Safety and Tolerability of Givinostat: Evidence From Real-World and Clinical Practice

Objective: The aim of our study was to establish the prevalence of adverse events in a real-world setting in boys living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) treated with givinostat as part of an Expanded Access Program (EAP) in Italy. Methods: The cohort included 90 ambulant boys, with age when treatment started between 6 and 23 years (mean 10.1 years, SD: 3.2 years) and with a follow up between 6.0 and 14.6 months (mean 10.6 months; SD 2.6 months). Results: Platelets count decrease and triglyceride levels increase were the most common adverse events, followed by diarrhea. A dose reduction was needed in 38 of the 90 boys following thrombocytopenia (n = 34), diarrhea (n = 2), and hypertriglyceridemia (n = 4), with two of the boys presenting both thrombocytopenia and hypertriglyceridemia. Eleven of the 38 boys with initial dose reduction (10 with thrombocytopenia and 1 with hypertriglyceridemia) required an additional dose reduction for persistence of values outside the threshold, with one of them discontinuing treatment because of persistent hypertriglyceridemia even with the lowest dose. Interpretation: Our results confirm the safety profile observed in the pivotal study providing further evidence of the management of the drug in a real-world setting. In our experience, treatment with givinostat was well managed by maintaining a strict monitoring. This was facilitated by allowing families to perform blood tests in local labs, reducing the stress and burden of frequent visits to the hospital.