FDA Panel Backs Radiesse Approval, With Conditions
FDA Panel Backs Radiesse Approval, With Conditions
FDA Panel Backs Radiesse Approval, With Conditions
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October 2006 • www.skinandallergynews.com Dermatologic Surgery 21<br />
Continued from previous page<br />
lasts longer than hyaluronic acid fillers, so<br />
a more rigorous study is needed to achieve<br />
“any level of comfort regarding safety,” she<br />
said.<br />
Stephen Li, Ph.D., president of Medical<br />
Device Testing and Innovations, Sarasota,<br />
Fla., who also voted against approval for<br />
both indications, echoed the concern about<br />
the lack of human histologic data, pointing<br />
out that <strong>Radiesse</strong>’s migration and dissipation<br />
patterns and its reaction with other<br />
fillers in patients were unknown.<br />
The <strong>FDA</strong> usually follows the recommendations<br />
of its advisory panels, which<br />
are not binding.<br />
The safety profile of both products was<br />
comparable, with the typical injection-related<br />
side effects seen with other dermal<br />
fillers, including ecchymoses and a significant<br />
amount of erythema. Only 2 African<br />
American patients were enrolled, which<br />
was one of the main concerns raised in the<br />
<strong>FDA</strong> review, although the company reported<br />
no scarring, hyperpigmentation, or<br />
keloid formation among the 15 patients of<br />
color in the study, including the 2 African<br />
Americans.<br />
The <strong>FDA</strong> review also raised concerns<br />
that <strong>Radiesse</strong> implants could mimic a tumor<br />
in the soft tissue or interfere with x-<br />
ray evaluations, because CaHA is visible radiographically,<br />
and that nodules were not<br />
better identified. (Although the company<br />
did not report any evidence of nodules,<br />
there were adverse event reports that could<br />
have been interpreted to be nodules.)<br />
To determine whether <strong>Radiesse</strong> implants<br />
could mimic or obscure tumors, the company<br />
performed a study of x-rays and CT<br />
scans of 58 patients who had received<br />
<strong>Radiesse</strong> injections for correction of nasolabial<br />
folds or HIV lipoatrophy, including<br />
patients who had received the first injections<br />
at least 12 months earlier. In that<br />
study, there was no evidence on CT scans<br />
that <strong>Radiesse</strong> migrates from the point of injection.<br />
Neither was there a significant risk<br />
that <strong>Radiesse</strong> would mask or mistakenly be<br />
interpreted as a benign or malignant tumor,<br />
or that the implants would prompt biopsies<br />
or further work-ups—even by radiologists<br />
who don’t know the patient has had<br />
them—because of the benign appearance<br />
and bilateral placement, according to the<br />
company. The implants are not always seen<br />
on x-rays, as with CT scans.<br />
The panel had some concerns about this<br />
issue and that the presence of <strong>Radiesse</strong><br />
could be potentially confusing on an x-ray<br />
or CT scan and would require more follow-up.<br />
The panel also agreed that the<br />
question of migration had not been completely<br />
answered.<br />
■<br />
<strong>Radiesse</strong><br />
lasts longer than<br />
hyaluronic acid<br />
fillers, so a more<br />
rigorous study is<br />
needed to<br />
achieve ‘any<br />
level of comfort<br />
regarding<br />
safety.’<br />
Lipoatrophy Indication<br />
For approval of the lipoatrophy indication,<br />
the company presented the results of an<br />
open-label, nonrandomized, noncomparative<br />
multicenter study using <strong>Radiesse</strong> in<br />
100 HIV-positive patients, whose mean<br />
age was 48 years and who had been receiving<br />
highly active antiretroviral therapy<br />
for at least 3 years.<br />
Three months after the final treatment,<br />
98% of the patients were very much improved<br />
or much<br />
improved from<br />
baseline on the<br />
Global Aesthetic<br />
Improvement<br />
Scale (GAIS),<br />
the primary<br />
end point of<br />
the study (the<br />
remaining 2%<br />
were improved).<br />
GAIS<br />
ratings remained<br />
improved<br />
at 6 and<br />
12 months,<br />
with increased skin thickness that was<br />
maintained until about 12 months. The<br />
majority of patients said they were satisfied<br />
and would recommend the treatment<br />
at all three time points.<br />
There were no unanticipated adverse<br />
events, with injection-related adverse<br />
events typical of dermal fillers, such as ecchymoses,<br />
pain, erythema, and pruritus,<br />
the most commonly observed. They were<br />
mostly mild and occurred at the time of<br />
injection or shortly afterward, and they did<br />
not last long, according to Dr. Stacey Silvers<br />
of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary,<br />
who presented these results on behalf<br />
of BioForm. Contour irregularities<br />
occurred but were transient and quickly<br />
resolved, said Dr. Silvers, who reported no<br />
financial ties to BioForm.<br />
The nasolabial fold, split-face study<br />
compared <strong>Radiesse</strong> to Cosmoplast in the<br />
correction of nasolabial folds in 117 patients<br />
aged 31-72 years, with nasolabial<br />
folds rated 3 (a moderately deep wrinkle)<br />
or 4 (a deep wrinkle with well-defined<br />
edges) on the Lemperle Rating Scale<br />
(LRS), with 12-month safety data on 47 patients.<br />
At 3 months, nearly 85% of<br />
<strong>Radiesse</strong>-treated folds were rated as superior,<br />
based on the LRS, to the Cosmoplasttreated<br />
folds, the primary effectiveness<br />
end point. At 6 months, nearly 79% of<br />
<strong>Radiesse</strong>-treated folds were considered superior<br />
to the Cosmoplast-treated folds,<br />
16% were equivalent, and 5% were inferior,<br />
a secondary effectiveness end point.<br />
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