WEZENLA 130 mg concentrate for solution for infusion

This leaflet has been written for the person taking the medicine.

• Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
• If you have any further questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
• If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.

1. What WEZENLA is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you use WEZENLA
3. How WEZENLA will be given
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store WEZENLA
6. Contents of the pack and other information

WEZENLA contains the active substance ‘ustekinumab’, a monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that recognise and bind specifically to certain proteins in the body.

WEZENLA belongs to a group of medicines called ‘immunosuppressants’. These medicines work by weakening part of the immune system.

WEZENLA is used to treat the following inflammatory diseases:

• moderate to severe Crohn’s disease - in adults
• moderate to severe ulcerative colitis - in adults.

Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory disease of the bowel. If you have Crohn’s disease you will first be given other medicines. If you do not respond well enough or are intolerant to these medicines, you may be given WEZENLA to reduce the signs and symptoms of your disease.

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease of the bowel. If you have ulcerative colitis you will first be given other medicines. If you do not respond well enough or are intolerant to these medicines, you may be given WEZENLA to reduce the signs and symptoms of your disease.

• If you are allergic to ustekinumab or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).
• If you have an active infection which your doctor thinks is important.

If you are not sure if any of the above applies to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using WEZENLA.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using WEZENLA. Your doctor will check how well you are before treatment. Make sure you tell your doctor about any illness you have before treatment. Also tell your doctor if you have recently been near anyone who might have tuberculosis. Your doctor will examine you and do a test for tuberculosis, before you have WEZENLA. If your doctor thinks you are at risk of tuberculosis, you may be given medicines to treat it.

WEZENLA can cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions and infections. You must look out for certain signs of illness while you are taking WEZENLA. See ‘Serious side effects’ in section 4 for a full list of these side effects.

• If you ever had an allergic reaction to ustekinumab. Ask your doctor if you are not sure.
• If you have ever had any type of cancer – this is because immunosuppressants like WEZENLA weaken part of the immune system. This may increase the risk of cancer.
• If you have been treated for psoriasis with other biologic medicines (a medicine produced from a biological source and usually given by injection) – the risk of cancer may be higher.
• If you have or have had a recent infection or if you have any abnormal skin openings (fistulae).
• If you have any new or changing lesions within psoriasis areas or on normal skin.
• If you are having any other treatment for psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis – such as another immunosuppressant or phototherapy (when your body is treated with a type of ultraviolet (UV) light). These treatments may also weaken part of the immune system. Using these therapies together with WEZENLA has not been studied. However it is possible it may increase the chance of diseases related to a weaker immune system.
• If you are having or have ever had injections to treat allergies – it is not known if WEZENLA may affect these.
• If you are 65 years of age or over – you may be more likely to get infections.

If you are not sure if any of the above applies to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using WEZENLA.

Some patients have experienced lupus-like reactions including skin lupus or lupus-like syndrome during treatment with ustekinumab. Talk to your doctor right away if you experience a red, raised, scaly rash sometimes with a darker border, in areas of the skin that are exposed to the sun or with joint pains.

Heart attack and strokes have been observed in a study in patients with psoriasis treated with ustekinumab. Your doctor will regularly check your risk factors for heart disease and stroke in order to ensure that they are appropriately treated. Seek medical attention right away if you develop chest pain, weakness or abnormal sensation on one side of your body, facial droop, or speech or visual abnormalities.

WEZENLA is not recommended for use in children under 18 years of age with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis because it has not been studied in this age group.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist:

• If you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
• If you have recently had or are going to have a vaccination. Some types of vaccines (live vaccines) should not be given while using WEZENLA.
• If you received WEZENLA while pregnant, tell your baby’s doctor about your WEZENLA treatment before the baby receives any vaccine, including live vaccines, such as the BCG vaccine (used to prevent tuberculosis). Live vaccines are not recommended for your baby in the first six months after birth if you received WEZENLA during the pregnancy unless your baby’s doctor recommends otherwise.

• It is preferable to avoid the use of WEZENLA in pregnancy. The effects of WEZENLA in pregnant women are not known. If you are a woman of childbearing potential, you are advised to avoid becoming pregnant and must use adequate contraception while using WEZENLA and for at least 15 weeks after the last WEZENLA treatment.
• Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby. WEZENLA can pass across the placenta to the unborn baby. If you received WEZENLA during your pregnancy, your baby may have a higher risk for getting an infection.
• It is important that you tell your baby’s doctors and other health care professionals if you received WEZENLA during your pregnancy before the baby receives any vaccine. Live vaccines such as the BCG vaccine (used to prevent tuberculosis), are not recommended for your baby in the first six months after birth if you received WEZENLA during the pregnancy unless your baby’s doctor recommends otherwise.
• Ustekinumab may pass into breast milk in very small amounts. Talk to your doctor if you are breast-feeding or are planning to breast-feed. You and your doctor should decide if you should breast-feed or use WEZENLA - do not do both.

WEZENLA has no or negligible influence on the ability to drive and use machines.

WEZENLA contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per dose, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’. However, before WEZENLA is given to you, it is mixed with a solution that contains sodium. Talk to your doctor if you are on a low salt diet.

Your doctor will decide how much WEZENLA you need to receive and for how long.

Adults aged 18 years or older

• The doctor will work out the recommended intravenous infusion dose for you based on your body weight.

Table 1

Your body weight ≤ 55 kg Dose 260 mg

Your body weight > 55 kg to ≤ 85 kg Dose 390 mg

Your body weight > 85 kg Dose 520 mg

• After the starting intravenous dose, you will have the next dose of 90 mg WEZENLA by an injection under your skin (subcutaneous injection) 8 weeks later, and then every 12 weeks thereafter.

• The first dose of WEZENLA for treatment of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis is given by a doctor as a drip in the vein of an arm (intravenous infusion).

Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about receiving WEZENLA.

If you forget or miss the appointment for receiving the dose, contact your doctor to reschedule your appointment.

It is not dangerous to stop using WEZENLA. However, if you stop, your symptoms may come back.

Some patients may have serious side effects that may need urgent treatment.

Allergic reactions – these may need urgent treatment. Tell your doctor or get emergency medical help straight away if you notice any of the following signs.

• Serious allergic reactions (‘anaphylaxis’) are rare in people taking ustekinumab (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people). Signs include:
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • low blood pressure, which can cause dizziness or light-headedness
  • swelling of the face, lips, mouth or throat.
• Common signs of an allergic reaction include skin rash and hives (these may affect up to 1 in 100 people).

Infusion-related reactions – If you are being treated for Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, the first dose of WEZENLA is given through a drip into a vein (intravenous infusion). Some patients have experienced serious allergic reactions during the infusion.

In rare cases, allergic lung reactions and lung inflammation have been reported in patients who receive ustekinumab. Tell your doctor right away if you develop symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, and fever.

If you have a serious allergic reaction, your doctor may decide that you should not use WEZENLA again.

Infections – these may need urgent treatment. Tell your doctor straight away if you notice any of the following signs.

• Infections of the nose or throat and common cold are common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people).
• Infections of the chest are uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people).
• Inflammation of tissue under the skin (‘cellulitis’) is uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people).
• Shingles (a type of painful rash with blisters) are uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people).

WEZENLA may make you less able to fight infections. Some infections could become serious and may include infections caused by viruses, fungi, bacteria (including tuberculosis), or parasites, including infections that mainly occur in people with a weakened immune system (opportunistic infections). Opportunistic infections of the brain (encephalitis, meningitis), lungs, and eye have been reported in patients receiving treatment with ustekinumab.

You must look out for signs of infection while you are using WEZENLA. These include:

• fever, flu-like symptoms, night sweats, weight loss
• feeling tired or short of breath; cough which will not go away
• warm, red and painful skin, or a painful skin rash with blisters
• burning when passing water
• diarrhoea
• visual disturbance or vision loss
• headache, neck stiffness, light sensitivity, nausea or confusion.

Tell your doctor straight away if you notice any of these signs of infection. These may be signs of infections such as chest infections, skin infections, shingles or opportunistic infections that could have serious complications. Tell your doctor if you have any kind of infection that will not go away or keeps coming back. Your doctor may decide that you should not use WEZENLA until the infection goes away. Also tell your doctor if you have any open cuts or sores as they might get infected.

Shedding of skin – increase in redness and shedding of skin over a larger area of the body may be symptoms of erythrodermic psoriasis or exfoliative dermatitis, which are serious skin conditions. You should tell your doctor straight away if you notice any of these signs.

Common side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

• Diarrhoea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Feeling tired
• Feeling dizzy
• Headache
• Itching (‘pruritus’)
• Back, muscle or joint pain
• Sore throat
• Redness and pain where the injection is given
• Sinus infection

Uncommon side effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):

• Tooth infections
• Vaginal yeast infection
• Depression
• Blocked or stuffy nose
• Bleeding, bruising, hardness, swelling and itching where the injection is given
• Feeling weak
• Drooping eyelid and sagging muscles on one side of the face (‘facial palsy’ or ‘Bell’s palsy’), which is usually temporary
• A change in psoriasis with redness and new tiny, yellow or white skin blisters, sometimes accompanied by fever (pustular psoriasis)
• Peeling of the skin (skin exfoliation)
• Acne

Rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):

• Redness and shedding of skin over a larger area of the body, which may be itchy or painful (exfoliative dermatitis). Similar symptoms sometimes develop as a natural change in the type of psoriasis symptoms (erythrodermic psoriasis)
• Inflammation of small blood vessels, which can lead to a skin rash with small red or purple bumps, fever or joint pain (vasculitis)

Very rare side effects (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):

• Blistering of the skin that may be red, itchy, and painful (Bullous pemphigoid)
• Skin lupus or lupus-like syndrome (red, raised scaly rash on areas of the skin exposed to the sun possibly with joint pains)

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly (see details below). By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.

• After the expiry date which is stated on the label and the carton after ‘EXP’. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• If the liquid is discoloured, cloudy or you can see foreign particles floating in it (see section 6 ‘What WEZENLA looks like and contents of the pack’).
• If you know, or think that it may have been exposed to extreme temperatures (such as accidentally frozen or heated).
• If the product has been shaken vigorously.
• If the seal is broken.

WEZENLA is for single use only. Any diluted infusion solution or unused product remaining in the vial should be thrown away in accordance with local requirements.

• The active substance is ustekinumab. Each vial contains 130 mg ustekinumab in 26 mL.
• The other ingredients are EDTA disodium salt dihydrate, L-histidine, L-histidine hydrochloride monohydrate, L-methionine, polysorbate 80, sucrose, sodium hydroxide (for pH adjustment) and water for injections.

WEZENLA is a clear to opalescent, colourless to light yellow concentrate for solution for infusion. It is supplied as a carton pack containing 1 single-dose, glass 30 mL vial. Each vial contains 130 mg ustekinumab in 26 mL of concentrate for solution for infusion.