A real-world disproportionality analysis of baloxavir marboxil: post-marketing pharmacovigilance data

Baloxavir marboxil (hereafter referred to as baloxavir) is the only cap-dependent endonuclease inhiabitor approved for the treatment and prevention of influenza. However, as a new drug marketed in 2018, the long-term safety of baloxavir in large sample population was unclear. This study aims to evaluate baloxavir-associated adverse events (AEs) through data mining of the international pharmacovigilance database of US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

Disproportionality analysis was conducted to assess the association between baloxavir and its AEs. Data were collected from FAERS from March 2018 to June 2023. After standardizing the data, signal quantification techniques including ROR, PRR, BCPNN and MGPS were used for analysis.

A total of 49 significant baloxavir-related preferred terms (PTs) in 20 system organ classes (SOCs) were identified in our data analysis. Compared to baloxavir's FDA label, some new PTs emerged, with the top 10 being pneumonia, loss of consciousness, rhabdomyolysis, seizure, altered state of consciousness, hepatic function abnormal, delirium, depressed level of consciousness, encephalopathy and cardio-respiratory arrest.

In clinical application of baloxavir, attention should be paid to the new AE signals in addition to the those recorded in the labels, so as to ensure the safety of the patients.