Lovastatin

Therapy with lovastatin tablets USP should be a component of multiple risk factor intervention in those individuals with dyslipidemia at risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease. Lovastatin tablets USP should be used in addition to a diet restricted in saturated fat and cholesterol as part of a treatment strategy to lower total-C and LDL-C to target levels when the response to diet and other nonpharmacological measures alone has been inadequate to reduce risk. Primary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease In individuals without symptomatic cardiovascular disease, average to moderately elevated total-C and LDL-C and below average HDL-C, lovastatin tablets USP are indicated to reduce the risk of: -Myocardial infarction -Unstable angina -Coronary revascularization procedures.

The patient should be placed on a standard cholesterol-lowering diet before receiving lovastatin tablets USP and should continue on this diet during treatment with lovastatin tablets USP. Lovastatin tablets USP should be given with meals. Adult Patients The usual recommended starting dose is 20 mg once a day given with the evening meal. The recommended dosing range of lovastatin is 10 to 80 mg / day in single or two divided doses, the maximum recommended dose is 80 mg / day. Doses should be individualized according to the recommended goal of therapy. Patients requiring reductions in LDL-C of 20% or more to achieve their goal should be started on 20 mg/day of lovastatin tablets. A starting dose of 10 mg of lovastatin may be considered for patients requiring smaller reductions. Adjustments should be made at intervals of 4 weeks or more.

Hypersensitivity to any component of this medication. Active liver disease or unexplained persistent elevations of serum transaminases. Concomitant administration with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, HIV protease inhibitors, boceprevir, telaprevir, erythromycin, clarithromycin, telithromycin, nefazodone, and cobicistat-containing products). Pregnancy and lactation. Atherosclerosis is a chronic process and the discontinuation of lipid-lowering drugs during pregnancy should have little impact on the outcome of long-term therapy of primary hypercholesterolemia.

Myopathy/Rhabdomyolysis Lovastatin, like other inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, occasionally causes myopathy manifested as muscle pain, tenderness or weakness with creatine kinase (CK) above ten times the upper limit of normal (ULN). Myopathy sometimes takes the form of rhabdomyolysis with or without acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria, and rare fatalities have occurred. The risk of myopathy is increased by high levels of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory activity in plasma. The risk of myopathy/rhabdomyolysis is dose related. In a clinical study (EXCEL) in which patients were carefully monitored and some interacting drugs were excluded, there was one case of myopathy among 4933 patients randomized to lovastatin 20 to 40 mg daily for 48 weeks, and 4 among 1649 patients randomized to 80 mg daily.

Phase III Clinical Studies In Phase III controlled clinical studies involving 613 patients treated with lovastatin, the adverse experience profile was similar to that shown below for the 8,245-patient EXCEL study. Persistent increases of serum transaminases have been noted. About 11% of patients had elevations of CK levels of at least twice the normal value on one or more occasions. The corresponding values for the control agent cholestyramine was 9 percent. This was attributable to the noncardiac fraction of CK. Large increases in CK have sometimes been reported. Expanded Clinical Evaluation of Lovastatin (EXCEL) Study Lovastatin was compared to placebo in 8,245 patients with hypercholesterolemia (total-C 240 to 300 mg / dL [6.2 to 7.8 mmol / L]) in the randomized, double-blind, parallel, 48-week EXCEL study.

Storage Store at 25°C (77°F), excursions permitted to 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Lovastatin tablets must be protected from light and stored in a well-closed, light-resistant container. 1 Kantola, T, et al., Clin Pharmacol Ther 1998, 63: 397-402 3 Manson, J.M., Freyssinges,C.Ducrocq, M.B., Stephenson, W.P., Postmarketing Surveillance of Lovastatin and Simvastatin Exposure During Pregnancy.