Pregnancy Exposure Registry

There is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to antidepressants, including AUVELITY, during pregnancy. Healthcare providers are encouraged to register patients by contacting the National Pregnancy Registry for Antidepressants at 1-866-961-2388 or online at: https://womensmentalhealth.org/research/pregnancyregistry/antidepressants/.

Risk Summary

Based on animal studies, AUVELITY may cause fetal harm when administered during pregnancy. AUVELITY is not recommended during pregnancy. If a female becomes pregnant while being treated with AUVELITY, discontinue treatment and counsel the patient about the potential risk to a fetus [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9)].

In oral studies conducted in rats and rabbits, a combination of dextromethorphan/quinidine demonstrated developmental toxicity, including fetal malformations (rabbits) and embryolethality, when given to pregnant animals. When bupropion alone was administered to pregnant rats during organogenesis, there was no evidence of fetal malformations at doses up to approximately 21 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 210 mg/day. When bupropion alone was given to pregnant rabbits during organogenesis, non-dose–related increases in incidence of fetal malformations, and skeletal variations were observed at doses approximately 2 to 5 times the MRHD and greater. Decreased fetal weights were seen at bupropion doses approximately 5 times the MRHD and greater. Neurotoxicity findings were observed in juvenile rats treated with a combination of dextromethorphan/quinidine on postnatal day (PND) 7, which corresponds to the third trimester of gestation through the first few months of life and may extend through the first three years of life in humans. Based on these findings, AUVELITY may cause fetal harm when administered to pregnant women (see Data).

The available clinical data on the use of AUVELITY during pregnancy is insufficient to evaluate for a drug-associated risk of major birth malformations, miscarriage, or other adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. However, there are available data on one of the individual components of AUVELITY, bupropion. Data from epidemiological studies of pregnant women exposed to bupropion in the first trimester have not identified an increased risk of congenital malformations overall (see Data). There are risks to the mother associated with untreated depression in pregnancy (see Clinical Considerations).

The estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated population is unknown. All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2% to 4% and 15% to 20%, respectively. 

Clinical Considerations

Disease-Associated Maternal and/or Embryo/Fetal Risk

A prospective, longitudinal study followed 201 pregnant women with a history of major depressive disorder who were euthymic and taking antidepressants during pregnancy at the beginning of pregnancy. The women who discontinued antidepressants during pregnancy were more likely to experience a relapse of major depression than women who continued antidepressants. Consider the risks to the mother of untreated depression and potential effects on the fetus when discontinuing or changing treatment with antidepressant medications during pregnancy and postpartum.

Data

Human Data

Bupropion

Data from the international bupropion Pregnancy Registry (675 first trimester exposures) and a retrospective cohort study using the United Healthcare database (1,213 first trimester exposures) did not show an increased risk for malformations overall. The Registry was not designed or powered to evaluate specific defects but suggested a possible increase in cardiac malformations.

No increased risk for cardiovascular malformations overall has been observed after bupropion exposure during the first trimester. The prospectively observed rate of cardiovascular malformations in pregnancies with exposure to bupropion in the first trimester from the international bupropion Pregnancy Registry was 1.3% (9 cardiovascular malformations/675 first trimester maternal bupropion exposures), which is similar to the background rate of cardiovascular malformations (approximately 1%). Data from the United Healthcare database, which had a limited number of exposed cases with cardiovascular malformations, and a case-control study (11,700 infants with cardiovascular malformations and 20,093 infants with non-cardiovascular malformations) of self-reported antidepressant use, including bupropion (n=728), from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) did not show an increased risk for cardiovascular malformations overall after bupropion exposure during the first trimester.

Study findings on bupropion exposure during the first trimester and risk for left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) or ventricular septal defect (VSD) are inconsistent and do not allow conclusions regarding a possible association. The United Healthcare database lacked sufficient power to evaluate the LVOTO association. NBDPS found slightly increased risk for LVOTO after partially accounting for underlying maternal conditions (n = 14; adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; 95% CI: 0.58, 2.43), and the Slone Epidemiology case control study did not find increased risk for LVOTO. 

The Slone Epidemiology Study found an increased risk for VSD following first trimester maternal bupropion exposure (n = 17; adjusted OR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.3, 5.0) but did not find increased risk for any other cardiovascular malformations studied (including LVOTO as above). The NBDPS and United Healthcare database study did not find an association between first trimester maternal bupropion exposure and VSD. 

For the findings of LVOTO and VSD, the studies were limited by the small number of exposed cases, inconsistent findings among studies, and the potential for chance findings from multiple comparisons in case control studies.

Animal Data

In studies conducted in pregnant mice, dextromethorphan-bupropion was administered orally during the period of organogenesis at doses of 0-0, 26-57, 34-75, and 68-150 mg/kg/day, respectively. Administration of dextromethorphan-bupropion did not affect body weight, weight gain, food consumption, or pregnancy at any dose level and did not produce gross pathologic findings or placental or fetal findings at any dose level. The no-effect level for reproductive organ findings in mice was 68-150 mg/kg in both sexes, which is approximately 3.7/3.5 times the MRHD for AUVELITY on a mg/m2 basis.

When dextromethorphan/quinidine was administered orally (0/0, 5/100, 15/100, and 50/100 mg/kg/day) to pregnant rats during the period of organogenesis, embryo-fetal deaths were observed at the highest dose tested and reduced skeletal ossification was observed at all doses. Oral administration to pregnant rabbits during organogenesis in two separate studies (0/0, 5/60, 15/60, and 30/60 mg/kg day; 0/0, 5/100, 15/100, and 50/100 mg/kg/day) resulted in an increased incidence of fetal malformations at all but the lowest dose tested.

When dextromethorphan/quinidine was orally administered to female rats during pregnancy and lactation in two separate studies (0/0, 5/100, 15/100, and 30/100 mg/kg/day; 0/0, 5/100, 15/100, and 50/100 mg/kg/day), pup survival and pup weight were decreased at all doses, and developmental delay was observed in offspring at the mid and high doses. A no-effect dose for adverse developmental effects was not identified.

When dextromethorphan/quinidine was orally administered (0/0, 5/50, 15/50, 25/50 mg/kg) to male and female rats on postnatal day (PND) 7, the highest dose resulted in neuronal death in brain (thalamus and medulla oblongata). PND 7 in rat corresponds to the third trimester of gestation through the first several months of life but may extend to approximately three years of age in humans.

In studies conducted in pregnant rats and rabbits, bupropion alone was administered orally during the period of organogenesis at doses of up to 450 and 150 mg/kg/day, respectively (approximately 21 and 14 times the MRHD, respectively, on a mg/m2 basis). There was no evidence of fetal malformations in rats. When given to pregnant rabbits during organogenesis, non-dose–related increases in incidence of fetal malformations and skeletal variations were observed at the lowest dose tested (25 mg/kg/day, approximately 2 times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis) and greater. Decreased fetal weights were observed at doses of 50 mg/kg/day (approximately 5 times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis) and greater. No maternal toxicity was evident at doses of 50 mg/kg/day or less. In a pre- and postnatal development study, bupropion administered orally to pregnant rats at doses of up to 150 mg/kg/day (approximately 7 times the MRHD on a mg/m2 basis) from embryonic implantation through lactation had no effect on pup growth or development.