Patient Leaflet Updated 18-Apr-2024 | SANOFI
Fabrazyme 5mg powder for concentrate for solution for infusion
Fabrazyme 5 mg
powder for concentrate for solution for infusion
agalsidase beta
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1. What Fabrazyme is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you use Fabrazyme
3. How to use Fabrazyme
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Fabrazyme
6. Contents of the pack and other information
Fabrazyme contains the active substance agalsidase beta and is used as enzyme replacement therapy in Fabry disease, where the level of α-galactosidase enzyme activity is absent or lower than normal. If you suffer from Fabry disease a fat substance, called globotriaosylceramide (GL-3), is not removed from the cells of your body and starts to accumulate in the walls of the blood vessels of your organs.
Fabrazyme is indicated for use as long-term enzyme replacement therapy in patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Fabry disease.
Fabrazyme is indicated in adults, children and adolescents aged 8 years and older.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using Fabrazyme.
If you are treated with Fabrazyme, you may develop infusion associated reactions. An infusion-associated reaction is any side effect occurring during the infusion or until the end of the infusion day (see section 4). If you experience a reaction like this, you should tell your doctor immediately. You may need to be given additional medicines to prevent such reactions from occurring.
No clinical studies have been performed in children 0-4 years old. The risks and benefits of Fabrazyme in children aged 5 to 7 years have not yet been established and therefore no dose can be recommended for this age group.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
Tell your doctor if you use any medicines containing chloroquine, amiodarone, benoquin or gentamicin. There is a theoretical risk of decreased agalsidase beta activity.
There is limited experience with the use of Fabrazyme in pregnant women. As a precaution, it is preferable to avoid the use of Fabrazyme during pregnancy. Fabrazyme gets into breast milk. Discuss with your doctor the risks and benefits of breastfeeding versus continuing Fabrazyme therapy. Studies have not been performed to examine the effects of Fabrazyme on fertility.
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
Do not drive or use machines if you experience dizziness, sleepiness, vertigo or fainting during or shortly after administration of Fabrazyme (see section 4). Talk to your doctor first.
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per vial, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.
Fabrazyme is given through a drip into a vein (by intravenous infusion). It is supplied as a powder which will be mixed with sterile water before it is given (see information for Health Care Professionals at the end of this leaflet).
Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor if you are not sure.
Fabrazyme is only used under the supervision of a doctor who is knowledgeable in the treatment of Fabry disease. Your doctor may advise that you can be treated at home provided you meet certain criteria. Please contact your doctor if you would like to be treated at home.
The recommended dose of Fabrazyme for adults is 1 mg/kg body weight, once every 2 weeks. No changes in dose are necessary for patients with kidney disease.
The recommended dose of Fabrazyme for children and adolescents 8 – 16 years is 1 mg/kg body weight, once every 2 weeks. No changes in dose are necessary for patients with kidney disease.
Doses up to 3 mg/kg body weight have shown to be safe.
If you have missed an infusion of Fabrazyme, please contact your doctor.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
In clinical studies side effects were mainly seen while patients were being given the medicine or shortly after (“infusion related reactions”). Severe life-threatening allergic reactions (“anaphylactoid reactions”) have been reported in some patients. If you experience any serious side effect, you should contact your doctor immediately.
Very common symptoms (may affect more than 1 in 10 people) include chills, fever, feeling cold, nausea, vomiting, headache and abnormal feelings in the skin such as burning or tingling. Your doctor may decide to lower the infusion rate or give you additional medicines to prevent such reactions from occurring.
List of other side effects:
Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
Not known (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data):
In some patients initially treated at the recommended dose, and whose dose was later reduced for an extended period, some symptoms of Fabry disease were reported more frequently.
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the label after ‘EXP’. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
Unopened vials
Store in a refrigerator (2°C – 8°C).
Reconstituted and diluted solutions
The reconstituted solution cannot be stored and should be promptly diluted. The diluted solution can be held for up to 24 hours at 2°C – 8°C.
Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
Fabrazyme is supplied as a white to off-white powder. After reconstitution it is a clear, colourless liquid, free from foreign matter. The reconstituted solution must be further diluted.
Package sizes: 1, 5 and 10 vials per carton. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.
Marketing Authorisation Holder
Manufacturer
This leaflet does not contain all the information about your medicine. If you have any questions or are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
This leaflet was last revised in March 2024
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