Details

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Etanercept 25mg, 50mg Injection is an immunosuppressive agent belonging to the fusion protein group.

It is a recombinant fusion protein mainly used in autoimmune disease to decrease the self harming actions of the body caused by the immune system.

Mechanism of action:it acts by inhibiting the biological activity of TNF-α, a proinflammatory cytokine by binding to it. It also inhibits the activity of lymphotoxin α. This leads to suppression of the immune system.

It is available as Enbrel in both International and  Indian markets.

Uses

• Etanercept 25mg, 50mg Injection is an approved treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile chronic arthritis, plaque psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Prostate-specific antigen(PsA), and ankylosing spondylitis( AS).
• Enbrel is also used in other rheumatic diseases such as scleroderma, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener’sgranulomatosis), giant cell arteritis, Behçet’s disease, uveitis,
• and sarcoidosis.
• It is used both as monotherapy and in combination with methotrexate

 

Dosage

• Etanercept 25mg, 50mg Injection comes as a multiple use vial of powder and sterile water and is reconstituted before administering subcutaneously.
• After reconstitution the vial must be stored at 2°C to 8°C and must be used within 14 days.
• Final dosages are determined by the doctor on the basis of factors such as medical condition, age, weight and ongoing medications.
• Dose and rate of infusion is adjusted to minimise related side effects.
• Usual dose Enbrel is 50 mg subcutaneously twice/week for 12 weeks, then once/week.

 

Side effects

• Headache
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Severe infections
• Nausea and vomiting
• Congestive heart failure
• Malignancies like lymphomas
• Onset or worsening of preexisting Demyelinating disease
• Hepatitis infection
• Systemic Allergic reactions
• Allergy at the injection site

 

Precautions

• Etanercept 25mg, 50mg Injection is contraindicated in active infections and pregnancy.
• Enbrel must be used with caution in patients with chronic infections, history of tuberculosis ,opportunistic infections, underlying medical conditions making them susceptible to infections like diabetes.
• If any drug related serious complications develop, the drug must be stopped and proper medical care must be started.
• Patients must be carefully checked regularly for any sign of fatal adverse effects related to etanercept like tuberculosis, invasive fungal infections, aplastic anemia or pancytopenia. and bacterial or viral opportunistic infections..
• Live vaccines and Cyclophosphamide are not recommended to use along with this drug.
• It interacts with Anakinra and Abatacept leading to increased risk of serious infections.
• Tell the doctor about ongoing medications and any allergy before starting the drug.

Always tell the doctor about pregnancy or future plan of pregnancy or breastfeeding.