Pegylated interferon alfa 2b product information

Common Questions and Answers about Pegylated interferon alfa 2b product information

peg-intron

Two kinds of pegylated interferons are available -- peginterferon alfa-2a (also called alfa-2a) and peginterferon alfa-2b (also called alfa-2b). The main difference between these two pegylated interferons is in the dosing. Alfa-2a is used as a fixed weekly dose. Alfa-2b is used as a weekly dose based on the weight of the patient. There are other differences between the two drugs, but they are mostly technical and are used by the prescribing physician.

The treatment with most promising results is a combination of pegylated interferon alfa (Pegasys, PEG-Intron) and the antiviral drug, ribavirin. Interferon alfa is a protein which the human body produces naturally as a defense response to viral infections. Pegylation describes a chemical process that makes the interferon last longer in the body. Interferon increases the potency of ribavirin in the treatment of HCV.

Ribavirin combined with interferon alfa-2b, interferon alfacon-1 (Infergen), pegylated interferon alfa-2b, or pegylated interferon alpha-2a, all are approved for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Interferon beta-1b (Betaseron) and interferon beta-1a (Avonex) are approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Interferon alfa-n3 (Alferon-N) is approved for the treatment of genital and perianal warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

As reported in the August 2008 issue of Hepatology, Stephen Zeuzem and an international team of colleagues conducted an open-label Phase 2 study in which 458 treatment-naive patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C were randomly assigned to receive either standard therapy with 180 mcg once-weekly pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys) or else albumin interferon alfa-2b at doses of 900 or 1200 mcg once every 2 weeks or 1200 mcg once every 4 weeks for 48 weeks.

Pegasys is a brand name for Peginterferon alfa-2a or Pegylated interferon alfa-2a which is an antiviral drug made by La Roche. It is given by injection. It is used in combination with another medication called Ribavirin (a pill), and a third medication, either Victrellis or Incivek, which are both pills, to treat Hepatitis C. Let us know if you have further questions.

Pegylation of interferon alfa-2b produces a product (PegIntron) whose clearance is lower than that of nonpegylated interferon alfa-2b. When compared to INTRON A, PegIntron (1 mcg/kg) has approximately a 7-fold lower mean apparent clearance and a 5-fold greater mean half-life, permitting a reduced dosing frequency. At effective therapeutic doses, PegIntron has approximately 10-fold greater Cmax and 50-fold greater AUC than interferon alfa-2b.

Ribavirin dosage normally is weight based, with a normal maximum of 12,000 (6 pills) a day. I weigh 144 lbs, so I started out at 1,000 mg a day, 3 in the morning and 2 at night. The doctor may do a lot of adjustments during the treatment also. Here is some info: http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ribavirin.

The products in question are Temodar (temozolomide) for brain cancer and hepatitis C and cancer drugs PegIntron (pegylated interferon alfa-2b) and Intron A (interferon alfa-2b), according to Merck's just-published quarterly report. All three of the drugs were acquired when Merck bought Schering-Plough in 2009.

My clinic has postponed treating any patients with triple therapy until their software is updated to include all of the newest information regarding P450 interactions. Therefore I’m NOT the only person realizing just how crucial and important this all has become. Ergo I’ve decided to regroup my thoughts and explain the basics.

In a Phase 2b study with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, Pharmasset's PSI-7977 had a 100 percent success rate against Hepatitis C genotypes 2 and 3.

Overall, 49% of patients discontinued their medication before the end of the four-year study, with 36% due to failure to comply and 13% due to side effects. Peginterferon alfa-2b was generally well tolerated. Among patients who discontinued due to interferon side effects (17.1%, 49/286), the most common reason (45%, 22/49 patients) was general intolerance to interferon (e.g., due to flu-like symptoms, malaise, and other common interferon side effects).

Peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin had lower incidences of depression and flu-like symptoms than standard interferon/ribavirin, whereas peginterferon alfa-2b/ribavirin and standard interferon/ribavirin had similar incidences of these AEs.

I am GT 1 and my md only wants to give me 800 mg of riba because I weigh 115 lbs. Why ?! •for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection (monoinfection) in combination with interferon alfa-2b in patients previously untreated with interferon alpha: NOTE: Consider response prognostic factors, HCV genotype, viral load, and disease progression evidence such as hepatic inflammation and fibrosis when deciding to treat a pediatric patient.

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