Uses
HEMLIBRA is a prescription medicine used for routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in adults and children, ages newborn and older, with hemophilia A with or without factor VIII inhibitors. Hemophilia A is a bleeding condition people can be born with where a missing or faulty blood clotting factor (factor VIII) prevents blood from clotting normally. HEMLIBRA is a therapeutic antibody that bridges clotting factors to help your blood clot.
Side Effects Of Hemlibra
The most common side effects include:
- redness, tenderness, warmth, or itching at the site of injection
- headache
- joint pain
These are not all of the possible side effects.
Warnings & Precautions
Before using HEMLIBRA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if it may harm your unborn baby. Females who are able to become pregnant should use birth control (contraception) during treatment with HEMLIBRA.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if HEMLIBRA passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
Dosage Of Hemlibra
Use HEMLIBRA exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider.
- Stop (discontinue) prophylactic use of bypassing agents the day before starting HEMLIBRA prophylaxis.
- You may continue prophylactic use of FVIII for the first week of prophylaxis.
- HEMLIBRA is given as an injection under your skin (subcutaneous injection) by you or a caregiver.
- Your healthcare provider should show you or your caregiver how to prepare, measure, and inject your dose of HEMLIBRA before you inject yourself for the first time.
- Do not attempt to inject yourself or another person unless you have been taught how to do so by a healthcare provider.
- Your healthcare provider will prescribe your dose based on your weight. If your weight changes, tell your healthcare provider.
- You will receive HEMLIBRA 1 time a week for the first four weeks. Then you will receive a maintenance dose as prescribed by your healthcare provider.
- If you miss a dose of HEMLIBRA on your scheduled day, you should give the dose as soon as you remember. You must give the missed dose as soon as possible before the next scheduled dose, and then continue with your normal dosing schedule. Do not give two doses on the same day to make up for a missed dose.
- HEMLIBRA may interfere with laboratory tests that measure how well your blood is clotting and may cause a false reading. Talk to your healthcare provider about how this may affect your care.
Other
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use HEMLIBRA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give HEMLIBRA to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you have. It may harm them. You can ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider for information about HEMLIBRA that is written for health professionals.
Source
All information has been provided courtesy of MedLinePlus from the National Library of Medicine and from the FDA.
