1. Name Of The Medicinal Product
Keppra 250 mg film-coated tablets.
Keppra 500 mg film-coated tablets.
Keppra 750 mg film-coated tablets.
Keppra 1000 mg film-coated tablets.
2. Qualitative And Quantitative Composition
Each film-coated tablet contains 250 mg levetiracetam, 500 mg levetiracetam, 750 mg levetiracetam or 1000 mg levetiracetam.
For excipients, see 6.1.
3. Pharmaceutical Form
Film-coated tablets.
Blue, oblong and debossed with the code “ucb 250” on one side. Yellow, oblong and debossed with the code “ucb 500” on one side. Orange, oblong and debossed with the code “ucb 750” on one side.
White, oblong and debossed with the code “ucb 1000” on one side.
4. Clinical Particulars
4.1 Therapeutic Indications
Keppra is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in patients with epilepsy.
4.2 Posology And Method Of Administration
The film-coated tablets must be taken orally, swallowed with a sufficient quantity of liquid and may be taken with or without food. The daily dose is administered in two equally divided doses.
Adults and adolescents older than 16 years
The initial therapeutic dose is 500 mg twice daily. This dose can be started on the first day of treatment.
Depending upon the clinical response and tolerance, the daily dose can be increased up to 1500 mg twice daily. Dose changes can be made in 500 mg twice daily increments or decrements every two to four weeks.
Elderly (65 years and older)
Adjustment of the dose is recommended in elderly patients with compromised renal function (see “Patients with renal impairment” below).
Children
There are insufficient data to recommend the use of levetiracetam in children and adolescents under 16 years of age.
Patients with renal impairment
The daily dose must be individualised according to renal function. Refer to the following table and adjust the dose as indicated. To use this dosing table, an estimate of the patient's creatinine clearance (CLcr) in ml/min is needed. The CLcr in ml/min may be estimated from serum creatinine (mg/dl) determination using the following formula:
[140-age (years)] x weight (kg)
CLcr = ----------------------------------------- (x 0.85 for women)
72 x serum creatinine (mg/dl)
Dosing adjustment for patients with impaired renal function
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(1) A 750 mg loading dose is recommended on the first day of treatment with levetiracetam.
(2) Following dialysis, a 250 to 500 mg supplemental dose is recommended.
Patients with hepatic impairment
No dose adjustment is needed in patients with mild to moderate hepatic impairment. In patients with severe hepatic impairment, the creatinine clearance may underestimate the renal insufficiency. Therefore a 50 % reduction of the daily maintenance dose is recommended when the creatinine clearance is < 70 ml/min.
4.3 Contraindications
Hypersensitivity to levetiracetam or other pyrrolidone derivatives or any of the excipients.
4.4 Special Warnings And Precautions For Use
In accordance with current clinical practice, if Keppra has to be discontinued it is recommended to withdraw it gradually (e.g. 500 mg twice daily decrements every two to four weeks).
In a study reflecting clinical practice, the concomitant antiepileptic medication could be withdrawn in a limited number of patients who responded to levetiracetam adjunctive therapy (36 patients out of 69).
An increase in seizure frequency of more than 25 % has been reported in 14 % and 26 % of the levetiracetam and placebo treated patients, respectively.
The administration of Keppra to patients with renal impairment may require dose adjustment. In patients with severely impaired hepatic function, assessment of renal function is recommended before dose selection (see section 4.2 “Posology”).
4.5 Interaction With Other Medicinal Products And Other Forms Of Interaction
Pre-marketing data from clinical studies indicate that Keppra did not influence the serum concentrations of existing antiepileptic medicinal products (phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid, phenobarbital, lamotrigine, gabapentin and primidone) and that these antiepileptic medicinal products did not influence the pharmacokinetics of Keppra.
Probenecid (500 mg four times daily), a renal tubular secretion blocking agent, has been shown to inhibit the renal clearance of the primary metabolite but not of levetiracetam. Nevertheless, the concentration of this metabolite remains low. It is expected that other drugs excreted by active tubular secretion could also reduce the renal clearance of the metabolite. The effect of levetiracetam on probenecid was not studied and the effect of levetiracetam on other actively secreted drugs, e.g. NSAIDs, sulfonamides and methotrexate, is unknown.
Levetiracetam 1,000 mg daily did not influence the pharmacokinetics of oral contraceptives (ethinyl-estradiol and levonorgestrel); endocrine parameters (luteinizing hormone and progesterone) were not modified. Levetiracetam 2,000 mg daily did not influence the pharmacokinetics of digoxin and warfarin; prothrombin times were not modified. Co-administration with digoxin, oral contraceptives and warfarin did not influence the pharmacokinetics of levetiracetam.
No data on the influence of antacids on the absorption of levetiracetam are available.
The extent of absorption of levetiracetam was not altered by food, but the rate of absorption was slightly reduced.
No data on the interaction of levetiracetam with alcohol are available.
4.6 Pregnancy And Lactation
There are no adequate data from the use of Keppra in pregnant women. Studies in animals have shown reproductive toxicity (see section 5.3). The potential risk for human is unknown.
Keppra should not be used during pregnancy unless clearly necessary. Discontinuation of antiepileptic treatments may result in disease worsening, harmful to the mother and the foetus.
Levetiracetam is excreted in human breast milk. Therefore, breast-feeding is not recommended.
4.7 Effects On Ability To Drive And Use Machines
No studies on the effects on the ability to drive and use machines have been performed.
Due to possible different individual sensitivity, some patients might experience somnolence or other central nervous system related symptoms, at the beginning of treatment or following a dose increase. Therefore, caution is recommended in those patients when performing skilled tasks, e.g. driving vehicles or operating machinery.
4.8 Undesirable Effects
Pooled safety data from clinical studies showed that 46.4 % and 42.2 % of the patients experienced undesirable effects in the Keppra and placebo groups, respectively, and that 2.4 % and 2.0 % of the patients experienced serious undesirable effects in the Keppra and placebo groups, respectively. The most commonly reported undesirable effects were somnolence, asthenia and dizziness. In the pooled safety analysis, there was no clear dose-response relationship but incidence and severity of the central nervous system related undesirable effects decreased over time.
Undesirable effects reported in clinical studies or from post-marketing experience are listed in the following table per System Organ Class and per frequency. For clinical trials, the frequency is defined as follows: very common:> 10 %; common:> 1 - 10 %; uncommon:> 0.1 % - 1 %; rare: 0.01 % - 0.1 %; very rare: < 0.01 %, including isolated reports. Data from post-marketing experience are insufficient to support an estimate of their incidence in the population to be treated.
- General disorders and administration site conditions
Very common: asthenia
- Nervous system disorders
Very common: somnolence
Common: amnesia, ataxia, convulsion, dizziness, headache, tremor
- Psychiatric disorders
Common: depression, emotional lability, hostility, insomnia, nervousness
Post-marketing experience: abnormal behaviour, aggression, anger, anxiety, confusion, hallucination, irritability, psychotic disorder
- Gastrointestinal disorders
Common: diarrhoea, dyspepsia, nausea
- Metabolism and nutrition disorders
Common: anorexia
- Ear and labyrinth disorders
Common: vertigo
- Eye disorders
Common: diplopia
- Injury, poisoning and procedural complications
Common: accidental injury
- Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
Common: rash
- Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Post-marketing experience: leukopenia, neutropenia, pancytopenia, thrombocytopenia
4.9 Overdose
Symptoms
Somnolence, agitation, aggression, depressed level of consciousness, respiratory depression and coma were observed with Keppra overdoses.
Management of overdose
After an acute overdose, the stomach may be emptied by gastric lavage or by induction of emesis. There is no specific antidote for levetiracetam. Treatment of an overdose will be symptomatic and may include haemodialysis. The dialyser extraction efficiency is 60 % for levetiracetam and 74 % for the primary metabolite.
5. Pharmacological Properties
5.1 Pharmacodynamic Properties
Pharmacotherapeutic group: antiepileptics, ATC code: N03AX14.
The active substance, levetiracetam, is a pyrrolidone derivative (S-enantiomer of α-ethyl-2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide), chemically unrelated to existing antiepileptic active substances.
Mechanism of action
The mechanism of action of levetiracetam still remains to be fully elucidated but appears to be different from the mechanisms of current antiepileptic medicinal products. In vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that levetiracetam does not alter basic cell characteristics and normal neurotransmission.
In vitro studies show that levetiracetam affects intranueronal Ca2+ levels by partial inhibition of N-type CA2+ currents and by reducing the release of Ca2+ from intraneuronal stores. In addition it partially reverses the reductions in GABA- and glycine-gated currents induced by zinc and β-carbolines. Further more, levetiracetam has been shown in in vitro studies to bind to a specific site in rodent brain tissue. This binding site is the synaptic vesicle protein 2A, believed to be involved in vesicle fusion and neurotransmitter exocytosis. Levetiracetam and related analogs show a rank order of affinity for binding to the synaptic vesicle protein 2A which correlates with the potency of their anti-seizure protection in the mouse audiogenic model of epilepsy. This finding suggests the interaction between levetiracetam and the synaptic vesicle protein 2A seems to contribute to the antiepileptic mechanism of action of the drug.
Pharmacodynamic effects
Levetiracetam induces seizure protection in a broad range of animal models of partial and primarily generalised seizures without having a pro-convulsant effect. The primary metabolite is inactive.
In man, an activity in both partial and generalised epilepsy conditions (epileptiform discharge/photoparoxysmal response) has confirmed the broad spectrum of the preclinical pharmacological profile.
5.2 Pharmacokinetic Properties
Levetiracetam is a highly soluble and permeable compound. The pharmacokinetic profile is linear with low intra- and inter-subject variability. There is no modification of the clearance after repeated administration. There is no evidence for any relevant gender, race or circadian variability. The pharmacokinetic profile is comparable in healthy volunteers and in patients with epilepsy.
Due to its complete and linear absorption, plasma levels can be predicted from the oral dose of levetiracetam expressed as mg/kg bodyweight. Therefore there is no need for plasma level monitoring of levetiracetam.
Absorption
Levetiracetam is rapidly absorbed after oral administration. Oral absolute bioavailability is close to 100 %.
Peak plasma concentrations (Cmax) are achieved at 1.3 hours after dosing. Steady-state is achieved after two days of a twice daily administration schedule.
Peak concentrations (Cmax) are typically 31 and 43 µg/ml following a single 1,000 mg dose and repeated 1,000 mg twice daily dose, respectively.
The extent of absorption is dose-independent and is not altered by food.
Distribution
No tissue distribution data are available in humans.
Neither levetiracetam nor its primary metabolite are significantly bound to plasma proteins (< 10 %).
The volume of distribution of levetiracetam is approximately 0.5 to 0.7 l/kg, a value close to the total body water volume.
Biotransformation
Levetiracetam is not extensively metabolised in humans. The major metabolic pathway (24 % of the dose) is an enzymatic hydrolysis of the acetamide group. Production of the primary metabolite, ucb L057, is not supported by liver cytochrome P450 isoforms. Hydrolysis of the acetamide group was measurable in a large number of tissues including blood cells. The metabolite ucb L057 is pharmacologically inactive.
Two minor metabolites were also identified. One was obtained by hydroxylation of the pyrrolidone ring (1.6 % of the dose) and the other one by opening of the pyrrolidone ring (0.9 % of the dose).
Other unidentified components accounted only for 0.6 % of the dose.
No enantiomeric interconversion was evidenced in vivo for either levetiracetam nor its primary metabolite.
In vitro, levetiracetam and its primary metabolite have been shown not to inhibit the major human liver cytochrome P450 isoforms (CYP3A4, 2A6, 2C8/9/10, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1 and 1A2), glucuronyl transferase (UGT1*6, UGT1*1 and UGT [PL6.2]) and epoxide hydroxylase activities. In addition, levetiracetam does not affect the in vitro glucuronidation of valproic acid.
In human hepatocytes in culture, levetiracetam did not cause enzyme induction. Therefore, the interaction of Keppra with other substances, or vice versa, is unlikely.
Elimination
The plasma half-life in adults was 7±1 hours and did not vary either with dose, route of administration or repeated administration. The mean total body clearance was 0.96 ml/min/kg.
The major route of excretion was via urine, accounting for a mean 95 % of the dose (approximately 93 % of the dose was excreted within 48 hours). Excretion via faeces accounted for only 0.3 % of the dose.
The cumulative urinary excretion of levetiracetam and its primary metabolite accounted for 66 % and 24 % of the dose, respectively during the first 48 hours.
The renal clearance of levetiracetam and ucb L057 is 0.6 and 4.2 ml/min/kg respectively indicating that levetiracetam is excreted by glomerular filtration with subsequent tubular reabsorption and that the primary metabolite is also excreted by active tubular secretion in addition to glomerular filtration. Levetiracetam elimination is correlated to creatinine clearance.
Elderly
In the elderly, the half-life is increased by about 40 % (10 to 11 hours). This is related to the decrease in renal function in this population (see section 4.2 “Posology”).
Children (6 to 12 years)
Following single dose administration (20 mg/kg) to epileptic children, the half-life of levetiracetam was 6.0 hours. The apparent body weight adjusted clearance was approximately 30 % higher than in epileptic adults.
Renal impairment
The apparent body clearance of both levetiracetam and of its primary metabolite is correlated to the creatinine clearance. It is therefore recommended to adjust the maintenance daily dose of Keppra, based on creatinine clearance in patients with moderate and severe renal impairment (see section 4.2 “Posology”).
In anuric end-stage renal disease subjects the half-life was approximately 25 and 3.1 hours during interdialytic and intradialytic periods, respectively.
The fractional removal of levetiracetam was 51 % during a typical 4-hour dialysis session.
Hepatic impairment
In subjects with mild and moderate hepatic impairment, there was no relevant modification of the clearance of levetiracetam. In most subjects with severe hepatic impairment, the clearance of levetiracetam was reduced by more than 50 % due to a concomitant renal impairment (see section 4.2 “Posology”).
5.3 Preclinical Safety Data
Preclinical data reveal no special hazard for humans based on conventional studies of safety pharmacology, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Although no evidence for carcinogenicity was seen, the potential carcinogenicity has not been fully evaluated due to some shortcomings in the studies performed.
Adverse effects not observed in clinical studies but seen in the rat and to a lesser extent in the mouse at exposure levels similar to human exposure levels and with possible relevance for clinical use were liver changes, indicating an adaptive response such as increased weight and centrilobular hypertrophy, fatty infiltration and increased liver enzymes in plasma.
In reproductive toxicity studies in the rat, levetiracetam induced developmental toxicity (increase in skeletal variations/minor anomalies, retarded growth, increased pup mortality) at exposure levels similar to or greater than the human exposure. In the rabbit foetal effects (embryonic death, increased skeletal anomalies, and increased malformations) were observed in the presence of maternal toxicity. The systemic exposure at the observed no effect level in the rabbit was about 4 to 5 times the human exposure.
6. Pharmaceutical Particulars
6.1 List Of Excipients
Keppra 250 mg, Keppra 500 mg, Keppra 1,000 mg
Core: maize starch, povidone K30, talc, colloidal anhydrous silica, magnesium stearate.
Keppra 250 mg
Film-coating: Opadry OY-S-30913: hypromellose, macrogol 4000, titanium dioxide (E 171), indigo carmine lake (E 132).
Keppra 750 mg
Film-coating: Opadry OY-S-33016, hypromellose, macrogol 4000, titanium dioxide (E 171), indigo carmine lake (E 132), red iron oxide (E172), sunset yellow lake (E110).
Keppra 500 mg
Film-coating: Opadry O5-F-32867: hypromellose, macrogol 4000, titanium dioxide (E 171), yellow iron oxide (E 172).
Keppra 1000 mg
Film-coating: Opadry Y-1-7000: hypromellose, macrogol 400, titanium dioxide (E 171).
6.2 Incompatibilities
Not applicable.
6.3 Shelf Life
3 years.
6.4 Special Precautions For Storage
Do not store above 25°C.
6.5 Nature And Contents Of Container
Keppra 250 mg and 1,000 mg film-coated tablets are packaged in aluminium/PVC blisters placed into cardboard boxes containing 20, 30, 50, 60 and 100 film-coated tablets.
Keppra 500mg film-coated tablets are packaged in aluminium/PVC blisters placed into cardboard boxes containing 20, 30, 50, 60 100, 120 and 200 film-coated tablets.
Keppra 750mg film-coated tablets are packaged in aluminium/PVC blisters placed into cardboard boxes containing 20, 30, 50, 60 100, 120 and 200 film-coated tablets.
Keppra 1000mg film-coated tablets are packaged in aluminium/PVC blisters placed into cardboard boxes containing 10, 20, 30, 50, 60 100, 120 and 200 film-coated tablets.
Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
6.6 Special Precautions For Disposal And Other Handling
No special requirements.
7. Marketing Authorisation Holder
UCB S.A.
Allée de la Recherche 60
B-1070 Bruxelles
Belgium
8. Marketing Authorisation Number(S)
250 mg x 60 tablets: EU/1/00/146/004.
500 mg x 60 tablets: EU/1/00/146/010.
750 mg x 60 tablets EU/1/00/146/017.
1000 mg x 60 tablets: EU/1/00/146/024.
9. Date Of First Authorisation/Renewal Of The Authorisation
29 September 2000
10. Date Of Revision Of The Text
May 2005
Legal category: POM
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