Adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after at least one other medicine called a Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drug (DMARD) has been used and did not work well.
People with active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (PJIA) ages 2 and above.
People with active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) ages 2 and above.
ACTEMRA is not approved for subcutaneous use in people with PJIA or SJIA.
It is not known if ACTEMRA is safe and effective in children with PJIA or SJIA under 2 years of age or in children with conditions other than PJIA or SJIA.
Who should not take ACTEMRA?
Do not take ACTEMRA if you are allergic to tocilizumab, or any of the ingredients in ACTEMRA. See the end of this Medication Guide for a complete list of ingredients in ACTEMRA.
What should I tell my healthcare provider before receiving ACTEMRA?
ACTEMRA may not be right for you. Before receiving ACTEMRA, tell your healthcare provider if you:
have an infection. See "WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ACTEMRA?"
have liver problems
have any stomach-area (abdominal) pain or been diagnosed with diverticulitis or ulcers in your stomach or intestines
have had a reaction to tocilizumab or any of the ingredients in ACTEMRA before
have or had a condition that affects your nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis
have recently received or are scheduled to receive a vaccine.
All vaccines should be brought up-to-date before starting ACTEMRA.
People who take ACTEMRA should not receive live vaccines.
People taking ACTEMRA can receive non-live vaccines
plan to have surgery or a medical procedure
have any other medical conditions
plan to become pregnant or are pregnant. It is not known if ACTEMRA will harm your unborn baby.
Pregnancy Registry: Genentech has a registry for pregnant women who take ACTEMRA. The purpose of this registry is to check the health of the pregnant mother and her baby. If you are pregnant or become pregnant while taking ACTEMRA, talk to your healthcare provider about how you can join this pregnancy registry or you may contact the registry at 1-877-311-8972 to enroll.
plan to breast-feed or are breast-feeding. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will take ACTEMRA or breast-feed. You should not do both.
Tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. ACTEMRA and other medicines may affect each other causing side effects.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take:
any other medicines to treat your RA. You should not take etanercept (Enbrel®), adalimumab (Humira®), inflixima