RADICAVA ORS Now Available Across the VA System to U.S. Veterans Living with ALS
JERSEY CITY, N.J. March 10, 2023 – Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) is proud to announce that as of June 2022, RADICAVA ORS® (edaravone) has been added to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Formulary (VANF), with a national prior authorization process in place, making the treatment accessible to U.S. veterans living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) who are within the VA’s integrated healthcare system.
RADICAVA ORS was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 12, 2022 as an oral suspension form of edaravone that offers the same efficacy as the intravenous (IV) formulation, RADICAVA® (edaravone), and was shown in a pivotal trial to help slow the loss of physical function in ALS.1 To learn more about RADICAVA ORS, visit RADICAVA.com.
“Given the devastating nature of ALS and the demand for additional treatment options, we are thrilled to see RADICAVA ORS added to the VA’s National Formulary,” said Atsushi Fujimoto, President, MTPA. “MTPA is committed to helping U.S. veterans living with ALS have access to our treatments, and we applaud the VA for making RADICAVA ORS available as an option for them.”
The VANF is a listing of drugs and supplies that must be made available for prescription at all VA facilities.2 The purpose of the VANF is to provide pharmaceutical products while assuring the portability and standardization of the pharmacy benefit to eligible veterans accepted by the VA for care.2 The VANF criteria follow the FDA’s approved labeling, and all VA requests will be determined at the national level by a single team of experts, enabling consistency across the system. The Criteria for Use of RADICAVA ORS can be found at the VA website here: https://www.pbm.va.gov/apps/VANationalFormulary/.
“Some studies have shown that military veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS than those who haven’t served in the military,” said Juan Reyes, a U.S. military veteran living with ALS and patient ambassador for MTPA. “The addition of RADICAVA ORS to the VA National Formulary symbolizes not only the dedication and recognition of veterans by MTPA and the VA, but also a significant step forward for those in the ALS community in need of an alternate treatment option.”
In prior clinical trials for RADICAVA, the most common adverse events (AEs) reported in participants were contusion (15%), gait disturbance (13%) and headache (10%).1 In the pivotal safety trial for RADICAVA ORS (MT-1186-A01), the most common AEs reported at 24 weeks in participants were muscular weakness (16.2%), fall (15.7%) and fatigue ( 7.6%). RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS are contraindicated in people with a history of hypersensitivity to edaravone or any of the inactive ingredients.1 See Important Safety Information below.
About RADICAVA® (edaravone) and RADICAVA ORS® (edaravone)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RADICAVA® (edaravone) on May 5, 2017, and the oral formulation RADICAVA ORS® (edaravone) on May 12, 2022, for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). RADICAVA is administered in 28-day cycles by IV infusion. It takes 60 minutes to receive each 60 mg dose. For the initial cycle, the treatment is infused daily for 14 consecutive days, followed by a two-week drug-free period. All cycles thereafter are infused daily for 10 days within a 14-day period, followed by a two-week drug-free period. RADICAVA ORS is taken daily for 14 consecutive days followed by a 14-day drug-free period for the initial treatment cycle. For subsequent treatment cycles, RADICAVA ORS is taken for 10 days within a 14-day period followed by a 14-day drug-free period. RADICAVA ORS should be taken in the morning after overnight fasting. Patients should not eat or drink (except water) within one hour after taking RADICAVA ORS.1
Edaravone was discovered and developed for ALS by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Development America, Inc (MTDA), commercialized in the U.S. by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc (MTPA). The MTPC group companies began researching ALS in 2001 through an iterative clinical platform over a 13-year period. In 2015, edaravone was approved as RADICUT® for the treatment of ALS in Japan and South Korea. Marketing authorizations were subsequently granted in Canada (October 2018), Switzerland (January 2019), Indonesia (July 2020), Thailand (April 2021) and Malaysia (December 2021). Marketing authorization for RADICAVA® Oral Suspension was granted in Canada in November 2022, and RADICUT® Oral Suspension 2.1% was granted regulatory approval in Japan in December 2022. To date, in the U.S., RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS have been used to treat over 9,000 people with ALS, with over 1.2-million days of therapy, and have been prescribed by nearly 2,000 HCPs.3-5
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Hypersensitivity Reactions
RADICAVA (edaravone) and RADICAVA ORS (edaravone) are contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to edaravone or any of the inactive ingredients of this product. Hypersensitivity reactions (redness, wheals, and erythema multiforme) and cases of anaphylaxis (urticaria, decreased blood pressure, and dyspnea) have occurred with RADICAVA.
Patients should be monitored carefully for hypersensitivity reactions. If hypersensitivity reactions occur, discontinue RADICAVA or RADICAVA ORS, treat per standard of care, and monitor until the condition resolves.
Sulfite Allergic Reactions
RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS contain sodium bisulfite, a sulfite that may cause allergic-type reactions, including anaphylactic symptoms and life-threatening or less severe asthmatic episodes in susceptible people. The overall prevalence of sulfite sensitivity in the general population is unknown but occurs more frequently in asthmatic people.
Adverse Reactions
The most common adverse reactions (≥10%) reported in RADICAVA-treated patients were contusion (15%), gait disturbance (13%), and headache (10%). In an open label study, fatigue was also observed in 7.6% of patients receiving RADICAVA ORS.
Pregnancy
Based on animal data, RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS may cause fetal harm.
To report suspected adverse reactions or product complaints, contact Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc., at 1-888-292-0058. You may also report suspected adverse reactions to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
INDICATION
RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS are indicated for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
For more information, including full Prescribing Information, please visit www.RADICAVA.com.
About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.
Based in Jersey City, N.J., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation’s (MTPC) 100 percent owned U.S. holding company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc. It was established by MTPC to commercialize approved pharmaceutical products in North America. For more information, please visit www.mt-pharma-america.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Development America, Inc.
The U.S. headquarters of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Development America, Inc. (MTDA) is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. MTDA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation’s 100 percent-owned U.S. holding company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc. For more information, please visit https://mt-pharma-development-america.com/.
About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC), the pharma arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group (MCHC Group), is one of the oldest pharmaceutical companies in the world, founded in 1678, and focusing on ethical pharmaceuticals. MTPC is headquartered in Doshomachi, Osaka, the birthplace of Japan’s pharmaceutical industry. The MCHC Group has positioned health care as its strategic focus in its management policy, “Forging the future”. MTPC sets the MISSION of “Creating hope for all facing illness”. To that end, MTPC is prioritizing work on “precision medicine” to provide drugs with high treatment satisfaction by identifying patient populations with high potential for efficacy and safety, focusing on the disease areas of central nervous system and immuno-inflammation. In addition, MTPC is working to develop “around the pill solutions” to address specific patient concerns based on therapeutic medicine, including prevention of diseases, pre-symptomatic disease care, prevention of aggravation and prognosis. For more information, go to https://www.mt-pharma.co.jp/e/.
Media inquiries:
Media_MTPA@mt-pharma-us.com
1RADICAVA and RADICAVA ORS Prescribing Information. Jersey City, NJ: Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.; 2022.
2Veterans Affairs. National Formulary Frequently Asked Questions. https://www.pbm.va.gov/PBM/nationalformulary/VANationalFormularyFrequentlyAskedQuestions.pdf. Accessed July 2022.
3Data on file. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.
4Data on file. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.
5Data on file. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.