SAFETY PROFILE

Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) has a well-established safety profile

Why does 20+ years matter?

The well-established safety profile of Rebif® is supported by more than 20 years of combinedclinical trial data and real-world patient experience. Safety is an important topic to discuss with your healthcare provider when choosing a relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) treatment.

Rebif® did not result in increases in the incidence of viral, bacterial, or fungal infections.

Patients treated with Rebif® showed a similar incidence of infections compared to placebo

Some people develop lower white blood cell counts, which could increase the risk of infection. Your healthcare provider should monitor your white blood cell counts during the course of your therapy with Rebif®

Rebif® has not been associated with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain disease.

 

The Rebif® Prescribing Information (PI) does not include any restrictions on vaccinations.

Getting vaccinated is a key part of medical care, and that is no different for people with MS. Some inactivated vaccines may provide protection and may be administered while treating your MS with an interferon, like Rebif®. Ask your healthcare provider about your ability to be vaccinated while taking Rebif®. They will use their clinical judgement and refer to the latest medical information to decide what is right for you.

Rebif® does not continuously suppress the immune system

Rebif® is an immunomodulator, a medication used to help regulate the immune system. It doesn’t continuously suppress your immune system.

Rebif® can cause serious side effects:

  • Behavioral health problems including depression and suicidal thoughts

  • Liver problems or worsening of liver problems including liver failure

  • Serious allergic and skin reactions

  • Injection site problems

  • Blood problems

  • Seizures

The most common side effects of Rebif® include:

  • Flu-like symptoms

  • Stomach pain

  • Change in liver blood tests

 

Please review more details about the possible side effects with Rebif®.

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Supporting the safety profile

 

Supporting Safety Profile
Supporting Safety Profile
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Support to help you start and stay on therapy

When you take Rebif®, you can also count on the full support of MS LifeLines® Nurses. They can help answer many questions about relapsing forms of MS and treatment with Rebif®, including proper injection techniques.

 

Safety and tolerability

When you take a medication, safety and tolerability are 2 important terms to understand.

Safety refers to things that can happen, related to treatment with a drug, that may require medical attention, or constitute a medical risk.

Tolerability is related to how a drug makes you feel when you are taking it, like when you’re experiencing side effects from a treatment. Sometimes, people can tolerate certain side effects in order to meet their treatment goals. Other times, side effects can be unbearable, so a change of treatment may be recommended.

It’s important to discuss with your healthcare provider whatever you’re experiencing. They can assess if you require medical attention or adjustment to your treatment. Learn more about possible Rebif® side effects.

 

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Image of a happy couple look at a laptop screen

Family planning when you have relapsing multiple sclerosis

Talk with your healthcare provider about planning for pregnancy and treating RMS.

Image of a woman sitting at a desk working on a laptop

Rebif® gives you options

With Rebif®, there’s flexibility with dosing schedules and injection types.

Image of a person's hands at a desk working with a print of graphs on top of a computer keyboard and holding a tablet device

See how Rebif® compares to another RMS treatment

Rebif® was proven superior to another RMS treatment.

 

The people in these photos are not actual Rebif® patients.

 


IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND INDICATION

Important Safety Information

Do not take Rebif if you are allergic to interferon beta, human albumin, or any of the ingredients in Rebif.

Rebif can cause serious side effects. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the symptoms listed below while taking Rebif.

  • Behavioral health problems including depression and suicidal thoughts. You may have mood problems including depression (feeling hopeless or feeling bad about yourself), and thoughts of hurting yourself or suicide.
  • Liver problems or worsening of liver problems including liver failure. Symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, tiredness, dark colored urine and pale stools, yellowing of your skin or the white part of your eye, bleeding more easily than normal, confusion, and sleepiness. During your treatment with Rebif you will need to see your healthcare provider regularly and have regular blood tests to check for side effects.
  • Serious allergic and skin reactions. Symptoms may include itching, swelling of your face, eyes, lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing, anxiousness, feeling faint, skin rash, hives, sores in your mouth, or skin blisters and peels.
  • Injection site problems. Rebif may cause redness, pain, itching or swelling at the place where your injection was given. Call your healthcare provider right away if an injection site becomes swollen and painful or the area looks infected. You may have a skin infection or an area of severe skin damage (necrosis) requiring treatment by a healthcare provider.
  • Blood problems. Rebif can affect your bone marrow and cause low red and white blood cell and platelet counts. In some people, these blood cell counts may fall to dangerously low levels. If your blood cell counts become very low, you can get infections and problems with bleeding and bruising. Your healthcare provider may ask you to have regular blood tests to check for blood problems.
  • Seizures. Some people have had seizures while taking Rebif.

Before you take Rebif, tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any of the following conditions:

  • mental illness, including depression and suicidal behavior
  • liver problems
  • bleeding problems or blood clots
  • low blood cell counts
  • seizures (epilepsy)
  • thyroid problems
  • you drink alcohol
  • you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Rebif will harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant during your treatment with Rebif
  • you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Rebif passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will use Rebif or breastfeed. You should not do both

Tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.

The most common side effects of Rebif include:

  • flu-like symptoms. You may have flu-like symptoms when you first start taking Rebif. You may be able to manage these flu-like symptoms by taking over-the-counter pain and fever reducers. For many people, these symptoms lessen or go away over time. Symptoms may include muscle aches, fever, tiredness, and chills
  • stomach pain
  • change in liver blood tests

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of Rebif. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Indication

Rebif® (interferon beta-1a) is a prescription medicine used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults. It is not known if Rebif is safe and effective in children.

Please see Rebif® Prescribing Information and Medication Guide.