PICATO Gel Ref.[9589] Active ingredients: Ingenol mebutate

Eye exposure

Contact with the eyes can cause chemical conjunctivitis and corneal burns. Patients should wash their hands thoroughly after applying the gel and following any contact with the treated area, to avoid inadvertent transfer of the gel to the eyes. If accidental exposure occurs, the eyes should be flushed immediately with large amounts of water, and the patient should seek medical care as soon as possible. Eye disorders such as eye pain, eyelid oedema and periorbital oedema should be expected to occur after accidental eye exposure of Picato (see section 4.8).

Ingestion

Picato must not be ingested. If accidental ingestion occurs the patient should drink plenty of water and seek medical care.

General

Administration of Picato is not recommended until the skin is healed from treatment with any previous medicinal product or surgical treatment and should not be applied to open wounds or damaged skin where the skin barrier is compromised. Picato should not be used near the eyes, on the inside of the nostrils, on the inside of the ears or on the lips.

Local skin responses

Local skin responses such as erythema, flaking/scaling, and crusting should be expected to occur after cutaneous application of Picato (see section 4.8). Localised skin responses are transient and typically occur within 1 day of treatment initiation and peak in intensity up to 1 week following completion of treatment. Localised skin responses typically resolve within 2 weeks of treatment initiation when treating areas on the face and scalp and within 4 weeks of treatment initiation when treating areas on the trunk and extremities. Treatment effect may not be adequately assessed until resolution of local skin responses.

Sun exposure

Studies have been conducted to assess the effects of UV irradiation of the skin following single and multiple applications of ingenol mebutate gel, 100 mcg/g. Ingenol mebutate gel did not demonstrate any potential for photo irritation or photo allergic effects. However, due to the nature of the disease, excessive exposure to sunlight (including sunlamps and tanning beds) should be avoided or minimised.

Keratoacanthoma, basal cell carcinoma, Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma

Reports of keratoacanthoma, basal cell carcinoma, Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma occurring within the treatment area with a time to onset ranging from weeks to months following use of ingenol mebutate gel have been received from a post-authorisation clinical trial (see section 5.1) and post-marketing. Ingenol mebutate should be used with caution in patients with a history of cutaneous malignancy. Health care professionals should advise patients to be vigilant for any lesions developing within the treatment area and to seek medical advice immediately should any occur.

Management of actinic keratosis

Lesions clinically atypical for actinic keratosis or suspicious for malignancy should be biopsied to determine appropriate treatment.

No interaction studies have been performed. Interactions with systemically absorbed medicinal products are considered unlikely as Picato is not absorbed systemically.

Pregnancy

There are no data from the use of ingenol mebutate in pregnant women. Animal studies showed slight embryo-fetal toxicity (see section 5.3). Risks to humans receiving cutaneous treatment with ingenol mebutate are considered unlikely as Picato is not absorbed systemically. As a precautionary measure, it is preferable to avoid the use of Picato during pregnancy.

Breast-feeding

No effects on the breastfed newborn/infant are anticipated as Picato is not absorbed systemically. The nursing mother should be instructed that physical contact between her newborn/infant and the treated area should be avoided for a period of 6 hours after application of Picato.

Fertility

No fertility studies have been performed with ingenol mebutate.

Picato has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines.

Summary of the safety profile

The most frequently reported adverse reactions are local skin responses including erythema, flaking/scaling, crusting, swelling, vesiculation/pustulation and erosion/ulceration at the application site of ingenol mebutate gel, see table 1 for MedDRA terms. Following the application of ingenol mebutate, most patients (>95%) experienced one or more local skin response(s). Infection at the application site has been reported when treating face and scalp.

Tabulated list of adverse reactions

Table 1 reflects exposure to Picato 150 mcg/g or 500 mcg/g in 499 patients with actinic keratosis treated in four vehicle controlled phase 3 studies enrolling a total of 1,002 patients and post-marketing reports. Patients received field treatment (area of 25 cm²) with Picato at concentrations of 150 mcg/g or 500 mcg/g or vehicle once daily for 3 or 2 consecutive days respectively.

The table below presents adverse reactions by MedDRA system organ class and anatomical location.

Frequencies have been defined according to the following convention: 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.

Table 1. Adverse reactions by MedDRA System Organ Classification:

* Application site swelling on the face or scalp may gravitate to the eye area
** Accidental eye exposure: Post-marketing reports of chemical conjunctivitis and corneal burn in connection with accidental eye exposure have been received (see sections 4.2 and 4.4 for prevention of eye exposure)
*** Including application site burning.

Description of selected adverse reactions

The incidence of local skin responses that occurred at an incidence >1% in both the ‘face/scalp’ and the ‘trunk/extremities’, respectively are: application site erythema (94% and 92%), application site exfoliation (85% and 90%), application site scab (80% and 74%), application site swelling (79% and 64%), application site vesicles (13% and 20%), application site pustules (43% and 23%) and application site erosion (31% and 25%).

Severe local skin responses occurred with an incidence of 29% on the face and scalp and with an incidence of 17% on the trunk and extremities. The incidence of severe local skin responses that occurred at an incidence >1% in both the ‘face/scalp’ and the ‘trunk/extremities’, respectively are: application site erythema (24% and 15%), application site exfoliation (9% and 8%), application site scab (6% and 4%), application site swelling (5% and 3%) and application site pustules (5% and 1%).

Long-term follow up

A total of 198 patients with complete clearance at day 57 (184 treated with Picato and 14 treated with vehicle) were followed for additionally 12 months. In another study, 329 patients who were initially treated with cryotherapy on the face/scalp were randomised after three weeks to either Picato 150 mcg/g (n=158) or vehicle (n=150) for 3 days in the same area. 149 patients in the Picato group and 140 in the vehicle group were followed for 12 months. In a later study 450 patients were initially treated with Picato 150 mcg/g, of these 134 patients were randomised to a second treatment course of Picato 150 mcg/g and the patients followed for up to 12 months after the first treatment. These results did not change the safety profile of Picato (see section 5.1).

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 the national reporting system listed in Appendix V.

Not applicable.