MIRCERA Solution for injection Ref.[9292] Active ingredients: Epoetin beta

Pharmacotherapeutic group: Other antianemic preparations
ATC code: B03XA03

Mechanism of action

MIRCERA stimulates erythropoiesis by interaction with the erythropoietin receptor on progenitor cells in the bone marrow. Methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta, the active substance of MIRCERA, is a continuous erythropoietin receptor activator that shows a different activity at the receptor level characterized by a slower association to and faster dissociation from the receptor, a reduced specific activity in vitro with an increased activity in vivo, as well as an increased half-life, in contrast to erythropoietin. The average molecular mass is approximately 60 kDa of which the protein moiety plus the carbohydrate part constitutes approximately 30 kDa.

Pharmacodynamic effects

As primary growth factor for erythroid development, the natural hormone erythropoietin is produced in the kidney and released into the bloodstream in response to hypoxia. In responding to hypoxia, the natural hormone erythropoietin interacts with erythroid progenitor cells to increase red cell production.

Clinical efficacy and safety

Data from correction studies with patients treated once every two weeks and once every four weeks show that the haemoglobin response rates in the MIRCERA group at the end of the correction period were high and comparable to comparators. The median time to response was 43 days in the MIRCERA arm and 29 days in the comparator arm, with increases of haemoglobin within the first 6 weeks of 0.2 g/dl/week and 0.3 g/dl/week, respectively.

Four randomized controlled studies were performed in dialysis patients currently treated with darbepoetin alfa or epoetin at the time of enrollment. Patients were randomized to stay on their treatment at the time of enrollment or to be switched to MIRCERA in order to maintain stable haemoglobin levels. At the evaluation period (week 29-36), the mean and median level of haemoglobin in patients treated with MIRCERA was virtually identical to their baseline haemoglobin level.

In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 4,038 CRF patients not on dialysis with type 2 diabetes and haemoglobin levels ≤11 g/dL, patients received either treatment with darbepoetin alfa to target haemoglobin levels of 13 g/dL or placebo (see section 4.4). The study did not meet either primary objective of demonstrating a reduction in risk for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, or end stage renal disease (ESRD). Analysis of the individual components of the composite endpoints showed the following HR (95% CI): death 1.05 (0.92, 1.21), stroke 1.92 (1.38, 2.68), congestive heart failure (CHF) 0.89 (0.74, 1.08), myocardial infarction (MI) 0.96 (0.75, 1.23), hospitalisation for myocardial ischaemia 0.84 (0.55, 1.27), ESRD 1.02 (0.87, 1.18).

Pooled post-hoc analyses of clinical studies of ESAs have been performed in chronic renal failure patients (on dialysis, not on dialysis, in diabetic and non-diabetic patients). A tendency towards increased risk estimates for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events associated with higher cumulative ESA doses independent of the diabetes or dialysis status was observed (see section 4.2 and section 4.4).

Erythropoietin is a growth factor that primarily stimulates red cell production. Erythropoietin receptors may be expressed on the surface of a variety of tumour cells.

Survival and tumour progression have been examined in five large controlled studies involving a total of 2,833 patients, of which four were double-blind placebo-controlled studies and one was an open-label study. Two of the studies recruited patients who were being treated with chemotherapy. The target haemoglobin concentration in two studies was >13 g/dl; in the remaining three studies it was 12-14 g/dl. In the open-label study there was no difference in overall survival between patients treated with recombinant human erythropoietin and controls. In the four placebo-controlled studies the hazard ratios for overall survival ranged between 1.25 and 2.47 in favour of controls. These studies have shown a consistent unexplained statistically significant excess mortality in patients who have anaemia associated with various common cancers who received recombinant human erythropoietin compared to controls. Overall survival outcome in the trials could not be satisfactorily explained by differences in the incidence of thrombosis and related complications between those given recombinant human erythropoietin and those in the control group.

A patient-level data analysis has also been performed on more than 13,900 cancer patients (chemo-, radia-, chemoradia-, or no therapy) participating in 53 controlled clinical trials involving several epoetins. Meta-analysis of overall survival data produced a hazard ratio point estimate of 1.06 in favour of controls (95% CI: 1.00, 1.12; 53 trials and 13,933 patients) and for the cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, the overall survival hazard ratio was 1.04 (95% CI: 0.97, 1.11; 38 trials and 10,441 patients). Meta-analyses also indicate consistently a significantly increased relative risk of thromboembolic events in cancer patients receiving recombinant human erythropoietin (see section 4.4). No patients treated with MIRCERA were included in this data analysis.

MIRCERA is not approved for treatment of patients with chemotherapy induced anaemia (see section 4.1 and 4.4.).