← Back to Drug List

DEUTETRABENAZINE TAB

Clinical Criteria Summary

Document 276: Deutetrabenazine AUSTEDO and AUSTEDO XR Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

  • Actively suicidal or has untreated or inadequately treated depression
  • Congenital long QT interval, or a QTc >450 ms for men or QTc >470 ms for women
  • History of cardiac arrhythmias (ventricular), cardiac conduction system disease (LBBB or RBBB), or cardiac device (can be considered candidates with cardiology evaluation)
  • Concurrent use of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or within 14 days of discontinuing therapy with an MAOI
  • Current or use of reserpine within the past 20 days
  • Concurrent use of another VMAT2 inhibitor (i.e., tetrabenazine, valbenazine)
  • History of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS)
  • Current clinically significant hyperprolactinemia
  • Pregnant or lactating
  • Hepatic impairment

Inclusion Criteria: Treatment of Huntington Disease

  • Initial prescriber is a resident, fellow, or other trainee: an attending psychiatrist or neurologist has verified the diagnosis and need for deutetrabenazine
  • Diagnosis of Huntington disease documented in the medical record
  • Chorea is disabling or painful and interferes with functional status (including self-care and ambulation), quality of life, or creates a social stigma sufficient to cause social isolation or embarrassment
  • Prescriber has documented specific movement(s) (e.g., facial, oral, extremity, or trunk) in the medical record along with how the chorea is affecting function, quality of life, or socialization

Inclusion Criteria: Treatment of Dystonia

  • Initial prescriber is a resident, fellow, or other trainee: an attending psychiatrist or neurologist has verified the diagnosis and need for deutetrabenazine
  • No response or intolerant to alternative agents (local botulinum toxin injections, anticholinergics, or benzodiazepines)

Inclusion Criteria: Treatment of Tardive Dyskinesia

  • Diagnosis of tardive dyskinesia (TD) secondary to a dopaminergic blocking agent (e.g., antipsychotic or metoclopramide)
  • TD interferes with functional status (including self-care and ambulation), quality of life, or creates a social stigma sufficient to cause social isolation or embarrassment
  • Prescriber has documented specific movement(s) (e.g., facial, oral, extremity, or trunk) in the medical record along with how TD is affecting function, quality of life, or socialization
  • Recent Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) score is recorded in the medical record
  • ECG performed to confirm a QTc <450 ms for men or QTc <470 ms for women
  • Initial prescriber is a resident, fellow, or other trainee: an attending psychiatrist or neurologist has verified the diagnosis and need for deutetrabenazine

Document 299: DCR VMAT 2 Inhibitor Apr22

This criteria document covers 3 drugs across 2 drug classes.
See all drugs in this document
  • DEUTETRABENAZINE TAB
  • TETRABENAZINE TAB
  • VALBENAZINE CAP,ORAL

Criteria for Chorea Associated with Huntington Disease

  • Deutetrabenazine: FDA approved; 6 mg once daily; may increase dose weekly based on response and tolerability in increments of 6 mg/day; administer in two divided doses if total daily dose ≥12 mg; maximum recommended dose: 48 mg/day.
  • Tetrabenazine: FDA approved; 12.5 mg once daily in the morning, may increase to 12.5 mg twice daily after 1 week; dosage may be increased by 12.5 mg daily at weekly intervals; daily doses >37.5 mg should be divided into 3 doses (maximum single dose: 25 mg); patients requiring doses >50 mg/day should be genotyped for CYP2D6.
  • Valbenazine: Not approved for Huntington disease-related chorea.

Criteria for Tardive Dyskinesia

  • Deutetrabenazine: FDA approved; 6 mg twice daily; may increase dose weekly based on response and tolerability in increments of 6 mg/day; administer in two divided doses if total daily dose ≥12 mg; maximum recommended dose: 48 mg/day.
  • Tetrabenazine: Used off-label; 12.5 mg daily for one week and increased by 12.5 mg increments every few days, according to clinical response and as tolerated, to a usual effective dose of 75 to 150 mg daily; daily doses >37.5 mg should be divided into three doses; maximum recommended single and daily doses are lower (25 and 50 mg, respectively) for patients taking strong CYP2D6 inhibitors.
  • Valbenazine: FDA approved; 40 mg once daily; after 1 week, increase to 80 mg once daily; continuation of 40 or 60 mg once daily may be considered for some patients based on response and tolerability.

General Criteria (All VMAT-2 Inhibitors)

  • Contraindications:
  • Deutetrabenazine and Tetrabenazine: Suicidal/untreated depression, hepatic impairment, taking reserpine, taking MAOI, taking another VMAT-2 inhibitor.
  • Valbenazine: Hypersensitivity to valbenazine.
  • Warnings and Precautions:
  • All three drugs: Depression and suicidality (box warning), neuroleptic malignant syndrome, akathisia/restlessness/agitation, Parkinsonism, sedation/somnolence, QTc prolongation.
  • Tetrabenazine only: Hypotension/orthostatic hypotension, hyperprolactinemia, binding to melanin-containing tissues.
  • Significant Drug Interactions:
  • All three drugs: Strong CYP2D6 inhibitors, MAOI.
  • Deutetrabenazine and Tetrabenazine: Reserpine, alcohol/sedating drugs, neuroleptic drugs, concomitant VMAT-2 inhibitors.
  • Tetrabenazine only: Strong CYP3A4 inhibitors/inducers, digoxin.
  • Formulary and Place in Therapy Considerations:
  • All three are non-formulary with separate CFU.
  • Sequencing does not appear warranted for either indication based on current evidence and utilization data.
  • Huntington disease: Tetrabenazine is the workhorse agent followed by deutetrabenazine and valbenazine; indirect evidence suggests better tolerability with deutetrabenazine (not supported by VA ADERS).
  • Tardive dyskinesia: Deutetrabenazine and valbenazine have similar efficacy and tolerability; lack of high-quality data exists for tetrabenazine. VA ADERS shows higher adverse drug event rates for valbenazine compared to deutetrabenazine. Majority of patients with TD receive valbenazine, followed by tetrabenazine and deutetrabenazine.

Source Documents