Understanding Ankylosing Spondylitis

Important Safety Information

What important safety information do I need to know about taking prescription ENBREL?

ENBREL is a type of protein called a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker that blocks the action of a substance your body's immune system makes called TNF. People with an immune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, or psoriasis, have too much TNF in their bodies. ENBREL can reduce the amount of active TNF in the body to normal levels, helping to treat your disease. But, in doing so, ENBREL can also lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections.

Serious infections, including tuberculosis (TB), have happened in patients taking ENBREL. Some of these serious infections have been fatal. Many serious infections occurred in people prone to infection. Serious infections have also occurred in patients with advanced or poorly controlled diabetes. Do not start ENBREL if you have an infection or are allergic to ENBREL or its components. Once on ENBREL, if you get an infection or have any sign of an infection, including fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, or have open sores, tell your doctor. Your doctor should test you for TB before starting ENBREL and should monitor you closely for signs and symptoms of TB.

Serious nervous system disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, seizures, or inflammation of the nerves of the eyes have been reported. There have been rare reports of serious blood disorders (some fatal).

In medical studies, more cases of lymphoma (a type of cancer) were seen in patients taking TNF blockers compared to similar patients who were not taking TNF blockers. The risk of lymphoma may be several-fold higher in people with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis; the role of TNF blockers in the development of malignancies is unknown.

Tell your doctor if you:

• Think you have, are being treated for, have signs of, or are prone to infection
• Have any open sores
• Have or have had TB or hepatitis B
• Have ever been treated for heart failure
• Have ever had or develop a serious nervous system disorder
• Develop symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness while taking ENBREL

Common side effects in adult clinical trials were injection site reaction, infection and headache.

In a medical study of patients with JIA, infection, headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea occurred more frequently than in adults. The kinds of infections reported were generally mild and similar to those usually seen in children. Other serious adverse reactions were reported, including serious infection and depression/personality disorder.

If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Prescribing Information.

INDICATIONS
Moderate to Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
ENBREL is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms, keeping joint damage from getting worse, and improving physical function in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. ENBREL can be taken with methotrexate or used alone.

• In medical studies, ENBREL was shown to be effective in about 2 out of 3 adults with RA who used it, and has been shown to begin working in as few as 2 weeks, with most patients receiving benefit within 3 months. In an RA medical study, 55% of patients had no progression of joint damage.

Moderate to Severe Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA)
ENBREL is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in children ages 2 years and older.

• In a medical study, ENBREL was shown to be effective in about 3 out of 4 children with JIA who used it. For these JIA patients, ENBREL has been shown to begin working in approximately 2 to 4 weeks.

Psoriatic Arthritis
ENBREL is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms, keeping joint damage from getting worse, and improving physical function in patients with psoriatic arthritis. ENBREL can be used in combination with methotrexate in patients who do not respond adequately to methotrexate alone.

• In a medical study, ENBREL was shown to be effective in about 50% of psoriatic arthritis patients who used it. Clinical responses were apparent at the time of the first visit (4 weeks) and were maintained through 6 months of therapy.

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)
ENBREL is indicated for reducing signs and symptoms in patients with active ankylosing spondylitis.

• In a medical study, ENBREL was shown to be effective in about 3 out of 5 adults with AS who used it. Clinical responses were seen at 2 weeks in 46% of patients, with 59% of patients receiving benefit within 8 weeks.

Moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis
ENBREL is indicated for the treatment of adult patients (18 years or older) with chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.

• In medical studies, nearly half of patients saw a significant improvement in their plaque psoriasis within 3 months of using ENBREL. Overall, 3 out of 4 patients saw improvement. ENBREL can work fast; many patients saw improvement within 2 months. ENBREL has been shown to be effective through 12 months of therapy.