Please review the full safety information below before continuing.
BESREMI® is used to treat adults with a blood disorder called polycythemia vera.
Interferons, including BESREMI®, cause or aggravate fatal or life-threatening neuropsychiatric (mental illness), autoimmune (where the body’s immune system attacks the body’s own cells), ischemic (conditions in which blood flow, and thus oxygen, is restricted to a part of the body) and infectious disorders. If you have persistently severe or worsening signs or symptoms of these conditions you should contact your doctor. Your doctor will assess you and may discontinue you from therapy. In many cases, but not all cases, these disorders resolve after stopping interferon therapy.
You are allergic to ropeginterferon alfa-2b or any of the other ingredients in BESREMI® or the container. You have or have had severe psychiatric disorders, particularly severe depression, suicidal thoughts, or a suicide attempt. You have decompensated cirrhosis of the liver. You have a history of or an active serious or untreated autoimmune disease. You are an immunosuppressed transplant recipient. You have thyroid disease unless it can be controlled with treatment. You have severe heart or blood vessel disease, such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, serious abnormal heart rhythm, significant narrowing of heart blood vessels, unstable angina, or recent stroke or heart attack. You have severe or end stage kidney disease.
Have or have had problems with your mental health, including depression, suicidal thoughts, or suicide attempt; have heart or blood vessel problems; have liver problems; have or have had pancreas problems; have kidney problems; have a history of intestinal disorders; have thyroid problems; have diabetes; have autoimmune disease; have eye problems, especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure; have lung or breathing problems; are pregnant or planning to become pregnant; are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed.
BESREMI® is not recommended for use during pregnancy. Women who can become pregnant should have a pregnancy test before starting treatment and should use effective contraception during treatment, unless otherwise discussed with their physician. It is unknown whether BESREMI® passes into breast milk. A decision must be made whether to discontinue breastfeeding or discontinue/abstain from BESREMI® therapy.
Your healthcare provider should do blood tests before you start BESREMI®, and regularly during treatment to monitor your polycythemia vera, and to check you for side effects.
These are not all the possible side effects you may have when taking BESREMI®. If you experience any side effects not listed here, tell your healthcare professional.
Possible side effects include: decrease in the number of types of white blood cells (called leukocytes and neutrophils) that may increase your risk of infection, cause fever, chills or unusual fatigue, and in blood clotting cells (called platelets) which can result in bleeding if the number of cells drops too low; feeling anxious, mood changes; runny nose, sneezing, coughing, fever; joint or muscle pain, back pain, bone pain; increase or decrease in thyroid gland activity, increase of thyroid stimulating hormone leading to fatigue, weight gain or loss, rapid heartbeat, cold intolerance, dry skin; tiredness, weakness, feeling very sleepy; dry eyes; headache; loss of appetite; dry mouth, constipation; diarrhea, abdominal pain; in blood tests, increases in certain liver enzymes; itchy skin, hair loss, red skin, increased sweating, dry skin.
Talk to your healthcare professional if you experience serious side effects such as anxiety; atrial fibrillation; cataracts; hypertension; influenza like illness; pancreatitis; urinary tract infection; liver problems; endocrine disorders, including diabetes; or respiratory problems.
If you have a troublesome symptom or side effect that is not listed here or becomes bad enough to interfere with your daily activities, tell your healthcare professional.
Use BESREMI® exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to. Your healthcare provider will tell you how much BESREMI® to inject and when to inject it. Do not inject more than your prescribed dose. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests before you start BESREMI®, and regularly during treatment to monitor your polycythemia vera, and to check you for side effects.
This website does not take the place of talking with your healthcare professional. For complete information about BESREMI®, including Serious Warnings and Precautions, who should not use BESREMI®, possible side effects, dosing, monitoring, and how to use BESREMI®, please read the Patient Medication Information included with the BESREMI® package and speak with your healthcare professional. You can also visit www.besremipmi.ca or call FORUS Therapeutics Inc. at 1-866-542-7500.
BESREMI® (ropeginterferon alfa-2b) is used to treat adults with polycythemia vera (PV), a rare type of cancer in which the bone marrow produces too many red blood cells, and sometimes white blood cells and platelets (cells that help the blood to clot) as well.
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