Actos Side Effects

Generic Name: Pioglitazone

Please note - some side effects for Actos may not be reported. Always consult your doctor or healthcare specialist for medical advice. You may also report side effects to the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/ or 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088).

Side Effects of Actos - for the consumer

Actos

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Actos:

Headache; muscle aches; sore throat; weight gain.

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blurred vision or other vision changes; symptoms of heart failure (eg, shortness of breath; sudden unexplained weight gain; swelling of the hands, ankles, or feet); symptoms of liver problems (eg, dark urine; yellowing of the skin or eyes; unexplained nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite; stomach pain); symptoms of low blood sugar (eg, anxiety, increased sweating, dizziness or drowsiness, headache, chills, tremors, increased hunger); unusual bone pain; unusual tiredness or weakness.

For the professional

Actos

In worldwide clinical trials, over 5900 patients with type 2 diabetes have been treated with Actos. In U.S. clinical trials, over 4700 patients have received Actos, over 3300 patients have been treated for 6 months or longer, and over 450 patients for one year or longer.

The overall incidence and types of adverse events reported in placebo-controlled clinical trials of Actos monotherapy at doses of 7.5 mg, 15 mg, 30 mg, or 45 mg once daily are shown in Table 7.

For most clinical adverse events the incidence was similar for groups treated with Actos monotherapy and those treated in combination with sulfonylureas, metformin, and insulin. There was an increase in the occurrence of edema in the patients treated with Actos and insulin compared to insulin alone.

In a 16-week, placebo-controlled Actos plus insulin trial (n=379), 10 patients treated with Actos plus insulin developed dyspnea and also, at some point during their therapy, developed either weight change or edema. Seven of these 10 patients received diuretics to treat these symptoms. This was not reported in the insulin plus placebo group.

The incidence of withdrawals from placebo-controlled clinical trials due to an adverse event other than hyperglycemia was similar for patients treated with placebo (2.8%) or Actos (3.3%).

In controlled combination therapy studies with either a sulfonylurea or insulin, mild to moderate hypoglycemia, which appears to be dose related, was reported.

In U.S. double-blind studies, anemia was reported in ≤ 2% of patients treated with Actos plus sulfonylurea, metformin or insulin.

In monotherapy studies, edema was reported for 4.8% of patients treated with Actos versus 1.2% of placebo-treated patients. In combination therapy studies, edema was reported for 7.2% of patients treated with Actos and sulfonylureas compared to 2.1% of patients on sulfonylureas alone. In combination therapy studies with metformin, edema was reported in 6.0% of patients on combination therapy compared to 2.5% of patients on metformin alone. In combination therapy studies with insulin, edema was reported in 15.3% of patients on combination therapy compared to 7.0% of patients on insulin alone. Most of these events were considered mild or moderate in intensity.

In one 16-week clinical trial of insulin plus Actos combination therapy, more patients developed congestive heart failure on combination therapy (1.1%) compared to none on insulin alone.

Laboratory Abnormalities

Hematologic:Actos may cause decreases in hemoglobin and hematocrit. The fall in hemoglobin and hematocrit with Actos appears to be dose related. Across all clinical studies, mean hemoglobin values declined by 2% to 4% in patients treated with Actos. These changes generally occurred within the first 4 to 12 weeks of therapy and remained relatively stable thereafter. These changes may be related to increased plasma volume associated with Actos therapy and have rarely been associated with any significant hematologic clinical effects.

Serum Transaminase Levels:During all clinical studies in the U.S., 14 of 4780 (0.30%) patients treated with Actos had ALT values ≥ 3 times the upper limit of normal during treatment. All patients with follow-up values had reversible elevations in ALT. In the population of patients treated with Actos, mean values for bilirubin, AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, and GGT were decreased at the final visit compared with baseline. Fewer than 0.9% of patients treated with Actos were withdrawn from clinical trials in the U.S. due to abnormal liver function tests.

In pre-approval clinical trials, there were no cases of idiosyncratic drug reactions leading to hepatic failure.

CPKLevels: During required laboratory testing in clinical trials, sporadic, transient elevations in creatine phosphokinase levels (CPK) were observed. An isolated elevation to greater than 10 times the upper limit of normal was noted in 9 patients (values of 2150 to 11400 IU/L). Six of these patients continued to receive Actos, two patients had completed receiving study medication at the time of the elevated value and one patient discontinued study medication due to the elevation. These elevations resolved without any apparent clinical sequelae. The relationship of these events to Actos therapy is unknown.

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