Clinical profile of suvorexant for the treatment of insomnia over 3 months in women and men: subgroup analysis of pooled phase-3 data

W. J. Herring, Kathryn M. Connor, Ellen Snyder, Duane B. Snavely, Ying Zhang, Jill Hutzelmann, Deborah Matzura-Wolfe, Ruth M. Benca, Andrew D. Krystal, James K. Walsh, Christopher Lines, Thomas Roth, David Michelson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Rationale: Sex-related differences in the clinical profiles of some insomnia medications have been previously reported. Objective: To evaluate the clinical profile of suvorexant, a novel orexin receptor antagonist approved for treating insomnia at doses up to 20 mg, by sex subgroups. Methods: Efficacy analyses by sex were based on pooled data from two similar phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3-month trials in elderly (≥65 years) and non-elderly (18–64 years) insomnia patients. Two age-adjusted (non-elderly/elderly) dose regimes of 40/30 and 20/15 mg were evaluated, with fewer patients assigned to 20/15 mg. Efficacy was assessed by patient-reported outcomes (N = 1264 women, 707 men) and by polysomnography endpoints in ~75% of patients. Safety analyses by sex (N = 1744 women, 1065 men) included pooled data from the two 3-month trials plus 3-month data from a safety trial of 40/30 mg. Results: The sex subgroup efficacy analyses mirrored the improvements seen for suvorexant 40/30 and 20/15 mg over placebo on patient-reported outcomes and polysomnography sleep maintenance and onset endpoints in the primary analyses; 95% CIs excluded zero in favor of suvorexant for most endpoints in both sexes, and similar efficacy was observed between sexes (95% CIs overlapped). Suvorexant was well-tolerated in women and men, although women in all treatment groups (including placebo) reported more adverse events than men. The most frequent adverse event was somnolence (women: 11.1% for 40/30 mg, 8.5% for 20/15 mg, 2.3% for placebo; men: 10.1% for 40/30 mg, 3.4% for 20/15 mg, 4.2% for placebo). Conclusion: Suvorexant was generally effective and well-tolerated in both women and men with insomnia. ClinicalTrials.gov trial registration numbers: NCT01097616, NCT01097629, NCT01021813.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalPsychopharmacology
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - Mar 7 2017

Keywords

  • Gender differences
  • Insomnia
  • Men
  • Orexin
  • Sex differences
  • Suvorexant
  • Women

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology

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