Equfina Drug Interactions

In vivo and in vitro pharmacodynamic drug interactions: MAO inhibitors and pethidine: Safinamide must not be administered along with other MAO inhibitors (including moclobemide) as there may be a risk of non-selective MAO inhibition that may lead to a hypertensive crisis (see Contraindications).
Serious adverse reactions have been reported with the concomitant use of pethidine and MAO inhibitors. As this may be a class-effect, the concomitant administration of safinamide and pethidine is contraindicated (see Contraindications).
There have been reports of medicinal product interactions with the concomitant use of MAO inhibitors and sympathomimetic medicinal products. In view of the MAO inhibitory activity of safinamide, concomitant administration of safinamide and sympathomimetics, such as those present in nasal and oral decongestants or cold medicinal products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, requires caution (see Precautions).
Dextromethorphan: There have been reports of medicinal product interactions with the concomitant use of dextromethorphan and non-selective MAO inhibitors. In view of the MAO inhibitory activity of safinamide, the concomitant administration of safinamide and dextromethorphan is not recommended, or if concomitant treatment is necessary, it should be used with caution (see Precautions).
Antidepressants: The concomitant use of safinamide and fluoxetine or fluvoxamine should be avoided (see Precautions), this precaution is based on the occurrence of serious adverse reactions (e.g. serotonin syndrome), although rare, that have occurred when SSRIs and dextromethorphan have been used with MAO inhibitors. If necessary, the concomitant use of these medicinal products should be at the lowest effective dose. A washout period corresponding to 5 half-lives of the SSRI used previously should be considered prior to initiating treatment with safinamide.
Serious adverse reactions have been reported with the concomitant use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic/tetracyclic antidepressants and MAO inhibitors (see Precautions). In view of the selective and reversible MAO-B inhibitory activity of safinamide, antidepressants may be administered but used at the lowest doses necessary.
In vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetic drug interactions: Safinamide may transiently inhibit BCRP in vitro. In drug-drug-interaction studies in human, a weak interaction was observed with rosuvastatin (AUC increase between 1.25 and 2.00 fold) but no significant interaction was found with diclofenac.
It is recommended to monitor patients when safinamide is taken with medicinal products that are BCRP substrates (e.g., rosuvastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, ciprofloxacin, methotrexate, topotecan, diclofenac or glyburide) and to refer to their SmPCs to determine if a dose adjustment is needed.
Safinamide is almost exclusively eliminated via metabolism, largely by high capacity amidases that have not yet been characterized. Safinamide is eliminated mainly in the urine. In human liver microsomes (HLM), the N-dealkylation step appears to be catalysed by CYP3A4, as safinamide clearance in HLM was inhibited by ketoconazole by 90%.
Safinamide inhibits OCT1 in vitro at clinically relevant portal vein concentrations. Therefore, caution is necessary when safinamide is taken concomitantly with medicinal products that are OCT1 substrates and have a t_max similar to safinamide (2 hours) (e.g. metformin, aciclovir, ganciclovir) as exposure to these substrates might be increased as a consequence.
The metabolite NW-1153 is a substrate for OAT3 at clinically relevant concentrations.
Medicinal products that are inhibitors of OAT3 given concomitantly with safinamide may reduce clearance of NW-1153, i.e., and thus may increase its systemic exposure. The systemic exposure of NW-1153 is low (1/10 of parent safinamide). This potential increase is most likely of no clinical relevance as NW-1153, the first product in the metabolic pathway, is further transformed to secondary and tertiary metabolites.
Paediatric population: Interaction studies have only been performed in adults.