. Aripiprazole exhibits high binding affinity in vitro for dopamine D₂ and D₃, serotonin 5-HT_1A and 5-HT_2A receptors and has moderate affinity for dopamine D₄, serotonin 5-HT_2C and 5-HT₇, alpha-1 adrenergic, and histamine H₁ receptors. Aripiprazole also exhibited moderate binding affinity for the serotonin reuptake site and no appreciable affinity for cholinergic muscarinic receptors. Interaction with receptors other than dopamine and serotonin subtypes may explain some of the other clinical effects of aripiprazole.

Aripiprazole oral doses ranging from 0.5 to 30 mg administered once a day to healthy subjects for 2 weeks produced a dose-dependent reduction in the binding of ¹¹C-raclopride, a D₂/D₃ receptor ligand, to the caudate and putamen detected by positron emission tomography.

Clinical efficacy and safety

Maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults

The efficacy of Abilify Maintena in the maintenance treatment of patients with schizophrenia was established in two randomised, double-blind, long-term trials.

The pivotal trial was a 38 week, randomised, double-blind, active-controlled trial designed to establish the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of this medicinal product administered as monthly injections compared to once daily oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg as maintenance treatment in adult patients with schizophrenia. This trial consisted of a screening phase and 3 treatment phases: Conversion Phase, Oral Stabilisation Phase, and Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase.

Six-hundred and sixty two patients eligible for the 38-week Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase were randomly assigned in a 2:2:1 ratio to double-blind treatment to one of 3 treatment groups: 1) Abilify Maintena 2) the stabilisation dose of oral aripiprazole 10-30 mg, or 3) aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectable 50 mg/25 mg. The aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectable 50 mg/25 mg dose was included as a low dose aripiprazole to test assay sensitivity for the non-inferiority design.

The results of analysis of the primary efficacy endpoint, the estimated proportion of patients experiencing impending relapse by end of Week 26 of the Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase, showed that Abilify Maintena 400 mg/300 mg is non-inferior to aripiprazole oral tablets 10-30 mg.

The estimated relapse rate by end of Week 26 was 7.12 % for Abilify Maintena, and 7.76 % for oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg, a difference of -0.64 %.

The 95 % CI (-5.26, 3.99) for the difference in the estimated proportion of patients experiencing impending relapse by end of Week 26 excluded the predefined non-inferiority margin, 11.5 %. Therefore, Abilify Maintena is non-inferior to aripiprazole oral tablets 10-30 mg.

The estimated proportion of patients experiencing impending relapse by end of Week 26 for Abilify Maintena was 7.12 %, which was statistically significantly lower than in aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectable 50 mg/25 mg (21.80 %; p = 0.0006). Thus, superiority of Abilify Maintena over the aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectable 50 mg/25 mg was established and the validity of the trial design was confirmed.

The Kaplan-Meier curves of the time from randomisation to impending relapse during the 38-week, Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase for Abilify Maintena, oral aripiprazole 10-30 mg, and aripiprazole Long-Acting Injectable 50 mg/25 mg are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Kaplan-Meier Product Limit Plot for Time to Exacerbation of Psychotic Symptoms/Impending Relapse

NOTE: ARIP IMD 400/300 mg = Abilify Maintena;ARIP 10-30 mg = oral aripiprazole; ARIP IMD 50/25 mg = Long-acting Injectable

Further, the non-inferiority of Abilify Maintena compared to oral aripiprazole 10-30 mg is supported by the results of the analysis of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score (PANSS).

Table 1 PANSS Total Score - Change From Baseline to Week 38-LOCF:

Randomised Efficacy Sample ^{a, b}

a: Negative change in score indicates improvement.

b: Only patients having both baseline and at least one post baseline were included. P-values were derived from comparison for change from baseline within analysis of covariance model with treatment as term and baseline as covariate.

The second trial was a 52-week, randomised, withdrawal, double-blind, trial conducted in US adult patients with a current diagnosis of schizophrenia. This trial consisted of a screening phase and 4 treatment phases: Conversion, Oral Stabilisation, Abilify Maintena Stabilisation, and Double-blind Placebo-controlled. Patients fulfilling the oral stabilisation requirement in the Oral Stabilisation Phase were assigned to receive, in a single-blind fashion, Abilify Maintena and began an Abilify Maintena Stabilisation Phase for a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 36 weeks. Patients eligible for the Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Phase were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio to double-blind treatment with Abilify Maintena or placebo, respectively.

The final efficacy analysis included 403 randomised patients and 80 exacerbations of psychotic symptoms/impending relapse events. In the placebo group 39.6 % of the patients had progressed to impending relapse, whilst in the Abilify Maintena group impending relapse occurred in 10 % of the patients; thus patients in the placebo group had a 5.03-fold greater risk of experiencing impending relapse.

Prolactin

In the Double-blind, Active-controlled Phase of the 38-week trial, from baseline to last visit there was a mean decrease in prolactin levels in Abilify Maintena (−0.33 ng/ml) compared with a mean increase in oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg (0.79 ng/ml; p < 0.01). The incidence of Abilify Maintena patients with prolactin levels > 1 time the upper limit of normal range (ULN) at any assessment was 5.4 % compared with 3.5 % of the patients on oral aripiprazole tablets 10-30 mg.

Male patients generally had a higher incidence than female patients in each treatment group.

In the Double-blind Placebo-controlled Phase of the 52-week trial, from baseline to last visit there was a mean decrease in prolactin levels in Abilify Maintena (−0.38 ng/ml) compared with a mean increase in placebo (1.67 ng/ml). The incidences of Abilify Maintena patients with prolactin levels > 1 time the upper limit of normal range (ULN) was 1.9 % compared to 7.1 % for placebo patients.

Acute treatment of schizophrenia in adults

The efficacy of Abilify Maintena in acutely relapsed adult patients with schizophrenia was established in a short-term (12-week), randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (n = 339).

The primary endpoint (change in PANSS total score from baseline to week 10) showed superiority of Abilify Maintena (n = 167) over placebo (n = 172).

Similar to the PANSS Total Score, both the PANSS positive and negative subscale scores also showed an improvement (decrease) from baseline over time.

Table 2 PANSS Total Score - Change From Baseline to week 10: Randomised Efficacy Sample

^a Data were analysed using a mixed model repeated measures (MMRM) approach. The analysis included only subjects who were randomly assigned to treatment, given at least one injection, had baseline and at least one post-baseline efficacy assessment.

^b Difference (Abilify Maintena minus placebo) in least squares mean change from baseline.

Abilify Maintena also showed statistically significant improvement in symptoms represented by CGIS score change from baseline to week 10.

Personal and social functioning were evaluated using the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale. The PSP is a validated clinician-rated scale that measures personal and social functioning in four domains: socially useful activities (e.g. work and study), personal and social relationships, self-care, and disturbing and aggressive behaviours. There was a statistically significant treatment difference in favour of Abilify Maintena 400 mg/300 mg compared to placebo at week 10 (+7.1, p < 0.0001, 95 % CI: 4.1, 10.1 using an ANCOVA model (LOCF)).

The safety profile was consistent with that known to Abilify Maintena. Nevertheless, there were differences from what has been observed with maintenance use in the treatment of schizophrenia. In a short-term (12-week), randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with Abilify Maintena 400 mg/300 mg treated subjects the symptoms which had at least twice the incidence of placebo were increased weight and akathisia. The incidence of weight gain of > 7 % from baseline to last visit (week 12) was 21.5 % for Abilify Maintena compared with the placebo group 8.5 %. Akathisia was the most frequently observed EPS symptom (Abilify Maintena 11.4 % and placebo group 3.5 %).

Paediatric population

The European Medicines Agency has waived the obligation to submit the results of studies with Abilify Maintena in all subsets of the paediatric population in schizophrenia.

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Psycholeptics, other antipsychotics, ATC code: N05AX12

Mechanism of action

It has been proposed that aripiprazole's efficacy in schizophrenia and Bipolar I Disorder is mediated through a combination of partial agonism at dopamine D₂ and serotonin 5-HT_1A receptors and antagonism of serotonin 5-HT_2A receptors. Aripiprazole exhibited antagonist properties in animal models of dopaminergic hyperactivity and agonist properties in animal models of dopaminergic hypoactivity. Aripiprazole exhibited high binding affinity in vitro for dopamine D₂ and D₃, serotonin 5-HT_1A and 5-HT_2A receptors and moderate affinity for dopamine D₄, serotonin 5-HT_2C and 5-HT₇, alpha-1 adrenergic and histamine H₁ receptors. Aripiprazole also exhibited moderate binding affinity for the serotonin reuptake site and no appreciable affinity for muscarinic receptors. Interaction with receptors other than dopamine and serotonin subtypes may explain some of the other clinical effects of aripiprazole.

Aripiprazole doses ranging from 0.5 to 30 mg administered once a day to healthy subjects for 2 weeks produced a dose-dependent reduction in the binding of ¹¹C-raclopride, a D₂/D₃ receptor ligand, to the caudate and putamen detected by positron emission tomography.

Clinical efficacy and safety

Adults

Schizophrenia

In three short-term (4 to 6 weeks) placebo-controlled trials involving 1,228 schizophrenic adult patients, presenting with positive or negative symptoms, aripiprazole was associated with statistically significantly greater improvements in psychotic symptoms compared to placebo.

Aripiprazole is effective in maintaining the clinical improvement during continuation therapy in adult patients who have shown an initial treatment response. In a haloperidol-controlled trial, the proportion of responder patients maintaining response to medicinal product at 52-weeks was similar in both groups (aripiprazole 77 % and haloperidol 73 %). The overall completion rate was significantly higher for patients on aripiprazole (43 %) than for haloperidol (30 %). Actual scores in rating scales used as secondary endpoints, including PANSS and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale showed a significant improvement over haloperidol.

In a 26-week, placebo-controlled trial in adult stabilised patients with chronic schizophrenia, aripiprazole had significantly greater reduction in relapse rate, 34 % in aripiprazole group and 57 % in placebo.

Weight gain

In clinical trials aripiprazole has not been shown to induce clinically relevant weight gain. In a 26-week, olanzapine-controlled, double-blind, multi-national study of schizophrenia which included 314 adult patients and where the primary end-point was weight gain, significantly less patients had at least 7 % weight gain over baseline (i.e. a gain of at least 5.6 kg for a mean baseline weight of ~80.5 kg) on aripiprazole (n = 18, or 13 % of evaluable patients), compared to olanzapine (n = 45, or 33 % of evaluable patients).

Lipid parameters

In a pooled analysis on lipid parameters from placebo controlled clinical trials in adults, aripiprazole has not been shown to induce clinically relevant alterations in levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL.

Prolactin

Prolactin levels were evaluated in all trials of all doses of aripiprazole (n = 28,242). The incidence of hyperprolactinaemia or increased serum prolactin in patients treated with aripiprazole (0.3 %) was similar to that of placebo (0.2 %). For patients receiving aripiprazole, the median time to onset was 42 days and median duration was 34 days.

The incidence of hypoprolactinaemia or decreased serum prolactin in patients treated with aripiprazole was 0.4 %, compared with 0.02 % for patients treated with placebo. For patients receiving aripiprazole, the median time to onset was 30 days and median duration was 194 days.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder

In two 3-week, flexible-dose, placebo-controlled monotherapy trials involving patients with a manic or mixed episode of Bipolar I Disorder, aripiprazole demonstrated superior efficacy to placebo in reduction of manic symptoms over 3 weeks. These trials included patients with or without psychotic features and with or without a rapid-cycling course.

In one 3-week, fixed-dose, placebo-controlled monotherapy trial involving patients with a manic or mixed episode of Bipolar I Disorder, aripiprazole failed to demonstrate superior efficacy to placebo.

In two 12-week, placebo- and active-controlled monotherapy trials in patients with a manic or mixed episode of Bipolar I Disorder, with or without psychotic features, aripiprazole demonstrated superior efficacy to placebo at week 3 and a maintenance of effect comparable to lithium or haloperidol at week 12. Aripiprazole also demonstrated a comparable proportion of patients in symptomatic remission from mania as lithium or haloperidol at week 12.

In a 6-week, placebo-controlled trial involving patients with a manic or mixed episode of Bipolar I Disorder, with or without psychotic features, who were partially non-responsive to lithium or valproate monotherapy for 2 weeks at therapeutic serum levels, the addition of aripiprazole as adjunctive therapy resulted in superior efficacy in reduction of manic symptoms than lithium or valproate monotherapy.

In a 26-week, placebo-controlled trial, followed by a 74-week extension, in manic patients who achieved remission on aripiprazole during a stabilization phase prior to randomisation, aripiprazole demonstrated superiority over placebo in preventing bipolar recurrence, primarily in preventing recurrence into mania but failed to demonstrate superiority over placebo in preventing recurrence into depression.

In a 52-week, placebo-controlled trial, in patients with a current manic or mixed episode of Bipolar I Disorder who achieved sustained remission (Y-MRS and MADRS total scores ≤ 12) on aripiprazole (10 mg/day to 30 mg/day) adjunctive to lithium or valproate for 12 consecutive weeks, adjunctive aripiprazole demonstrated superiority over placebo with a 46 % decreased risk (hazard ratio of 0.54) in preventing bipolar recurrence and a 65 % decreased risk (hazard ratio of 0.35) in preventing recurrence into mania over adjunctive placebo but failed to demonstrate superiority over placebo in preventing recurrence into depression. Adjunctive aripiprazole demonstrated superiority over placebo on the secondary outcome measure, CGI-BP Severity of Illness score (mania). In this trial, patients were assigned by investigators with either open-label lithium or valproate monotherapy to determine partial non-response. Patients were stabilised for at least 12 consecutive weeks with the combination of aripiprazole and the same mood stabilizer. Stabilized patients were then randomised to continue the same mood stabilizer with double-blind aripiprazole or placebo. Four mood stabilizer subgroups were assessed in the randomised phase: aripiprazole + lithium; aripiprazole + valproate; placebo + lithium; placebo + valproate. The Kaplan-Meier rates for recurrence to any mood episode for the adjunctive treatment arm were 16 % in aripiprazole + lithium and 18 % in aripiprazole + valproate compared to 45 % in placebo + lithium and 19 % in placebo + valproate.

Paediatric population

Schizophrenia in adolescents

In a 6-week placebo-controlled trial involving 302 schizophrenic adolescent patients (13-17 years), presenting with positive or negative symptoms, aripiprazole was associated with statistically significantly greater improvements in psychotic symptoms compared to placebo. In a sub-analysis of the adolescent patients between the ages of 15 to 17 years, representing 74 % of the total enrolled population, maintenance of effect was observed over the 26-week open-label extension trial.

In a 60- to 89-week, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adolescent subjects (n = 146; ages 13-17 years) with schizophrenia, there was a statistically significant difference in the rate of relapse of psychotic symptoms between the aripiprazole (19.39 %) and placebo (37.50 %) groups. The point estimate of the hazard ratio (HR) was 0.461 (95% confidence interval, 0.242-0.879) in the full population. In subgroup analyses the point estimate of the HR was 0.495 for subjects 13 to 14 years of age compared to 0.454 for subjects 15 to 17 years of age. However, the estimation of the HR for the younger (13-14 years) group was not precise, reflecting the smaller number of subjects in that group (aripiprazole, n = 29; placebo, n = 12), and the confidence interval for this estimation (ranging from 0.151 to 1.628) did not allow conclusions to be drawn on the presence of a treatment effect. In contrast the 95 % confidence interval for the HR in the older subgroup (aripiprazole, n = 69; placebo, n = 36) was 0.242 to 0.879 and hence a treatment effect could be concluded in the older patients.

Manic episodes in Bipolar I Disorder in children and adolescents

Aripiprazole was studied in a 30-week placebo-controlled trial involving 296 children and adolescents (10-17 years), who met DSM-IV criteria for Bipolar I Disorder with manic or mixed episodes with or without psychotic features and had a Y-MRS score > 20 at baseline. Among the patients included in the primary efficacy analysis, 139 patients had a current co-morbid diagnosis of ADHD.

Aripiprazole was superior to placebo in change from baseline at week 4 and at week 12 on the Y-MRS total score. In a post-hoc analysis, the improvement over placebo was more pronounced in the patients with associated co-morbidity of ADHD compared to the group without ADHD, where there was no difference from placebo. Recurrence prevention was not established.

The most common treatment-emergent adverse events among patients receiving 30 mg were extrapyramidal disorder (28.3 %), somnolence (27.3 %), headache (23.2 %), and nausea (14.1 %). Mean weight gain in the 30 weeks treatment-interval was 2.9 kg as compared to 0.98 kg in patients treated with placebo.

Irritability associated with autistic disorder in paediatric patients

Aripiprazole was studied in patients aged 6 to 17 years in two 8-week, placebo-controlled trials [one flexible-dose (2-15 mg/day) and one fixed-dose (5, 10, or 15 mg/day)] and in one 52-week open-label trial. Dosing in these trials was initiated at 2 mg/day, increased to 5 mg/day after one week, and increased by 5 mg/day in weekly increments to the target dose. Over 75 % of patients were less than 13 years of age. Aripiprazole demonstrated statistically superior efficacy compared to placebo on the Aberrant Behaviour Checklist Irritability subscale. However, the clinical relevance of this finding has not been established. The safety profile included weight gain and changes in prolactin levels. The duration of the long-term safety study was limited to 52 weeks. In the pooled trials, the incidence of low serum prolactin levels in females (< 3 ng/ml) and males (< 2 ng/ml) in aripiprazole-treated patients was 27/46 (58.7 %) and 258/298 (86.6 %), respectively. In the placebo-controlled trials, the mean weight gain was 0.4 kg for placebo and 1.6 kg for aripiprazole.

Aripiprazole was also studied in a placebo-controlled, long-term maintenance trial. After a 13-26 week stabilisation on aripiprazole (2-15 mg/day) patients with a stable response were either maintained on aripiprazole or substituted to placebo for further 16 weeks. Kaplan-Meier relapse rates at week 16 were 35 % for aripiprazole and 52 % for placebo; the hazard ratio for relapse within 16 weeks (aripiprazole/placebo) was 0.57 (non-statistically significant difference). The mean weight gain over the stabilisation phase (up to 26 weeks) on aripiprazole was 3.2 kg, and a further mean increase of 2.2 kg for aripiprazole as compared to 0.6 kg for placebo was observed in the second phase (16 weeks) of the trial. Extrapyramidal symptoms were mainly reported during the stabilisation phase in 17 % of patients, with tremor accounting for 6.5 %.

Tics associated with Tourette's disorder in paediatric patients

The efficacy of aripiprazole was studied in paediatric subjects with Tourette's disorder (aripiprazole: n = 99, placebo: n = 44) in a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, 8 week study using a fixed dose weight-based treatment group design over the dose range of 5 mg/day to 20 mg/day and a starting dose of 2 mg. Patients were 7 - 17 years of age and presented an average score of 30 on Total Tic Score on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (TTS-YGTSS) at baseline. Aripiprazole showed an improvement on TTS-YGTSS change from baseline to week 8 of 13.35,for the low dose group (5 mg or 10 mg) and 16.94 for the high dose group (10 mg or 20 mg) as compared with an improvement of 7.09 in the placebo group.

The efficacy of aripiprazole in paediatric subjects with Tourette's syndrome (aripiprazole: n = 32, placebo: n = 29) was also evaluated over a flexible dose range of 2 mg/day to 20 mg/day and a starting dose of 2 mg, in a 10 week, randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in South-Korea. Patients were 6 - 18 years and presented an average score of 29 on TTS-YGTSS at baseline. Aripiprazole group showed an improvement of 14.97 on TTS-YGTSS change from baseline to week 10 as compared with an improvement of 9.62 in the placebo group.

In both of these short term trials, the clinical relevance of the efficacy findings has not been established, considering the magnitude of treatment effect compared to the large placebo effect and the unclear effects regarding psycho-social functioning. No long term data are available with regard to the efficacy and the safety of aripiprazole in this fluctuating disorder.

Absorption

Aripiprazole absorption into the systemic circulation is slow and prolonged following Abilify Maintena administration due to low solubility of aripiprazole particles.The average absorption half-life of Abilify Maintena is 28 days. Absorption of aripiprazole from the IM depot formulation was complete relative to the IM standard (immediate-release) formulation. The dose adjusted C_max values for the depot formulation were approximately 5 % of C_max from IM standard formulation.Following a single dose administration of Abilify Maintena in the deltoid and gluteal muscle, the extent of absorption (AUC) was similar for both injection sites, but the rate of absorption (C_max) was higher following administration to the deltoid muscle. Following multiple intramuscular doses, the plasma concentrations of aripiprazole gradually rise to a maximum plasma concentration at a median t_max of 7 days for the gluteal muscle and 4 days for the deltoid muscle. Steady state concentrations for the typical subject were attained by the fourth dose for both sites of administration. Less than dose-proportional increases in aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole concentrations and AUC parameters are observed after monthly Abilify Maintena injections of 300 mg to 400 mg.

Distribution

Based on results from trials with oral administration of aripiprazole, aripiprazole is widely distributed throughout the body with an apparent volume of distribution of 4.9 l/kg, indicating extensive extravascular distribution. At therapeutic concentrations, aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole are greater than 99 % bound to serum proteins, binding primarily to albumin.

Biotransformation

Aripiprazole is extensively metabolised by the liver primarily by three biotransformation pathways: dehydrogenation, hydroxylation, and N-dealkylation. Based on in vitro studies, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 enzymes are responsible for dehydrogenation and hydroxylation of aripiprazole, and N-dealkylation is catalysed by CYP3A4. Aripiprazole is the predominant medicinal product moiety in systemic circulation. After multiple dose administration of Abilify Maintena, dehydro-aripiprazole, the active metabolite, represents about 29.1-32.5 % of aripiprazole AUC in plasma.

Elimination

After administration of multiple dose of 400 mg or 300 mg of Abilify Maintena, the mean aripiprazole terminal elimination half-life is respectively 46.5 and 29.9 days presumably due to absorption rate-limited kinetics. Following a single oral dose of [¹⁴C]-labelled aripiprazole, approximately 27 % of the administered radioactivity was recovered in the urine and approximately 60 % in the faeces. Less than 1 % of unchanged aripiprazole was excreted in the urine and approximately 18 % was recovered unchanged in the faeces.

Pharmacokinetics in special patient groups

CYP2D6 poor metabolisers

Based on population pharmacokinetic evaluation of Abilify Maintena, the total body clearance of aripiprazole was 3.71 L/h in extensive metabolisers of CYP2D6 and approximately 1.88 L/h (approximately 50 % lower) in poor metabolisers of CYP2D6.

Elderly

After oral administration of aripiprazole, there are no differences in the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole between healthy elderly and younger adult subjects. Similarly, there was no detectable effect of age in a population pharmacokinetic analysis of Abilify Maintena in schizophrenia patients.

Gender

After oral administration of aripiprazole, there are no differences in the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole between healthy male and female subjects. Similarly, there was no clinically relevant effect of gender in a population pharmacokinetic analysis of Abilify Maintena in clinical trials in patients with schizophrenia.

Smoking

Population pharmacokinetic evaluation of oral aripiprazole has revealed no evidence of clinically relevant effects from smoking on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole.

Race

Population pharmacokinetic evaluation showed no evidence of race-related differences on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole.

Renal impairment

In a single-dose study with oral administration of aripiprazole, the pharmacokinetic characteristics of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole were found to be similar in patients with severe renal disease compared to that in young healthy subjects.

Hepatic impairment

A single-dose study with oral administration of aripiprazole to subjects with varying degrees of liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh Classes A, B, and C) did not reveal a significant effect of hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole, but the study included only 3 patients with Class C liver cirrhosis, which is insufficient to draw conclusions on their metabolic capacity.

Absorption

Aripiprazole is well absorbed, with peak plasma concentrations occurring within 3-5 hours after dosing. Aripiprazole undergoes minimal pre-systemic metabolism. The absolute oral bioavailability of the tablet formulation is 87 %. There is no effect of a high fat meal on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole.

Distribution

Aripiprazole is widely distributed throughout the body with an apparent volume of distribution of 4.9 l/kg, indicating extensive extravascular distribution. At therapeutic concentrations, aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole are greater than 99 % bound to serum proteins, binding primarily to albumin.

Biotransformation

Aripiprazole is extensively metabolised by the liver primarily by three biotransformation pathways: dehydrogenation, hydroxylation, and N-dealkylation. Based on in vitro studies, CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 enzymes are responsible for dehydrogenation and hydroxylation of aripiprazole, and N-dealkylation is catalysed by CYP3A4. Aripiprazole is the predominant medicinal product moiety in systemic circulation. At steady state, dehydro-aripiprazole, the active metabolite, represents about 40 % of aripiprazole AUC in plasma.

Elimination

The mean elimination half-lives for aripiprazole are approximately 75 hours in extensive metabolisers of CYP2D6 and approximately 146 hours in poor metabolisers of CYP2D6.

The total body clearance of aripiprazole is 0.7 ml/min/kg, which is primarily hepatic.

Following a single oral dose of [¹⁴C]-labelled aripiprazole, approximately 27 % of the administered radioactivity was recovered in the urine and approximately 60 % in the faeces. Less than 1 % of unchanged aripiprazole was excreted in the urine and approximately 18 % was recovered unchanged in the faeces.

Paediatric population

The pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole in paediatric patients 10 to 17 years of age were similar to those in adults after correcting for the differences in body weights.

Pharmacokinetics in special patient groups

Elderly

There are no differences in the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole between healthy elderly and younger adult subjects, nor is there any detectable effect of age in a population pharmacokinetic analysis in schizophrenic patients.

Gender

There are no differences in the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole between healthy male and female subjects nor is there any detectable effect of gender in a population pharmacokinetic analysis in schizophrenic patients.

Smoking

Population pharmacokinetic evaluation has revealed no evidence of clinically significant effects from smoking on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole.

Race

Population pharmacokinetic evaluation showed no evidence of race-related differences on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole.

Renal impairment

The pharmacokinetic characteristics of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole were found to be similar in patients with severe renal disease compared to young healthy subjects.

Hepatic impairment

A single-dose study in subjects with varying degrees of liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh Classes A, B, and C) did not reveal a significant effect of hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics of aripiprazole and dehydro-aripiprazole, but the study included only 3 patients with Class C liver cirrhosis, which is insufficient to draw conclusions on their metabolic capacity.

The toxicological profile for aripiprazole administered to experimental animals by intramuscular injection is generally similar to that seen following oral administration at comparable plasma levels. With intramuscular injection, however an inflammatory response was seen at the injection site, and consisted of granulomatous inflammation, foci (deposited drug), cellular infiltrates, oedema (swelling) and, in monkeys, fibrosis. These effects gradually resolved with discontinuation of dosing.

Non-clinical safety data for orally administered aripiprazole reveal no special hazard for humans based on conventional studies of safety pharmacology, repeated dose toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenic potential, toxicity to reproduction and development.

Oral aripiprazole

For oral aripiprazole, toxicologically significant effects were observed only at doses or exposures that were sufficiently in excess of the maximum human dose or exposure, indicating that these effects were limited or of no relevance to clinical use. These included: dose-dependent adrenocortical toxicity in rats after 104 weeks of oral administration at approximately 3 to 10 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended human dose and increased adrenocortical carcinomas and combined adrenocortical adenomas/carcinomas in female rats at approximately 10 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended human dose. The highest non-tumorigenic exposure in female rats was approximately 7 times the human exposure at the recommended dose.

An additional finding was cholelithiasis as a consequence of precipitation of sulphate conjugates of hydroxy-metabolites of aripiprazole in the bile of monkeys after repeated oral dosing at 25 to 125 mg/kg/day or approximately16 to 81 times the maximum recommended human dose based on mg/m².

However, the concentrations of the sulphate conjugates of hydroxy-aripiprazole in human bile at the highest dose proposed, 30 mg per day, were no more than 6 % of the bile concentrations found in the monkeys in the 39-week study and are well below (6 %) their limits of in vitro solubility.

In repeated dose studies in juvenile rats and dogs, the toxicity profile of aripiprazole was comparable to that observed in adult animals, and there was no evidence of neurotoxicity or adverse events on development.

Based on results of a full range of standard genotoxicity tests, aripiprazole was considered non-genotoxic. Aripiprazole did not impair fertility in reproductive toxicity studies.

Developmental toxicity, including dose-dependent delayed foetal ossification and possible teratogenic effects, were observed in rats at doses resulting in sub-therapeutic exposures (based on AUC) and in rabbits at doses resulting in exposures approximately 3 and 11 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended clinical dose. Maternal toxicity occurred at doses similar to those eliciting developmental toxicity.

Non-clinical data reveal no special hazard for humans based on conventional studies of safety pharmacology, repeated dose toxicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenic potential, toxicity to reproduction and development.

Toxicologically significant effects were observed only at doses or exposures that were sufficiently in excess of the maximum human dose or exposure, indicating that these effects were limited or of no relevance to clinical use. These included: dose-dependent adrenocortical toxicity (lipofuscin pigment accumulation and/or parenchymal cell loss) in rats after 104 weeks at 20 to 60 mg/kg/day (3 to 10 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended human dose) and increased adrenocortical carcinomas and combined adrenocortical adenomas/carcinomas in female rats at 60 mg/kg/day (10 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended human dose). The highest nontumorigenic exposure in female rats was 7 times the human exposure at the recommended dose.

An additional finding was cholelithiasis as a consequence of precipitation of sulphate conjugates of hydroxy metabolites of aripiprazole in the bile of monkeys after repeated oral dosing at 25 to 125 mg/kg/day (1 to 3 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended clinical dose or 16 to 81 times the maximum recommended human dose based on mg/m²). However, the concentrations of the sulphate conjugates of hydroxy aripiprazole in human bile at the highest dose proposed, 30 mg per day, were no more than 6 % of the bile concentrations found in the monkeys in the 39-week study and are well below (6 %) their limits of in vitro solubility.

In repeat-dose studies in juvenile rats and dogs, the toxicity profile of aripiprazole was comparable to that observed in adult animals, and there was no evidence of neurotoxicity or adverse reactions on development.

Based on results of a full range of standard genotoxicity tests, aripiprazole was considered non-genotoxic. Aripiprazole did not impair fertility in reproductive toxicity studies. Developmental toxicity, including dose-dependent delayed foetal ossification and possible teratogenic effects, were observed in rats at doses resulting in subtherapeutic exposures (based on AUC) and in rabbits at doses resulting in exposures 3 and 11 times the mean steady-state AUC at the maximum recommended clinical dose. Maternal toxicity occurred at doses similar to those eliciting developmental toxicity.

Not applicable

Not applicable.

Any unused medicinal product or waste material should be disposed of in accordance with local requirements.

Full instructions for use and handling of Abilify Maintena are provided in the package leaflet (information intended for healthcare professionals).

Any unused medicinal product or waste material should be disposed of in accordance with local requirements.