Enter drug's generic or brand name below. Results will appear here. Note: all drug related information obtained on this page is provided by RX List.
Using the RX LIST database:
(1) Enter the drug name in the search box below and hit ENTER
(2) The rx list web site will open here with the drug search completed. Next, scroll down the page to locate the link to the drug you are searching for and then click on the link.
CARBAGLU®
(carglumic acid) Tablet for Oral Suspension
CARBAGLU tablets for oral suspension, contain 200 mg of carglumic acid. Carglumic acid, the active substance, is a Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase 1 (CPS 1) activator and is soluble in boiling water, slightly soluble in cold water, and practically insoluble in organic solvents.
Chemically carglumic acid is N-carbamoyl-L-glutamic acid or (2S)-2-(carbamoylamino) pentanedioic acid, with a molecular weight of 190.16.
The structural formula is:
 |
Molecular Formula: C6H10N2O5
The inactive ingredients of CARBAGLU are croscarmellose sodium, hypromellose, microcrystalline cellulose, silica colloidal anhydrous, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium stearyl fumarate.
CARBAGLU is indicated as an adjunctive therapy in pediatric and adult patients for the treatment of acute hyperammonemia due to the deficiency of the hepatic enzyme N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS). During acute hyperammonemic episodes, concomitant administration of CARBAGLU with other ammonia lowering therapies, such as alternate pathway medications, hemodialysis, and dietary protein restriction, is recommended.
CARBAGLU is indicated as maintenance therapy in pediatric and adult patients for the treatment of chronic hyperammonemia due to deficiency of the hepatic enzyme N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS). During maintenance therapy, the concomitant use of other ammonia lowering therapies and protein restriction may be needed based on plasma ammonia levels.
CARBAGLU should be initiated as soon as the diagnosis of NAGS deficiency is suspected, which may be as soon as at birth, and managed by a physician and medical team experienced in metabolic disorders.
The recommended initial daily dosage of CARBAGLU in pediatric and adult patients for acute hyperammonemia is 100 mg/kg to 250 mg/kg divided into 2 to 4 doses and rounded to the nearest 100 mg (i.e., half of a CARBAGLU tablet). Concomitant administration of other ammonia lowering therapies is recommended.
The recommended daily maintenance dosage of CARBAGLU in pediatric and adult patients is 10 mg/kg to 100 mg/kg divided into 2 to 4 doses and rounded to the nearest 100 mg (i.e., half of a CARBAGLU tablet).
Closely monitor plasma ammonia levels. Titrate the CARBAGLU dosage to maintain the plasma ammonia level within the normal range for the patient's age, taking into consideration their clinical condition (e.g., nutritional requirements, protein intake, growth parameters, etc.).
For patients who have a nasogastric tube in place, CARBAGLU should be administered as follows:
For administration via oral syringe, CARBAGLU should be administered as follows:
CARBAGLU is a white and elongated 200 mg tablet for oral suspension, functionally scored and coded “C” on one side.
CARBAGLU is a white and elongated 200 mg tablet for oral suspension, functionally scored and coded “C” on one side. CARBAGLU is available in 5 or 60 tablets in a high density polyethylene bottle with child resistant polypropylene cap and desiccant unit. NDC 52276-312-05 Bottles of 5 tablets
NDC 52276-312-60 Bottles of 60 tablets
Store in the original unopened container at 2 – 8 °C (36 – 46 °F).
After first opening of the container:
Supplied by: Orphan Europe SARL Puteaux, France. Licensed to and Distributed by: Recordati Rare Diseases Inc. Lebanon, NJ 08833. Revised: Nov 2017
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 practice.
Table 1 summarizes adverse reactions occurring in 2 or more patients treated with CARBAGLU in the retrospective case series (≥ 9%).
Table 1: Adverse Reactions Reported in ≥ 2 Patients in the Retrospective Case Series Treated with CARBAGLU
| Adverse Reaction | Number of Patients (N) (%) |
| Vomiting | 6 (26) |
| Abdominal pain | 4 (17) |
| Pyrexia | 4 (17) |
| Tonsillitis | 4 (17) |
| Anemia | 3 (13) |
| Diarrhea | 3 (13) |
| Ear infection | 3 (13) |
| Infections | 3 (13) |
| Nasopharyngitis | 3 (13) |
| Hemoglobin decreased | 3 (13) |
| Headache | 2 (9) |
| Dysguesia | 2 (9) |
| Asthenia | 2 (9) |
| Hyperhidrosis | 2 (9) |
| Influenza | 2 (9) |
| Pneumonia | 2 (9) |
| Weight decreased | 2 (9) |
| Anorexia | 2 (9) |
| Somnolence | 2 (9) |
| Rash | 2 (9) |
No Information provided
Included as part of the PRECAUTIONS section.
Any episode of acute symptomatic hyperammonemia should be treated as a life-threatening emergency. Treatment of severe hyperammonemia may require dialysis, preferably hemodialysis and/or hemofiltration, to reduce plasma ammonia concentration. Untreated hyperammonemia can result in brain damage and death, and prompt use of all therapies necessary to reduce plasma ammonia level is essential.
Since hyperammonemia in NAGS deficiency is the result of imbalance between ammonia detoxification capacity and protein catabolism, complete protein restriction during an acute hyperammonemic episode is recommended for no longer than 12 to 36 hours while maximizing caloric supplementation to reverse catabolism. Protein should be reintroduced as early as possible, following improvement of metabolic and clinical abnormalities in this setting. During long-term management, dietary protein restriction should be instituted to maintain blood ammonia level within an acceptable range for age.
Ongoing monitoring of plasma ammonia level, neurological status, growth parameters, protein intake/nutritional status (both during acute hyperammonemic episodes and long-term), and relevant laboratory tests in patients receiving CARBAGLU should be part of evaluating the clinical response to treatment.
Advise the patient to read the FDA-approved patient labeling (Instructions for Use).
The carcinogenic potential of carglumic acid was assessed in a 2-year carcinogenicity study in rats. Carglumic acid was not tumorigenic at oral doses up to 1000 mg/kg/day (approximately 34 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC).
Carglumic acid was negative in the Ames test, chromosomal aberration assay in human lymphocytes, and the in vivo micronucleus assay in rats.
There were no effects on fertility or reproductive performance in female rats at oral doses up to 2000 mg/kg/day (approximately 38 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC). In a separate study, mating and fertility were unaffected in male rats at oral doses up to 1000 mg/kg/day (approximately 34 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC).
There are no adequate and well controlled studies or available human data with CARBAGLU in pregnant women. Decreased survival and growth occurred in offspring born to animals that received carglumic acid at a dose approximately 38 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose. Because untreated N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS) deficiency results in irreversible neurologic damage and death, women with NAGS must remain on treatment throughout pregnancy.
No effects on embryo-fetal development were observed in pregnant rats treated with up to 2000 mg/kg/day (approximately 38 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC [area under the plasma concentration-time curve]) from two weeks prior to mating through organogenesis or in pregnant rabbits treated with up to 1000 mg/kg/day (approximately 6 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC).
In a peri- and post-natal developmental study, female rats received oral carglumic acid from organogenesis through lactation at doses of 500 and 2000 mg/kg/day. Decreased growth of offspring was observed at 500 mg/kg/day and higher (approximately 38 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC) and reduction in offspring survival during lactation was observed at 2000 mg/kg/day (approximately 38 times the maximum reported human maintenance dose [100 mg/kg/day] based on AUC). No effects on physical and sexual development, learning and memory, or reproductive performance were observed through maturation of the surviving offspring at maternal doses up to 2000 mg/kg/day. The high dose (2000 mg/kg/day) produced maternal toxicity (impaired weight gain and approximately 10% mortality).
It is not known whether CARBAGLU is excreted in human milk. Carglumic acid is excreted in rat milk, and an increase in mortality and impairment of body weight gain occurred in neonatal rats nursed by mothers receiving carglumic acid. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk and because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants from CARBAGLU, breast-feeding is not recommended. Treatment is continuous and life-long for NAGS deficiency patients.
The efficacy of CARBAGLU for the treatment of hyperammonemia in patients with NAGS deficiency from birth to adulthood was evaluated in a retrospective review of the clinical course of 23 NAGS deficiency patients who all began CARBAGLU treatment during infancy or childhood. There are no apparent differences in clinical response between adults and pediatric NAGS deficiency patients treated with CARBAGLU, however, data are limited.
CARBAGLU has not been studied in the geriatric population. Therefore, the safety and effectiveness in geriatric patients have not been established.
One patient treated with 650 mg/kg/day of carglumic acid developed symptoms characterized as a monosodium glutamate intoxication-like syndrome: tachycardia, profuse sweating, increased bronchial secretion, increased body temperature and restlessness. These symptoms resolved upon reduction of dose.
Repeated oral dosing of carglumic acid at 2000 mg/kg/day was lethal to most neonatal rats within 2-3 days of treatment. The plasma concentrations that produced lethality were not measured. In adult rats, a single oral administration of carglumic acid was not lethal at doses up to 2800 mg/kg (approximately 20 times the maximum starting dose based on Cmax).
None
Carglumic acid is a synthetic structural analogue of N-acetylglutamate (NAG) which is produced from glutamate and acetyl-CoA in a reaction catalyzed by N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS), a mitochondrial liver enzyme. NAG acts as an essential allosteric activator of Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase 1 (CPS 1), a mitochondrial liver enzyme which catalyzes the first reaction of the urea cycle. The urea cycle, whose role is the disposition of ammonia, includes a series of biochemical reactions in the liver resulting in the conversion of ammonia into urea, which is then excreted through the urine. Carglumic acid acts as a CPS1 activator in patients with NAGS deficiency, thereby removing the block in the urea cycle and facilitating ammonia detoxification and urea production.
In a retrospective review of the clinical course in 23 patients with NAGS deficiency, carglumic acid reduced plasma ammonia levels within 24 hours when administered with and without concomitant ammonia lowering therapies. No dose response relationship has been identified.
The pharmacokinetics of carglumic acid have been studied in healthy male subjects using both radiolabeled and non-radiolabeled carglumic acid.
The median Tmax of CARBAGLU was 3 hours (range: 2 to 4 hours). Absolute bioavailability has not been determined.
The apparent volume of distribution was 2657 L (range: 1616-5797). Protein binding has not been determined.
Metabolism
A proportion of carglumic acid may be metabolized by the intestinal bacterial flora. The likely end product of carglumic acid metabolism is carbon dioxide, eliminated through the lungs.
Excretion
Median value for the terminal half-life was 5.6 hours (range 4.3 to 9.5 hours), the apparent total clearance was 5.7 L/min (range 3.0 to 9.7 L/min), the renal clearance was 290 mL/min (range 204 to 445 mL/min), and the 24-hour urinary excretion was 4.5% of the dose (range 3.5 to 7.5%). Following administration of a single radiolabeled oral dose of 100 mg/kg of body weight, 9% of the dose was excreted unchanged in the urine and up to 60% of the dose was excreted unchanged in the feces.
No drug interaction studies have been performed. Based on in vitro studies, CARBAGLU is not an inducer of CYP1A1/2, CYP2B6, CYP2C, and CYP3A4/5 enzymes, and not an inhibitor of CYP1A2, CYP2A6, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, and CYP3A4/5 enzymes.
The efficacy of CARBAGLU in the treatment of hyperammonemia due to NAGS deficiency was evaluated in a retrospective review of the clinical course of 23 NAGS deficiency patients who received CARBAGLU treatment for a median of 7.9 years (range 0.6 to 20.8 years). Treatment with CARBAGLU was divided in two regimens. For acute treatment, patients received a total daily dose of 100 to 250 mg/kg per day primarily administered in 2 to 4 divided doses for the first few days of treatment. For maintenance treatment, the dosage was reduced over time based upon biochemical and clinical responses.
The demographics characteristics of the patient population are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Baseline characteristics of the 23 NAGS
deficiency patients
| Patients N=23 |
||
| Gender | Male | 14 (61%) |
| Female | 9 (39%) | |
| Age at initiation of CARBAGLU therapy (years) | Mean (SD) | 2 (4) |
| Min-Max | 0-13 | |
| Age groups at initiation of CARBAGLU therapy | <30 days | 9 (39%) |
| >30 days - 11 months | 9 (39%) | |
| ≥1 - 13 years | 5 (22%) | |
| NAGS gene mutations by DNA testing | homozygous | 14 (61%) |
| heterozygous | 4 (17%) | |
| Not available | 5 (22%) | |
| Patients current treatment status | On-going | 18 (78%) |
| Discontinued | 5 (22%) |
The clinical observations in the 23 patient case series were retrospective, unblinded and uncontrolled and preclude any meaningful formal statistical analyses of the data. However, short-term efficacy was evaluated using mean and median change in plasma ammonia levels from baseline to days 1 to 3. Persistence of efficacy was evaluated using long-term mean and median change in plasma ammonia level. Table 3 summarizes the plasma ammonia levels at baseline, days 1 to 3 post-CARBAGLU treatment, and long-term CARBAGLU treatment for 13 evaluable patients. Of the 23 NAGS deficiency patients who received treatment with CARBAGLU, a subset of 13 patients who had both well documented plasma ammonia levels prior to CARBAGLU treatment and after long-term treatment with CARBAGLU were selected for analysis.
All 13 patients had abnormal ammonia levels at baseline. The overall mean baseline plasma ammonia level was 271 micromol/L. By day 3, normal plasma ammonia levels were attained in patients for whom data were available. Long-term efficacy was measured using the last reported plasma ammonia level for each of the 13 patients analyzed (median length of treatment was 6 years; range 1 to 16 years). The mean and median ammonia levels were 23 micromol/L and 24 micromol/L, respectively, after a mean treatment duration of 8 years.
Table 3: Plasma ammonia
levels at baseline and after treatment with CARBAGLU
| Timepoint | Statistics (N = 13*) |
Ammonia** (micromol/L) |
| Baseline (prior to first treatment with CARBAGLU) | N | 13 |
| Mean (SD) | 271 (359) | |
| Median | 157 | |
| Range | 72-1428 | |
| Missing Data | 0 | |
| Day 1 | N | 10 |
| Mean (SD) | 181 (358) | |
| Median | 65 | |
| Range | 25-1190 | |
| Missing Data | 3 | |
| Day 2 | N | 8 |
| Mean (SD) | 69 (78) | |
| Median | 44 | |
| Range | 11-255 | |
| Missing Data | 5 | |
| Day 3 | N | 5 |
| Mean (SD) | 27 (11) | |
| Median | 25 | |
| Range | 12-42 | |
| Missing Data | 8 | |
| Long-term Mean: 8 years Median: 6 years 1 to 16 years (last available value on CARBAGLU treatment) | N | 13 |
| Mean (SD) | 23 (7) | |
| Median | 24 | |
| Range | 9-34 | |
| Missing Data | 0 | |
| * 13/23 patients with complete
short-term and long-term plasma ammonia documentation ** Mean ammonia normal range: 5 to 50 micromol/L |
||
The mean plasma ammonia level at baseline and the decline that is observed after treatment with CARBAGLU in 13 evaluable patients with NAGS deficiency is illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Ammonia response
for 13 evaluable NAGS deficiency patients at baseline and after treatment with
CARBAGLU
 |
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE
CARBAGLU
(CAR-buh-gloo)
(carglumic acid) Tablet for Oral
Suspension
Important information:
You may need to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a medicine cup to measure the correct amount of water you will need to prepare your dose of CARBAGLU.
Taking CARBAGLU tablets by mouth using a cup:
Children and Adults
Taking CARBAGLU tablets by mouth using an oral syringe:
Children
Giving CARBAGLU tablets through a nasogastric (NG) tube:
Children and Adults
How should I store CARBAGLU?
Keep CARBAGLU and all medicines out of the reach of children.
This Instructions for Use has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
