5.1 Contamination of Tip and Solution

Patients should be instructed to avoid allowing the tip of the dispensing container to contact the eye, surrounding structures, fingers, or any other surface in order to avoid contamination of the solution by common bacteria known to cause ocular infections. Serious damage to the eye and subsequent loss of vision may result from using contaminated solutions.

Bottle should be kept tightly closed when not in use.

5.2 Use with Contact Lenses

Patients should be advised not to wear a contact lens if their eye is red. Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% should not be used to treat contact lens-related irritation.

The preservative in Epinastine HCl ophthalmic solution 0.05%, benzalkonium chloride, may be absorbed by soft contact lenses. Contact lenses should be removed prior to instillation of Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% and may be reinserted after 10 minutes following its administration.

5.3 Topical Ophthalmic Use Only

Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% is for topical ophthalmic use only and not for injection or oral use.

6.1 Clinical Studies Experience

Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

The most frequently reported ocular adverse reactions occurring in approximately 1-10% of patients were burning sensation in the eye, folliculosis, hyperemia, and pruritus.

The most frequently reported non-ocular adverse reactions were infection (cold symptoms and upper respiratory infections), seen in approximately 10% of patients, and headache, rhinitis, sinusitis, increased cough, and pharyngitis, seen in approximately 1 - 3% of patients.

Some of these reactions were similar to the underlying disease being studied.

6.2 Postmarketing Experience

The following reactions have been identified during postmarketing use of Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% in clinical practice. Because they are reported voluntarily from a population of unknown size, estimates of frequency cannot be made. The reactions, which have been chosen for inclusion due to either their seriousness, frequency of reporting, possible causal connection to Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05%, or a combination of these factors, include: lacrimation increased.

8.1 Pregnancy

8.3 Nursing Mothers

A study in lactating rats revealed excretion of epinastine in the breast milk. It is not known whether this drug is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% is administered to a nursing woman.

8.4 Pediatric Use

Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients below the age of 2 years have not been established.

8.5 Geriatric Use

No overall differences in safety or effectiveness have been observed between elderly and younger patients.

Chemical Name:

3-Amino-9,13b-dihydro-1H-dibenz[c,f]imidazo[1,5-a]azepine hydrochloride

Each mL contains: Active: Epinastine HCl 0.05% (0.5 mg/mL) equivalent to epinastine 0.044% (0.44 mg/mL); Preservative: Benzalkonium chloride 0.01%; Inactives: Edetate disodium, dihydrate; purified water; sodium chloride; sodium phosphate, monobasic, anhydrous; and sodium hydroxide and/or hydrochloric acid (to adjust pH).

Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% has a pH of approximately 7 and an osmolality range of 250 to 310 mOsm/kg.

12.1 Mechanism of Action

Epinastine is a topically active, direct H1-receptor antagonist and an inhibitor of the release of histamine from the mast cell. Epinastine is selective for the histamine H1-receptor and has affinity for the histamine H2­ receptor. Epinastine also possesses affinity for the α1, α2-, and 5-HT2–receptors.

12.3 Pharmacokinetics

Fourteen subjects, with allergic conjunctivitis, received one drop of Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% in each eye twice daily for 7 days. On day 7, average maximum epinastine plasma concentrations of 0.04±0.014 ng/ml were reached after about two hours indicating low systemic exposure. While these concentrations represented an increase over those seen following a single dose, the day 1 and day 7 Area Under the Curve (AUC) values were unchanged indicating that there is no increase in systemic absorption with multiple dosing. Epinastine is 64% bound to plasma proteins. The total systemic clearance is approximately 56 L/hr and the terminal plasma elimination half-life is about 12 hours. Epinastine is mainly excreted unchanged. About 55% of an intravenous dose is recovered unchanged in the urine with about 30% in feces. Less than 10% is metabolized. The renal elimination is mainly via active tubular secretion.

13.1 Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility

In 18-month or 2-year dietary carcinogenicity studies in mice or rats, respectively, epinastine was not carcinogenic at doses up to 40 mg/kg [approximately 30,000 times higher than the MROHD, assuming 100% absorption in humans and animals].

Epinastine in newly synthesized batches was negative for mutagenicity in the Ames/Salmonella assay and in vitro chromosome aberration assay using human lymphocytes. Positive results were seen with early batches of epinastine in two in vitro chromosomal aberration studies conducted in 1980s with human peripheral lymphocytes and with V79 cells, respectively. Epinastine was negative in the in vivo clastogenicity studies, including the mouse micronucleus assay and chromosome aberration assay in Chinese hamsters. Epinastine was also negative in the cell transformation assay using Syrian hamster embryo cells, V79/HGPRT mammalian cell point mutation assay, and in vivo/in vitro unscheduled DNA synthesis assay using rat primary hepatocytes.

Epinastine had no effect on fertility of male rats. Decreased fertility in female rats was observed at an oral dose up to approximately 90,000 times the MROHD.

17.1 Sterility of Dropper Tip

Patients should be advised not to touch dropper tip to any surface, as this may contaminate the contents (see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS, 5.1).

17.2 Concomitant Use of Contact Lenses

Patients should be advised not to wear a contact lens if their eye is red. Patients should be advised that Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05% should not be used to treat contact lens-related irritation. Patients should also be advised to remove contact lenses prior to instillation of Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05%. The preservative in Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05%, benzalkonium chloride, may be absorbed by soft contact lenses. Lenses may be reinserted after 10 minutes following administration of Epinastine HCl Ophthalmic Solution 0.05%

17.3 Topical Ophthalmic Use Only

For topical ophthalmic administration only.