Secukinumab

Dosage

Form(s): Injection (pre-filled syringe) 

• For AS or nr-axSpA : 150 mg every 4 weeks with or without a loading dose of 150 mg at Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4.


• For PsA: 150 mg by subcutaneous injection every 4 weeks with or without a loading dosage of 150 mg at weeks 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4.


• For PsA patients with coexistent moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: 300 mg by subcutaneous injection every 4 weeks with a loading dose of 300 mg by subcutaneous injection at Weeks 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. NOTE: Each 300 mg dosage is given as 2 subcutaneous injections of 150 mg.

Special Instructions

Must be kept refrigerated. Do not freeze. Remove drug from refrigerator and allow it to warm to room temperature before injecting. Inject into thigh, abdomen or upper arm. Rotate injection sites. Do not inject where skin is tender, bruised, red or hard.

Women of childbearing age should use effective contraception during treatment.

Potential Side Effects

Diarrhea; upper respiratory infection

Be Aware

This and all biologics suppress the immune system and may increase your risk of infections. Tell your doctor if you have an active infection. Do not start treatment if you have a serious or recurrent infection (such as pneumonia). You should be tested for tuberculosis before starting this medication. Do not get a live vaccine when taking biologics.

Caution should be used when prescribing secukinumab to patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Exacerbations, in some cases serious, occurred in secukinumab-treated patients during clinical trials in plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. In addition, new onset inflammatory bowel disease cases occurred in clinical trials with secukinumab.