Tremfya

Tremfya is a prescription medication used for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Tremfya belongs to a group of drugs called monoclonal antibodies and blocks cells that cause psoriasis symptoms. 

Tremfya is available as an injection to be given directly under the skin (subcutaneously) by a healthcare professional or at home after proper training. 

Common side effects of Tremfya include upper respiratory infections, headache, or reactions at the site of injections. 

Tremfya is a prescription medication used for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who have not responded to topical treatment alone. 

Psoriasis is a condition where areas of the skin form itchy or sore red, scaly patches. Psoriasis usually occurs on the elbows, knees, scalp, back, face, palms and feet, but it can also affect other parts of your body.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. 

• Janssen Biotech, Inc.

Serious side effects have been reported with Tremfya. See the “Tremfya Precautions” section.

Common side effects of Tremfya include the following:

• upper respiratory infections
• headache
• injection site reaction
• arthralgia (joint pain)
• diarrhea
• gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
• fungal skin infections
• herpes simplex infections

This is not a complete list of Tremfya side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. Tell your doctor if you have any side effects that bother you or that do not go away. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take/need:

• live vaccinations 
• medications that use the CYP450 enzyme such as budesonide (Entocort), cyclosporine (Neoral, Gengraf, Sandimmune), darifenacin (Enablex), dihydroergotamine (Migranal), fentanyl (Abstral, Fentora, Onsolis, Actiq), pimozide (Orap), quinidine (Cardioquin, Duraquin, Quinact), sirolimus (Rapamune), tacrolimus (Prograf), terfenadine (Seldane), fluticasone (Flovent HFA, Flonase), eletriptan (Relpax), lovastatin (Mevacor), quetiapine (Seroquel), sildenafil (Viagra, Revatio), and simvastatin (Zocor)

This is not a complete list of Tremfya drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information

Serious side effects have been reported with Tremfya including the following:

• Infections. Tremfya increases your risk of infection. Specifically, lung infections, stomach infection, ringworm, and herpes infections are most commonly associated with Tremfya. Talk to your doctor if signs of infection occur including fever, fatigue, diarrhea, or cough. 
• Tuberculosis. All patients should be tested for tuberculosis prior to starting Tremfya treatment. Tremfy should not be given to patients with active tuberculosis infection.
• Immunizations. All vaccinations should be up to date prior to starting Tremfya treatment. Live vaccines should not be given to patients receiving Tremfya treatment.

Do not take Tremfya if you are allergic to Tremfya or to any of this medication’s ingredients.

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of Tremfya, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking Tremfya, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to Tremfya or to any of its ingredients
• have an infection that does not go away or keeps coming back 
• have TB or have been around someone with TB 
• are not up to date on your immunization schedule
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. However, other medications similar to Tremfya are known to transfer to the baby during pregnancy. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risk to the unborn child. 

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

It is not known if Tremfya crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. You and your doctor will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using Tremfya.

Take Tremfya exactly as prescribed.

This medication is available in an injectable form to be given directly under the skin by a healthcare professional or at home after proper training. You should not reuse needles or syringes. 

If you miss a dose, administer the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and administer your next dose at the regular time. Do not administer two doses of Tremfya at the same time.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The recommended dose of Tremfya for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis is 100 mg. The first two doses are separated by 4 weeks with all following doses every 8 weeks after. 

If you take too much Tremfya, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center, or seek emergency medical attention right away.

• Store Tremfya in the refrigerator at 36° to 46°F (2° to 8°C) until use.
• Keep Tremfya prefilled syringe in the original carton to protect from light and physical damage.
• Keep Tremfya and all medications out of the reach of children.