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What is Glatiramer Acetate Injection?

Glatiramer Acetate Injection is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults.

It is a complex mixture of polypeptides containing 4 naturally occurring amino acids.1,2

  • L-glutamic acid L-glutamic acid
  • L-alanine L-alanine
  • L-tyrosineL-tyrosine
  • L-lysineL-lysine

The mechanism by which Glatiramer Acetate exerts its effects in patients with MS is not fully understood. It is thought to act by modifying immune processes that are believed to be responsible for the pathogenesis of MS.1,2

What is Viatris Glatiramer Acetate Injection?

Glatiramer Acetate Injection is a clear, colorless to slightly yellow, sterile, nonpyrogenic solution in a 1 mL single-dose prefilled syringe with fixed ½ inch 29 gauge needle supplied as:

  • 20 mg/mLFor once-daily Injection

    In a single-dose prefilled syringe with a light blue plunger, in individual blister packages supplied in 30-count cartons (NDC 0378-6960-93).

  • 40 mg/mLFor 3-times-a-week Injection

    In a single-dose prefilled syringe with a light blue plunger, in individual blister packages supplied in 12-count cartons (NDC 0378-6961-12). 

This means that Glatiramer Acetate Injection from Viatris may be substituted for the equivalent dose of COPAXONE and may be expected to have a comparable safety and efficacy profile.2

Like COPAXONE, Glatiramer Acetate Injection from Viatris is available by prescription only, for injection under the skin.3

Product journey from 1996 development to 2017 FDA approval

The mechanism(s) by which Glatiramer Acetate exerts its effects in patients with MS are not fully understood. However, Glatiramer Acetate is thought to act by modifying immune processes that are believed to be responsible for the pathogenesis of MS.

A Complex Drug, But Not a Biologic

According to the FDA, a biologic is a protein derived from living material used to treat or cure disease. Because the polypeptides that make up Glatiramer Acetate are manufactured in the lab, it is not classified as a biologic.4

The mechanism(s) by which Glatiramer Acetate exerts its effects in patients with MS are not fully understood. Glatiramer Acetate is a mixture of synthetic polypeptides composed of four amino acids. Given subcutaneously GA is readily absorbed, and most of the dose is quickly degraded into smaller fragments in the subcutaneous department. GA is believed to induce the regulatory cells that inhibit the immunological damage process that occurs in MS.

INDICATION

GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION is indicated for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to glatiramer acetate or mannitol.

Approximately 16% of patients exposed to GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION 20 mg per mL compared to 4% of those on placebo, and approximately 2% of patients exposed to GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION 40 mg per mL compared to none on placebo experienced a constellation of symptoms that may occur within seconds to minutes after injection and included at least 2 of the following: flushing, chest pain, palpitations, tachycardia, anxiety, dyspnea, throat constriction, and urticaria. In general, these symptoms have their onset several months after the initiation of treatment, although they may occur earlier, and a given patient may experience 1 or several episodes of these symptoms. Typically, the symptoms were transient and self-limited and did not require treatment; however, there have been reports of patients with similar symptoms who received emergency medical care.

Transient chest pain was experienced by 13% of GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION 20 mg per mL patients compared to 6% of placebo patients, and approximately 2% of GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION 40 mg per mL patients compared to 1% on placebo.

While some episodes of chest pain occurred in the context of the immediate post-injection reactions that are described, many did not. The temporal relationship of this chest pain to an injection was not always known. The pain was usually transient, often unassociated with other symptoms, and appeared to have no clinical sequelae. Some patients experienced more than one such episode, and episodes usually began at least one month after the initiation of treatment.

At injection sites, localized lipoatrophy and, rarely, injection site skin necrosis may occur. Lipoatrophy may occur at various times after treatment onset (sometimes after several months) and is thought to be permanent. There is no known therapy for lipoatrophy.

Because GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION can modify immune response, it may interfere with immune functions. For example, treatment with GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION may interfere with recognition of foreign antigens in a way that would undermine the body’s tumor surveillance and its defenses against infection. There is no evidence that GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION does this, but there has not been a systematic evaluation of this risk.

Cases of hepatic injury, some severe, including liver failure and hepatitis with jaundice, have been reported with GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION. Hepatic injury has occurred from days to years after initiating treatment with GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION. If signs or symptoms of liver dysfunction occur, consider discontinuation of GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION.

The most common adverse reactions observed in controlled studies of GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION 20 mg per mL and 40 mg per mL, were injection site reactions (ISRs), vasodilatation, rash, dyspnea and chest pain; ISRs were one of the most common adverse reactions leading to discontinuation of GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION. ISRs, such as erythema, pain, pruritus, mass, edema, hypersensitivity, fibrosis, and atrophy, occurred at a higher rate with GLATIRAMER ACETATE INJECTION than placebo.