HRA Pharma UK Limited

Unit 7 - RB Building, 557 Harrow Road, Kensal Green, London, W10 4RH, UK
WWW: http://www.hra-pharma.com
Medical Information Direct Line: 0800 9179548
Medical Information e-mail: med.info.uk@hra-pharma.com


Summary of Product Characteristics last updated on the eMC: 12/07/2010
SPC ellaOne 30 mg
This medicine is monitored intensively by the CHM and MHRA


Go to top of the page
1. NAME OF THE MEDICINAL PRODUCT

ellaOne BLACK DOWN-POINTING TRIANGLE (9660)30 mg tablet


Go to top of the page
2. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE COMPOSITION

Each tablet contains 30 mg ulipristal acetate.

Excipients: each tablet contains 237 mg lactose monohydrate.

For a full list of excipients, see section 6.1.


Go to top of the page
3. PHARMACEUTICAL FORM

Tablet

White to off-white, round curved tablet engraved with code “еllа” on both faces


Go to top of the page
4. CLINICAL PARTICULARS

Go to top of the page
4.1 Therapeutic indications

Emergency contraception within 120 hours (5 days) of unprotected sexual intercourse or contraceptive failure.


Go to top of the page
4.2 Posology and method of administration

The treatment consists of one tablet to be taken orally as soon as possible, but no later than 120 hours (5 days) after unprotected intercourse or contraceptive failure.

The tablet can be taken with or without food.

If vomiting occurs within 3 hours of ellaOne intake, another tablet should be taken.

ellaOne can be taken at any moment during the menstrual cycle.

Pregnancy should be excluded before ellaOne is administered.

Renal or hepatic impairment: In the absence of specific studies, no specific dose recommendations for ellaOne can be made.

Severe hepatic impairment: In the absence of specific studies, ellaOne is not recommended.

Children and adolescents: A limited number of women under 18 years were included in clinical trials of ellaOne.


Go to top of the page
4.3 Contraindications

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.

Pregnancy.


Go to top of the page
4.4 Special warnings and precautions for use

Concomitant use with an emergency contraceptive containing levonorgestrel is not recommended (see section 4.5).

Use in women with severe asthma insufficiently controlled by oral glucocorticoid is not recommended.

Emergency contraception with ellaOne is an occasional method. It should in no instance replace a regular contraceptive method. In any case, women should be advised to adopt a regular method of contraception.

Although the use of ellaOne does not contraindicate the continued use of regular hormonal contraception, ellaOne may reduce its contraceptive action (see section 4.5). Therefore, after using emergency contraception, it is recommended that subsequent acts of intercourse be protected by a reliable barrier method until the next menstrual period starts.

Repeated administration of ellaOne within the same menstrual cycle is not advisable, as safety and efficacy of ellaOne after repeated administration within the same menstrual cycle has not been investigated.

Emergency contraception with ellaOne does not prevent pregnancy in every case. No data is available on the efficacy of ellaOne for women who have had unprotected intercourse more than 120 hours before ellaOne intake. In case of doubt, delay of more than 7 days in next menstrual period, abnormal bleeding at the expected date of menses, or symptoms of pregnancy, pregnancy should be excluded by a pregnancy test.

If pregnancy occurs after treatment with ellaOne, as for all pregnancies, the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy should be considered. Ectopic pregnancy may continue, despite the occurrence of uterine bleeding.

After ellaOne intake menstrual periods can sometimes occur earlier or later than expected by a few days. In approximately 7% of the women, menstrual periods occurred more than 7 days earlier than expected. In 18.5% of the women a delay of more than 7 days occurred, and in 4% the delay was greater than 20 days.

This medicinal product contains lactose monohydrate. Patients with rare hereditary problems of galactose intolerance, the Lapp lactase deficiency or glucose-galactose malabsorption should not take this medicine.


Go to top of the page
4.5 Interaction with other medicinal products and other forms of interaction

Ulipristal acetate is metabolized by CYP3A4 in vitro. No specific drug interaction studies have been performed in vivo.

• Potential for other medicinal products to affect ulipristal acetate:

CYP3A4 inducers (e.g. rifampicin, phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, ritonavir, St John's wort/Hypericum perforatum) may reduce plasma concentrations of ulipristal acetate and may result in decrease in efficacy. Concomitant use is therefore not recommended. Enzyme induction wears off slowly and effects on the plasma concentrations of ulipristal acetate may occur even if a woman has stopped taking an enzyme inducer within the last 2NON-BREAKING HYPHEN (8209)3 weeks.

Concomitant administration of medicinal products that increase gastric pH (e.g. proton pump inhibitors, antacids and H2-receptor antagonists) may reduce plasma concentrations of ulipristal acetate and may result in decrease in efficacy. Concomitant use is therefore not recommended.

Potent CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g. ketoconazole, itraconazole, telithromycin, clarithromycin, nefazodone) may increase exposure to ulipristal acetate. The clinical relevance is unknown.

• Potential for ulipristal acetate to affect other medicinal products:

Because ulipristal acetate binds the progesterone receptor with high affinity, it may interfere with the action of progestogen-containing medicinal products:

- Contraceptive action of combined hormonal contraceptives and progestogen-only contraception may be reduced

- Concomitant use of ulipristal acetate and emergency contraception containing levonorgestrel is not recommended.


Go to top of the page
4.6 Pregnancy and lactation

ellaOne is contra-indicated during an existing or suspected pregnancy (see section 4.3).

Extremely limited data are available on the health of the foetus/new-born in case a pregnancy is exposed to ulipristal acetate. Although no teratogenic potential was observed, animal data are insufficient with regard to reproduction toxicity (see section 5.3).

HRA Pharma maintains a pregnancy registry to monitor outcomes of pregnancy in women exposed to ellaOne. Patients and health care providers are encouraged to report any exposure to ellaOne by contacting the Marketing Authorisation Holder (see section 7).

It is unknown whether ulipristal acetate is excreted in human or animal breast milk. Ulipristal acetate is a lipophilic compound and may theoretically be excreted in breast milk. A risk to the breast-fed child cannot be excluded. After intake of ellaOne breastfeeding is not recommended for at least 36 hours.


Go to top of the page
4.7 Effects on ability to drive and use machines

No studies on the effect on the ability to drive and use machines have been performed.

ellaOne may have minor or moderate influence on the ability to drive or use machines: mild to moderate dizziness is common after ellaOne intake, somnolence and blurred vision are uncommon; disturbance in attention has been rarely reported.


Go to top of the page
4.8 Undesirable effects

Adverse events reported in more than 10 percent of subjects treated with ulipristal were headache, nausea and abdominal pain

Safety of ulipristal acetate has been evaluated in 4,718 women during the clinical development program.

The adverse reactions reported in the phase III program of 2,637 women are provided in the table below. The vast majority of adverse reactions were mild or moderate and resolved spontaneously.

Adverse reactions listed below are classified according to frequency and system organ class. Within each frequency grouping, undesirable effects are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.

MedDRA

Adverse reactions (frequency)

System Organ Class

Very common

GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO (8805)1/10

Common

GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO (8805)1/100 to <1/10

Uncommon

GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO (8805)1/1,000 to <1/100

Rare

GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO (8805)1/10,000 to <1/1,000

Infections and infestations

  

Vaginitis

Nasopharyngitis

Influenza

Urinary tract infection

Conjonctivitis infective Hordeolum

Pelvic inflammatory disease

Metabolism and nutrition disorders

  

Appetite disorders

Dehydration

Psychiatric disorders

 

Mood disorders

Emotional disorder

Anxiety

Insomnia

Hyperactivity disorder

Libido changes

Disorientation

Nervous system disorders

 

Headache

Dizziness

Somnolence

Migraine

Tremor

Disturbance in attention

Dysgueusia

Poor quality of sleep

Parosmia

Syncope

Eye disorders

  

Visual disturbance

Abnormal sensation in eye

Ocular hyperaemia

Photophobia

Ear and labyrinth disorders

   

Vertigo

Vascular disorders

  

Hot flush

Haemorrhage

Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders

   

Upper respiratory tract congestion

Cough

Dry throat

Epistaxis

Gastrointestinal disorders

 

Nausea

Abdominal pain (NOS)

Abdominal pain upper

Abdominal discomfort

Vomiting

Abdominal pain lower Diarrhoea

Dry mouth

Constipation

Dyspepsia

Flatulence

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease

Toothache

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders

  

Acne

Skin lesion

Pruritus

Urticaria

Genital pruritus

Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders

 

Myalgia

Back pain

 

Pain in extremity

Arthralgia

Renal and urinary disorders

   

Urinary tract disorder Chromaturia

Nephrolithiasis

Renal Pain

Bladder pain

Reproductive system and breast disorders

 

Dysmenorrhea

Pelvic pain

Breast tenderness

Menorrhagia

Vaginal discharge

Menstrual disorder

Metrorrhagia

Vaginal haemorrhage

Hot flush

Premenstrual syndrome

Genital pruritus

Dysfunctional uterine bleeding

Dyspareunia

Ruptured ovarian cyst

Vulvovaginal pain

Menstrual discomfort

Hypomenorrhea

General disorders and administration site conditions

 

Fatigue

Pain

Irritability

Chills

Malaise

Pyrexia

Chest discomfort

Inflammation

Thirst

The majority of women (74.6%) in the phase III studies had their next menstrual period at the expected time or within ± 7 days, while 6.8% experienced menses more than 7 days earlier than expected and 18.5% had a delay of more than 7 days beyond the anticipated onset of menses. The delay was greater than 20 days in 4 % of the women.

A minority (8.7%) of women reported intermenstrual bleeding lasting an average of 2.4 days. In a majority of cases (88.2%), this bleeding was reported as spotting. Among the women who received ellaOne in the phase III studies, only 0.4% reported heavy intermenstrual bleeding.

In the phase III studies, 82 women entered a study more than once and therefore received more than one dose of ellaOne (73 women enrolled twice and 9 enrolled three times). There were no safety differences in these subjects in terms of incidence and severity of adverse events, change in duration or volume of menses or incidence of intermenstrual bleeding.


Go to top of the page
4.9 Overdose

Experience with ulipristal acetate overdose is limited. Single doses up to 200 mg were administered to a limited number of subjects, and no severe or serious adverse reactions were reported.


Go to top of the page
5. PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

Go to top of the page
5.1 Pharmacodynamic properties

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Other sex hormones and modulators. ATC code: Not yet assigned.

Ulipristal acetate is an orally-active synthetic selective progesterone receptor modulator which acts via high-affinity binding to the human progesterone receptor. The primary mechanism of action is inhibition or delay of ovulation. Pharmacodynamic data show that even when taken immediately before ovulation is scheduled to occur, ulipristal acetate is able to postpone follicular rupture in some women.

Ulipristal acetate also has high affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor and in vivo, in animals, antiglucocorticoid effects have been observed. However, in humans, no such effect has been observed even after repeat administration at the daily dose of 10 mg. It has minimal affinity to the androgen receptor and no affinity for the human estrogen or mineralocorticoid receptors.

Results from two independent randomized controlled trials (see Table) showed the efficacy of ulipristal acetate to be non-inferior to that of levonorgestrel in women who presented for emergency contraception between 0 and 72 hours after unprotected intercourse or contraceptive failure. When the data from the two trials were combined via meta-analysis, the risk of pregnancy with ulipristal acetate was significantly reduced compared to levonorgestrel (p=0.046).

Randomized controlled trial

Pregnancy rate (%)

within 72h of unprotected intercourse or contraceptive failure1

Odds ratio [95% CI] of pregnancy risk, ulipristal acetate vs levonorgestrel1

Ulipristal acetate

Levonorgestrel

HRA2914-507

0.91

(7/773)

1.68

(13/773)

0.50 [0.18-1.24]

HRA2914-513

1.78

(15/844)

2.59

(22/852)

0.68 [0.35-1.31]

Meta-analysis

1.36

(22/1617)

2.15

( 35/1625)

0.58 [0.33-0.99]

1 – Glasier et al, Lancet 2010

Two trials provide efficacy data on ellaOne used up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse. In an open-label clinical trial, which enrolled women who presented for emergency contraception and were treated with ulipristal acetate between 48 and 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, a pregnancy rate of 2.1% (26/1241) was observed. In addition, the second comparative trial described above also provides data on 100 women treated with ulipristal acetate from 72 to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, in whom no pregnancies were observed.


Go to top of the page
5.2 Pharmacokinetic properties

Absorption

Following oral administration of a single 30 mg dose, ulipristal acetate is rapidly absorbed, with a peak plasma concentration of 176 ± 89 ng/ml occurring approximately 1 hour (0.5-2.0 h) after ingestion, and with an AUC0-INFINITY (8734) of 556 ± 260 ng.h/ml.

Administration of ulipristal acetate together with a high-fat breakfast resulted in approximately 45% lower mean Cmax, a delayed Tmax (from a median of 0.75 hours to 3 hours) and 25% higher mean AUC0-INFINITY (8734) compared with administration in the fasted state. Similar results were obtained for the active mono-demethylated metabolite.

The absorption of ulipristal acetate is pH-dependent and may be reduced in situations where gastric pH is increased irrespective of cause.

Distribution

Ulipristal acetate is highly bound (>98%) to plasma proteins, including albumin, alpha-l-acid glycoprotein, and high density lipoprotein.

Metabolism/elimination

Ulipristal acetate is extensively metabolized to mono-demethylated, di-demethylated and hydroxylated metabolites. The mono-demethylated metabolite is pharmacologically active. In vitro data indicate that this is predominantly mediated by CYP3A4, and to a small extent by CYP1A2 and CYP2D6. The terminal half-life of ulipristal acetate in plasma following a single 30 mg dose is estimated to 32.4 ± 6.3 hours, with a mean oral clearance (CL/F) of 76.8 ± 64.0 L/h.

Special populations

No pharmacokinetic studies with ulipristal acetate have been performed in females with impaired renal or hepatic function.


Go to top of the page
5.3 Preclinical safety data

Non-clinical data reveal no special hazard for humans based on conventional studies of safety pharmacology, repeated dose toxicity, and genotoxicity. Most findings in general toxicity studies were related to its mechanism of action as a modulator of progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors, with antiprogesterone activity observed at exposures similar to therapeutic levels.

Reproduction toxicity data are insufficient due to lack of human and animal pharmacokinetic data. Due to its mechanism of action, ulipristal acetate has an embryolethal effect in rats, rabbits (at repeated doses above 1 mg/kg) and in monkeys. The safety for a human embryo is unknown. At doses which were low enough to maintain gestation in the animal species, no teratogenic potential was observed.

Carcinogenicity studies with ulipristal acetate have not been conducted.


Go to top of the page
6. PHARMACEUTICAL PARTICULARS

Go to top of the page
6.1 List of excipients

Lactose monohydrate

Povidone K30

Croscarmellose sodium

Magnesium stearate


Go to top of the page
6.2 Incompatibilities

Not applicable


Go to top of the page
6.3 Shelf life

3 years


Go to top of the page
6.4 Special precautions for storage

Keep the blister in the outer carton in order to protect from light.


Go to top of the page
6.5 Nature and contents of container

PVC-PE-PVDC-Aluminium blister of 1 tablet.

The carton contains one blister of one tablet.


Go to top of the page
6.6 Special precautions for disposal and other handling

No special requirements


Go to top of the page
7. MARKETING AUTHORISATION HOLDER

Laboratoire HRA Pharma

15, rue Béranger

F-75003 Paris

France


Go to top of the page
8. MARKETING AUTHORISATION NUMBER(S)

EU/1/09/522/001


Go to top of the page
9. DATE OF FIRST AUTHORISATION/RENEWAL OF THE AUTHORISATION

15/05/2009


Go to top of the page
10. DATE OF REVISION OF THE TEXT

02/07/2010

Detailed information on this medicinal product is available on the website of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) http://www.emea.europa.eu/.


Go to top of the page
LEGAL CATEGORY

POM



More information about this product

Link to this document from your website: http://emc.medicines.org.uk/medicine/22280/SPC/ellaOne 30 mg/


Black Triangle

This medicine is monitored intensively by the CHM and MHRA

Active Ingredients/Generics

 
   ulipristal acetate