Assessment of Self-Administration of Romiplostim in Patients with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura after Receipt of Home Administration Training Materials: a Cross-Sectional Study

Patient preferences and experiences regarding thrombopoietin-receptor agonists for immune thrombocytopenia in the United Kingdom and Ireland (TRAPeze UK & IE study)

OBJECTIVES

To establish the experiences with and preferences towards existing thrombopoietin-receptor agonist (TPO-RA) treatments of individuals with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in the UK and Ireland, based on treatment attributes.

METHODS

Responses from UK and Ireland individuals with ITP were collected in a pan-European online survey (TRAPeze, [Thrombopoietin-Receptor Agonist Patient experience survey]) from 18 September 2020 to 18 February 2021. TRAPeze was a survey of treatment preference regarding TPO-RAs (using a discrete choice experiment design), participant demographics, disease characteristics, treatment history, overall satisfaction with therapy, direct healthcare resource utilization and wider social impact.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 32 UK respondents. Characteristics with the greatest influence on preference towards TPO-RA treatments were method of administration (odds ratio (OR) 5.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.2-10.1) and drug-food interactions (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.8-5.7). Particularly, participants were more likely to select an oral tablet over a subcutaneous injection (OR 7.4, 95% CI 3.6-15.1) and a treatment without food restrictions rather than with food restrictions (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.8-6.8).

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to quantify the preference of individuals with ITP towards TPO-RA treatment attributes and demonstrates preference for orally administered treatments, without drug-food interactions.

Clinical overview and practical considerations for optimizing romiplostim therapy in patients with immune thrombocytopenia

The fundamental treatment goal for patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is reduced or ameliorated bleeding. Although various treatment options exist for the management of ITP, recent advances have led to the approval of three thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs; romiplostim, eltrombopag, and avatrombopag) in the United States and European Union. Current treatment guidelines for ITP indicate that medical therapy is preferred over surgical therapy and support the use of TPO-RAs as early as 3 months after disease onset. More recent data are available on the use of romiplostim in patients who have had ITP for <1 year, and romiplostim is now indicated for the treatment of adults who have not responded adequately to initial treatment, as well as children aged ≥1 year who have had ITP for ≥6 months. Here we review the role of romiplostim in the management of ITP, with a focus on efficacy and safety data, emerging data on early use (beginning within 3 months of disease onset) and treatment-free remission, and practical considerations for optimal management of ITP.

Description of the Risk Management of Medication Errors for Centrally Authorised Products in the European Union

Introduction

Medication errors can have serious consequences for patients. To prevent the occurrence of medication errors in clinical practice, safety concerns may be included in the risk management plan and subsequently be addressed with routine and/or additional risk minimisation measures.

Objective

This study aims to describe safety concerns around medication errors and the risk minimisation measures for centrally authorised products in the European Union.

Methods

All safety concerns included in the risk management plans of originator centrally authorised products, authorised between 1 January, 2010 and 31 December, 2017, were collected from the European Public Assessment Report registry. Medication error safety concerns were categorised by Anatomical Therapeutic Classification code, year of authorisation, type of medication error and type of risk minimisation measure.

Results

During the study period, 311 centrally authorised products were approved, of which 84 had at least one medication error safety concern. The proportion of centrally authorised products with medication error safety concerns showed variation between 2010 and 2017 ranging from 15.2% to 36.4%. In total, 95 medication error safety concerns were identified. The type of medication error was highly variable, drug administration error was listed most frequently (n = 17). For 27 out of 95 medication error safety concerns, corresponding to 23 centrally authorised products, additional risk minimisation measures were required. All additional risk minimisation measures consisted of educational material targeted at healthcare professionals (85.2%) and/or patients (51.9%). For 78.3% of centrally authorised products with additional risk minimisation measures for medication errors, studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the additional risk minimisation measures were agreed upon.

Conclusions

Medication error safety concerns were listed for almost a quarter of centrally authorised products approved during the study period. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness and continued need for additional risk minimisation measures for medication errors.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s40264-019-00874-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Romiplostim for the management of pediatric immune thrombocytopenia: drug development and current practice

Since successful cloning of thrombopoietin (TPO) in 1994, significant advances have been made in the development of recombinant TPO receptor agonists. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 2 agents for use in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP): eltrombopag and romiplostim. Romiplostim is a once-weekly subcutaneous injection that has been shown to increase the platelet count, lessen bleeding, and reduce concurrent medication use in adults with ITP. In December 2018, the US FDA approved romiplostim for use in pediatric patients ≥1 year of age with ITP of >6 months' duration and insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, or splenectomy, based on similarly favorable clinical trial data. In addition, romiplostim is well tolerated, making it an attractive option for the treatment of children. Expansion of off-label romiplostim use is being reported in children for ITP <6 months, neonatal thrombocytopenia, hereditary thrombocytopenias, and chemotherapy- and bone marrow transplant-associated thrombocytopenia. We review here the development of romiplostim with a focus on pediatric use.

Safety and efficacy of self-administered romiplostim in patients with immune thrombocytopenia: Results of an integrated database of five clinical trials

Romiplostim self‐administration by patients or caregivers may offer time/cost savings to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and convenience for patients who avoid weekly clinic visits. We performed an integrated analysis of five clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of romiplostim self‐administration. Data were analyzed from adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who received weekly romiplostim via self‐administration or from an HCP. Patients who achieved a stable romiplostim dose for ≥3 weeks (HCP group ≥5 weeks to provide an appropriate index date to enable comparisons with the self‐administration group) with platelet counts ≥50 × 10⁹/L were eligible. In the self‐administration (n = 621) vs HCP (n = 133) groups, respectively, median age was 53 vs 58 years, median time since primary ITP diagnosis was 3.7 vs 2.5 years, and median baseline platelet count at ITP diagnosis was 19.0 vs 20.0 × 10⁹/L. In the self‐administration and HCP‐dosed groups, median romiplostim treatment duration was 89 vs 52 weeks and median total number of doses was 81 vs 50, respectively. In the self‐administration and HCP groups, respectively: 95.0% and 100.0% of patients achieved ≥1 platelet response (defined as weekly platelet count ≥50 × 10⁹/L without rescue medication in previous 4 weeks); the median percentage of weeks with a response was 94.5% and 95.9%; and rescue medication was used in 36.7% and 39.8% of patients. Self‐administration did not adversely affect safety; duration‐adjusted rates for all treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and bleeding TEAEs were numerically lower with self‐administration. Romiplostim self‐administration appears effective and well tolerated in eligible patients with ITP.

The role of romiplostim for pediatric patients with immune thrombocytopenia

The thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) are a class of platelet growth factors used to treat immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in children and adults. Romiplostim is a peptide TPO-RA approved for over a decade to treat adults with ITP but was just recently US Food and Drug Administration approved to manage ITP in children 1 year of age and older who have had an inadequate response to corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, or splenectomy. Like the small molecule TPO-RA eltrombopag, romiplostim offers a high clinical response rate in pediatric patients with ITP, but requires use over an extended, and possibly indefinite, duration. This review is a critical appraisal of the role of romiplostim in pediatric ITP, discussing the safety and efficacy of this agent in clinical trials of children and adults and defining the patients most likely to benefit from romiplostim treatment. The treating hematologist is additionally provided guidance with treatment goals, dosing strategies, toxicity management, and indications for discontinuation.