Side Effects

Please see accompanying complete prescribing information including BOXED warning.

In clinical trials, adverse events reported at a frequency of >10% when TASMAR® (tolcapone) was administered in combination with levodopa/carbidopa were dyskinesia, nausea, sleep disorder, dystonia, anorexia, diarrhea, somnolence, excessive dreaming, muscle cramps, orthostatic complaints, dizziness, headache, and confusion.

To make sure no undue stress is placed on the liver, your physician will conduct once or twice monthly blood tests to monitor certain important liver enzymes.

In addition, you can monitor any side effects by taking note of, or having your loved one tell you, about any of the following warning signs:

• Persistent Nausea
• Fatigue
• Lethargy
• Anorexia
• Jaundice (yellow skin)
• Dark Urine
• Pruritus (extreme itching)
• Upper right abdomen tenderness

For the first 6 months of treatment, the doctor will conduct a blood test called a SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST test every 2-4 weeks (twice a month) to ensure healthy liver functioning. After 6 months, testing may become less frequent.

WARNING: Because of the risk of potentially fatal, acute fulminant liver failure, TASMAR (tolcapone) should ordinarily be used in patients with Parkinson's disease on l dopa/carbidopa who are experiencing symptom fluctuations and are not responding satisfactorily to or are not appropriate candidates for other adjunctive therapies (see INDICATIONS and DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION sections).

Because of the risk of liver injury and because TASMAR, when it is effective, provides an observable symptomatic benefit, the patient who fails to show substantial clinical benefit within 3 weeks of initiation of treatment, should be withdrawn from TASMAR.

TASMAR therapy should not be initiated if the patient exhibits clinical evidence of liver disease or two SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST values greater than the upper limit of normal. Patients with severe dyskinesia or dystonia should be treated with caution (see PRECAUTIONS: Rhabdomyolysis).

Patients who develop evidence of hepatocellular injury while on TASMAR and are withdrawn from the drug for any reason may be at increased risk for liver injury if TASMAR is reintroduced. Accordingly, such patients should not ordinarily be considered for retreatment.

Cases of severe hepatocellular injury, including fulminant liver failure resulting in death, have been reported in postmarketing use. As of May 2005, 3 cases of fatal fulminant hepatic failure have been reported from more than 40,000 patient years of worldwide use. This incidence may be 10- to 100-fold higher than the background incidence in the general population. Underreporting of cases may lead to significant underestimation of the increased risk associated with the use of TASMAR. All 3 cases were reported within the first six months of initiation of treatment with TASMAR. Analysis of the laboratory monitoring data in over 3,400 TASMAR-treated patients participating in clinical trials indicated that increases in SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST, when present, generally occurred within the first 6 months of treatment with TASMAR.

A prescriber who elects to use TASMAR in face of the increased risk of liver injury is strongly advised to monitor patients for evidence of emergent liver injury. Patients should be advised of the need for self-monitoring for both the classical signs of liver disease (eg, clay colored stools, jaundice) and the nonspecific ones (eg, fatigue, loss of appetite, lethargy).

Although a program of periodic laboratory monitoring for evidence of hepatocellular injury is recommended, it is not clear that periodic monitoring of liver enzymes will prevent the occurrence of fulminant liver failure. However, it is generally believed that early detection of drug-induced hepatic injury along with immediate withdrawal of the suspect drug enhances the likelihood for recovery. Accordingly, the following liver monitoring program is recommended.

Before starting treatment with TASMAR, the physician should conduct appropriate tests to exclude the presence of liver disease. In patients determined to be appropriate candidates for treatment with TASMAR, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT/ALT) and serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT/AST) levels should be determined
at baseline and periodically (i.e. every 2 to 4 weeks) for the first 6 months of
therapy. After the first six months, periodic monitoring is recommended at intervals deemed clinically relevant. Although more frequent monitoring increases the chances of early detection, the precise schedule for monitoring is a matter of clinical judgement. If the dose is increased to 200 mg tid (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION section), liver enzyme monitoring should take place before increasing the dose and then be conducted every 2 to 4 weeks for the following 6 months of therapy. After six months, periodic monitoring is recommended at intervals deemed clinically relevant.

TASMAR should be discontinued if SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST levels exceed 2 times the upper limit of normal or if clinical signs and symptoms suggest the onset of hepatic dysfunction (persistent nausea, fatigue, lethargy, anorexia, jaundice, dark urine, pruritus, and right upper quadrant tenderness).

Patients who develop evidence of liver injury while taking TASMAR and are withdrawn from treatment for any reason should not be ordinarily considered for re-treatment.

Periodic laboratory monitoring of liver injury of hepatocellular injury is recommended. It is not clear that baseline and periodic monitoring of liver enzymes will prevent the occurrence of fulminant liver failure. However, it is generally believed that early detection of drug-induced hepatic injury along with immediate withdraw of the suspect drug enhances the likelihood of recovery.

If the dose is increased to 200 mg TID (see DOSAGE AND ADMINSTRATION section), liver enzyme monitoring should take place before increasing the dose and then be conducted every 2 to 4 weeks for the following 6 months of therapy. After 6 months, periodic monitoring is recommended at intervals deemed clinically relevant.

TASMAR should be discontinued is SGPT/ALT or SGOT/AST levels exceed two times (2x) the upper limit of normal (ULN), or if clinical signs and symptoms suggest the onset of hepatic dysfunction. This is also a change from the previous label that stated discontinuation if levels exceeded 1x the ULN.

TASMAR has demonstrated an increase in “ON” time from 1.7-2.9 hours and a decrease in “OFF” time from 1.6-3.2 hours in a 16-hour waking day. For further information, please see the BOXED warning and the complete prescribing information for TASMAR.