Daily Medication Pearl: Asparaginase (Rylaze)

Medication Pearl of the Day: Asparaginase (Rylaze)

Indication: Rylaze is an asparagine-specific enzyme indicated as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients.

Insight:

• Dosing: When replacing a long-acting asparaginase product, the recommended dosage of Rylaze is 25 mg/m2 administered intramuscularly every 48 hours.
• Dosage forms: Injection 10 mg/0.5 mL solution in a single-dose vial.
• Adverse events (AEs): The most common AEs (incidence > 20%) are abnormal liver test, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, infection, headache, pyrexia, drug hypersensitivity, febrile neutropenia, decreased appetite, stomatitis, bleeding, and hyperglycemia.
• Mechanism of action: Asparaginase (recombinant)-rywn is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of the amino acid L-asparagine into aspartic acid and ammonia. The pharmacological effect is based on the killing of leukemic cells due to depletion of plasma asparagine.
• Manufacturer: Jazz Pharma

Sources:

• label (fda.gov)
• rylaze image - Google Search