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Included as part of the PRECAUTIONS section.

Contamination of Tip and Solution

To minimize contaminating the dropper tip and solution, care should be taken not to touch the eyelids or surrounding areas with the dropper tip of the bottle. Keep bottle tightly closed when not in use.

Contact Lens Use

Patients should be advised not to wear a contact lens if their eye is red. BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) should not be used to treat contact lens-related irritation.

BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) should not be instilled while wearing contact lenses. Remove contact lenses prior to instillation of BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) . The preservative in BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) , benzalkonium chloride, may be absorbed by soft contact lenses. Lenses may be reinserted after 10 minutes following administration of BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) .

Topical Ophthalmic Use Only

BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution 1.5%) is for topical ophthalmic use only.

Nonclinical Toxicology

Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis and Impairment of Fertility

Long-term dietary studies in mice and rats were conducted to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of bepotastine besilate. Bepotastine besilate did not significantly induce neoplasms in mice receiving a nominal dose of up to 200 mg/kg/day for 21 months or rats receiving a nominal dose of up to 97 mg/kg/day for 24 months. These dose levels represent systemic exposures approximating 350 and 200 times that achieved with human topical ocular use.

The no observable adverse effect levels for bepotastine besilate based on nominal dose levels in carcinogenicity tests were 18.7 to 19.9 mg/kg/day in mice and 9.6 to 9.8 mg/kg/day in rats (representing exposure margins of approximately 60 and 20 times the systemic exposure anticipated for topical ocular use in humans).

There was no evidence of genotoxicity in the Ames test, in CHO cells (chromosome aberrations), in mouse hepatocytes (unscheduled DNA synthesis), or in the mouse micronucleus test.

When oral bepotastine was administered to male and female rats at doses up to 1,000 mg/kg/day, there was a slight reduction in fertility index and surviving fetuses. Infertility was not seen in rats given 200 mg/kg/day oral bepotastine besilate (approximately 3,300 times the systemic concentration anticipated for topical ocular use in humans).

Use In Specific Populations

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Category C: Teratogenicity studies have been performed in animals. Bepotastine besilate was not found to be teratogenic in rats during organogenesis and fetal development at oral doses up to 200 mg/kg/day (representing a systemic concentration approximately 3,300 times that anticipated for topical ocular use in humans), but did show some potential for causing skeletal abnormalities at 1,000 mg/kg/day. There were no teratogenic effects seen in rabbits at oral doses up to 500 mg/kg/day given during organogenesis and fetal development (>13,000 times the dose in humans on a mg/kg basis). Evidence of infertility was seen in rats given oral bepotastine besilate 1,000 mg/kg/day; however, no evidence of infertility was observed in rats given 200 mg/kg/day (approximately 3,300 times the topical ocular use in humans). The concentration of radiolabeled bepotastine besilate was similar in fetal liver and maternal blood plasma following a single 3 mg/kg oral dose. The concentration in other fetal tissues was one-third to one-tenth the concentration in maternal blood plasma.

An increase in stillborns and decreased growth and development were observed in pups born from rats given oral doses of 1,000 mg/kg/day during perinatal and lactation periods. There were no observed effects in rats treated with 100 mg/kg/day.

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies of bepotastine besilate in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution) 1.5% should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Nursing Mothers

Following a single 3 mg/kg oral dose of radiolabeled bepotastine besilate to nursing rats 11 days after delivery, the maximum concentration of radioactivity in milk was 0.40 ug-eq/mL 1 hour after administration; at 48 hours after administration the concentration was below detection limits. The milk concentration was higher than the maternal blood plasma concentration at each time of measurement.

It is not known if bepotastine besilate is excreted in human milk. Caution should be exercised when BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution) 1.5% is administered to a nursing woman.

Pediatric Use

Safety and efficacy of BEPREVE™ (bepotastine besilate ophthalmic solution) 1.5% have not been established in pediatric patients under 2 years of age. Efficacy in pediatric patients under 10 years of age was extrapolated from clinical trials conducted in pediatric patients greater than 10 years of age and from adults.

Geriatric Use

No overall difference in safety or effectiveness has been observed between elderly and younger patients.

Last reviewed on RxList: 9/17/2009
This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances.