Amyvid Injection: Package Insert / Prescribing Info

Limitations of Use:

• A positive Amyvid scan does not establish a diagnosis of AD or other cognitive disorder.
• Safety and effectiveness of Amyvid have not been established for:
  • Predicting development of dementia or other neurologic condition;
  • Monitoring responses to therapies.

2.1 Radiation Safety-Drug Handling

Amyvid is a radioactive drug and should be handled with appropriate safety measures to minimize radiation exposure during administration [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Use waterproof gloves and effective shielding, including syringe shields when handling Amyvid. Radiopharmaceuticals, including Amyvid, should only be used by or under the control of physicians who are qualified by specific training and experience in the safe use and handling of radioactive materials, and whose experience and training have been approved by the appropriate governmental agency authorized to license the use of radiopharmaceuticals.

2.2 Recommended Dosing and Administration Instructions

The recommended dose for Amyvid is 370 MBq (10 mCi), maximum 50 μg mass dose, administered as a single intravenous bolus in a total volume of 10 mL or less. Follow the injection with an intravenous flush of 0.9% sterile sodium chloride.

• Inspect the radiopharmaceutical dose solution prior to administration and do not use it if it contains particulate matter or is discolored.
• Use aseptic technique and radiation shielding to withdraw Amyvid solution.
• Assay the dose in a suitable dose calibrator prior to administration.
• Inject Amyvid through a short intravenous catheter (approximately 1.5 inches or less) to minimize the potential for adsorption of the drug to the catheter. Portions of the Amyvid dose may adhere to longer catheters.

2.3 Image Acquisition Guidelines

A 10-minute PET image should be acquired starting 30 to 50 minutes after Amyvid intravenous injection. The patient should be supine and the head positioned to center the brain, including the cerebellum, in the PET scanner field of view. Reducing head movement with tape or other flexible head restraints may be employed. Image reconstruction should include attenuation correction with resulting transaxial pixel sizes between 2 and 3 mm.

2.4 Image Display and Interpretation

Amyvid images should be interpreted only by readers who successfully complete a special training program [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Training is provided by the manufacturer using either an in-person tutorial or an electronic process.

The objective of Amyvid image interpretation is to provide an estimate of the brain β-amyloid neuritic plaque density, not to make a clinical diagnosis. Image interpretation is performed independently of a patient's clinical features and relies upon the recognition of unique image features.

Image Interpretation

Image interpretation is based upon the distribution of radioactive signal within the brain; clinical information is not a component of the image assessment [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. Images are designated as positive or negative by comparing the radioactivity in cortical gray matter with activity in the adjacent white matter. This determination is made only in the cerebral cortex; the signal uptake in the cerebellum does not contribute to the scan interpretation (for example, a positive scan may show retained cerebellar gray-white contrast even when the cortical gray-white contrast is lost).

• Negative scans show more radioactivity in white matter than in gray matter, creating clear gray-white contrast.
• Positive scans show cortical areas with reduction or loss of the normally distinct gray-white contrast. These scans have one or more areas with increased cortical gray matter signal which results in reduced (or absent) gray-white contrast. Specifically, a positive scan will have either:

  a)

  Two or more brain areas (each larger than a single cortical gyrus) in which there is reduced or absent gray-white contrast. This is the most common appearance of a positive scan.
  or

  b)

  One or more areas in which gray matter radioactivity is intense and clearly exceeds radioactivity in adjacent white matter.

Some scans may be difficult to interpret due to image noise, atrophy with a thinned cortical ribbon, or image blur. For cases in which there is uncertainty as to the location or edge of gray matter on the PET scan and a co-registered computerized tomography (CT) image is available (as when the study is done on a PET/CT scanner) the interpreter should examine the CT image to clarify the relationship of the PET radioactivity and the gray matter anatomy.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 provide examples of negative and positive scans. Figure 1 demonstrates varying degrees of normal gray-white contrast (negative) and examples where gray-white contrast has been lost (positive). Figure 2 illustrates typical features of a negative scan, while Figure 3 shows the loss of gray-white contrast in different brain regions of a positive scan.

Figure 1: Examples of Amyvid negative scans (top two rows) and positive scans (bottom two rows). Left to right panels show sagittal, coronal, and transverse PET image slices. Final panel to right shows enlarged picture of the brain area under the box. The top two arrows are pointing to normal preserved gray-white contrast with the cortical radioactivity less than the adjacent white matter. The bottom two arrows indicate areas of decreased gray-white contrast with increased cortical radioactivity that is comparable to the radioactivity in the adjacent white matter.

Figure 2: Typical Negative Scan. Images are displayed from a negative scan with upper (top) and lower (bottom) transverse slices both showing good gray-white matter contrast. On the right side of each slice, dotted lines have been used to illustrate the edge of the cortical gray matter (outer line) and the gray-white border (inner line). These dotted lines highlight contrast in uptake between the less intense uptake in the gray matter and the more intense uptake in the white matter. In addition, arrows illustrate the following points: A) White matter tracts can be delineated from the frontal lobe to parietal lobe. B) White matter tracts are clearly identified throughout the occipital / temporal area. C) Scalloped appearance is seen with “fingers” of white matter in the frontal cortex. D) Low levels of tracer in scalp or skull that should be distinguished from gray matter uptake by its shape and position.

Figure 3: Typical Positive Scan: Images from a positive scan showing upper (top) and lower (bottom) transverse slices with loss of gray-white matter contrast in multiple brain regions. On the right side of each slice the edge of the cortical gray matter has been illustrated with a dotted line. Compared to the images from the negative case in Figure 2, the gray matter uptake is more similar to the white matter uptake and the gray-white matter border is more difficult to discern. In addition, arrows show the following points: A) White matter tracts are difficult to fully identify as they travel from frontal to parietal lobe. B) Borders of white matter tracts in occipital / temporal area are lost in places. C) Gray matter in medial parietal cortex (precuneus) has increased uptake. D) Low levels of tracer in scalp or skull that should be distinguished from gray matter uptake by its shape and position.

2.5 Radiation Dosimetry

The estimated radiation absorbed doses for adults from intravenous injection of Amyvid are shown in Table 1.

The effective dose resulting from a 370 MBq (10 mCi) dose of Amyvid is 7.0 mSv in an adult, (19 x 370 = 7030 μSv = 7.030 mSv). The use of a CT scan to calculate attenuation correction for reconstruction of Amyvid images (as done in PET/CT imaging) will add radiation exposure. Diagnostic head CT scans using helical scanners administer an average of 2.2 ± 1.3 mSv effective dose (CRCPD Publication E-07-2, 2007). The actual radiation dose is operator and scanner dependent. The total radiation exposure from Amyvid administration and subsequent scan on a PET/CT scanner is estimated to be 9 mSv.

5.1 Risk for Image Misinterpretation and other Errors

Errors may occur in the Amyvid estimation of brain neuritic plaque density during image interpretation [see Clinical Studies (14)].

Image interpretation should be performed independently of the patient's clinical information. The use of clinical information in the interpretation of Amyvid images has not been evaluated and may lead to errors. Other errors may be due to extensive brain atrophy that limits the ability to distinguish gray and white matter on the Amyvid scan as well as motion artifacts that distort the image.

Amyvid scan results are indicative of the brain neuritic amyloid plaque content only at the time of image acquisition and a negative scan result does not preclude the development of brain amyloid in the future.

5.2 Radiation Risk

Amyvid, similar to other radiopharmaceuticals, contributes to a patient's overall long-term cumulative radiation exposure. Long-term cumulative radiation exposure is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Ensure safe handling to protect patients and health care workers from unintentional radiation exposure [see Dosage and Administration (2.1)].

6.1 Clinical Trials Experience

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice.

In clinical studies, 555 patients were exposed to Amyvid. Amyvid caused no serious adverse reactions in the studies and the reported adverse reactions were predominantly mild to moderate in severity. The adverse reactions reported in more than one subject within the studies are shown in Table 2.

Other adverse reactions occurred at lower frequencies and included infusion site rash, dysgeusia, pruritus, urticaria, and flushing.

8.1 Pregnancy

8.2 Lactation

8.3 Females and Males of Reproductive Potential

Assess pregnancy status before administering Amyvid to a female of reproductive potential.

8.4 Pediatric Use

Amyvid is not indicated for use in pediatric patients.

8.5 Geriatric Use

Of 496 patients in completed clinical studies of Amyvid, 307 patients were ≥65 years old (203 patients were over 75 years of age). No overall differences in safety or effectiveness were observed between these subjects and younger subjects.

11.1 Physical Characteristics

Amyvid is radiolabeled with [18F] fluorine (F 18) that decays by positron (β+) emission to O 18 and has a half-life of 109.77 minutes. The principal photons useful for diagnostic imaging are the coincident pair of 511 keV gamma photons, resulting from the interaction of the emitted positron with an electron (Table 3).

11.2 External Radiation

The point source air-kerma coefficienta for F-18 is 3.74E -17 Gy m2/(Bq s); this coefficient was formerly defined as the specific gamma-ray constant of 5.7 R/hr/mCi at 1 cm. The first half-value thickness of lead (Pb) for F 18 gamma rays is approximately 6 mmb. The relative reduction of radiation emitted by F-18 that results from various thicknesses of lead shielding is shown in Table 4. The use of ~8 cm of Pb will decrease the radiation transmission (i.e., exposure) by a factor of about 10,000.

12.1 Mechanism of Action

Florbetapir F 18 binds to β-amyloid plaques and the F 18 isotope produces a positron signal that is detected by a PET scanner. In in vitro binding studies using postmortem human brain homogenates containing β-amyloid plaques, the dissociation constant (Kd) for florbetapir was 3.7 ± 0.3 nM. The binding of florbetapir F 18 to β-amyloid aggregates was demonstrated in postmortem human brain sections using autoradiographic methods, thioflavin S and traditional silver staining correlation studies as well as monoclonal antibody β-amyloid-specific correlation studies. Florbetapir binding to tau protein and a battery of neuroreceptors was not detected in in vitro studies.

12.2 Pharmacodynamics

Following intravenous injection, florbetapir F 18 diffuses across the human blood-brain barrier and produces a radioactivity signal detectable throughout the brain. Subsequently, cerebral perfusion decreases the brain florbetapir F 18 content, with differential retention of the drug in areas that contain β-amyloid aggregates compared to areas that lack the aggregates. The time-activity curves for florbetapir F 18 in the brain of subjects with positive scans show continual signal increases from time zero through 30 minutes post-administration, with stable values thereafter up to at least 90 minutes post-injection. Differences in the signal intensity between portions of the brain that specifically retain florbetapir F 18 and the portions of the brain with nonspecific retention of the drug forms the image interpretation methods [see Dosage and Administration (2.4)].

Clinical studies evaluated the test-retest distribution of florbetapir F 18 within the brains of 21 subjects (11 with probable AD and 10 healthy volunteers) who underwent two injections (with PET scans), separated by a time period of 2 to 30 days. Images were shown to maintain signal distribution reproducibility when evaluated qualitatively (by a reader masked to image time points) as well as quantitatively using an automated assessment of SUV in pre-specified brain regions. A comparison of a 10-minute image acquisition time versus a 20-minute acquisition time showed no difference in the mean cortical to cerebellar SUV ratio results obtained.

12.3 Pharmacokinetics

Following the intravenous administration of 370 MBq (10 mCi) of florbetapir F 18 to healthy volunteers, the drug was distributed throughout the body with less than 5% of the injected F 18 radioactivity present in the blood by 20 minutes following administration, and less than 2% present by 45 minutes after administration. The residual F 18 in circulation during the 30-90 minute imaging window was principally in the form of polar F 18 metabolites. Whole body scanning following the intravenous injection showed accumulation of radioactivity in the liver within four minutes post-injection, followed by elimination of the radioactivity predominantly through the biliary/gastrointestinal tract with much lower radioactivity detected in the bladder. Essentially all radioactivity collected in the urine was present as polar metabolites of florbetapir F 18.

13.1 Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

Animal studies to assess the carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity potentials of Amyvid have not been conducted.

In an in vitro bacterial reverse mutation assay (Ames test), increases in the number of revertant colonies were observed in 2 of the 5 strains exposed to 19F-AV-45, the non-radioactive form of florbetapir F 18. In a chromosomal aberration in vitro study with cultured human peripheral lymphocytes, 19F-AV-45 did not increase the percentage of cells with structural aberrations with 3-hour exposure with or without activation; however, 22-hour exposure produced a statistically significant increase in structural aberrations at all tested concentrations. Potential in vivo genotoxicity of 19F-AV-45 was evaluated in a rat micronucleus study. In this assay, 19F-AV-45 did not increase the number of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes at the highest achievable dose level, 372 μg/kg/day, when given twice daily for 3 consecutive days.

16.1 How Supplied

Amyvid is supplied in 50 mL or 100 mL vials containing 10-50 mL or 10-100 mL respectively, of a clear, colorless solution at a strength of 500 - 1900 MBq/mL (13.5 - 51 mCi/mL) florbetapir F 18 at EOS. Each vial contains multiple doses and is enclosed in a shielded container to minimize external radiation exposure.

16.2 Storage and Handling

Store Amyvid at 25ºC (77°F); excursions permitted to 15ºC to 30ºC (59°F to 86°F) [see USP Controlled Room Temperature]. The product does not contain a preservative. Store Amyvid within the original container or equivalent radiation shielding. Amyvid must not be diluted.

This preparation is approved for use by persons under license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the relevant regulatory authority of an Agreement State.