What is Aubagio?
Aubagio is a prescription medicine used to treat relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), to include clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing-remitting disease, and active secondary progressive disease, in adults.
It is not known if Aubagio is safe and effective in children.
What is the most important information I should know about Aubagio?
Aubagio may cause serious side effects, including:
- Liver problems: Aubagio may cause serious liver problems that may lead to death. Your risk of liver problems may be higher if you take other medicines that also affect your liver. Your doctor should do blood tests to check your liver:
- within 6 months before you start taking Aubagio
- 1 time a month for 6 months after you start taking Aubagio
- nausea
- vomiting
- stomach pain
- loss of appetite
- tiredness
- your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow
- dark urine
- Harm to your unborn baby: Aubagio may cause harm to your unborn baby. Do not take Aubagio if you are pregnant. Do not take Aubagio unless you are using effective birth control.
- If you are a female, you should have a pregnancy test before you start taking Aubagio. Use effective birth control during your treatment with Aubagio.
- After stopping Aubagio, continue using effective birth control until you have blood tests to make sure your blood levels of Aubagio are low enough. If you become pregnant while taking Aubagio or within 2 years after you stop taking it, tell your doctor right away.
- Aubagio Pregnancy Registry. If you become pregnant while taking Aubagio or during the 2 years after you stop taking Aubagio, talk to your doctor about enrolling in the Aubagio Pregnancy Registry at 1-800-745-4447, option 2. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about your health and your baby's health.
- For men taking Aubagio:
- If your female partner plans to become pregnant, you should stop taking Aubagio and ask your doctor how to quickly lower the levels of Aubagio in your blood.
- If your female partner does not plan to become pregnant, you and your female partner should use effective birth control during your treatment with Aubagio. Aubagio remains in your blood after you stop taking it, so continue using effective birth control until Aubagio blood levels have been checked and they are low enough.
Aubagio may stay in your blood for up to 2 years after you stop taking it. Your doctor can prescribe a medicine to help lower your blood levels of Aubagio more quickly. Talk to your doctor if you want more information about this.
Who should not take Aubagio?
Do not take Aubagio if you:
- have had an allergic reaction to Aubagio or a medicine called leflunomide
- have severe liver problems
- are pregnant or are of childbearing age and not using effective birth control
- take a medicine called leflunomide
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking Aubagio?
Before you take Aubagio, tell your doctor if you:
- have liver or kidney problems
- have a fever or infection, or you are unable to fight infections
- have numbness or tingling in your hands or feet that is different from your MS symptoms
- have diabetes
- have had serious skin problems when taking other medicines
- have breathing problems
- have high blood pressure
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Aubagio passes into your breast milk. You and your doctor should decide if you will take Aubagio or breastfeed. You should not do both.
Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using Aubagio and other medicines may affect each other causing serious side effects. Aubagio may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Aubagio works.
Especially tell your doctor if you take medicines that could raise your chance of getting infections, including medicines used to treat cancer or to control your immune system.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a list of these medicines if you are not sure.
Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your doctor or pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
How should I take Aubagio?
- Take Aubagio exactly as your doctor tells you to take it.
- Take Aubagio 1 time each day.
- Take Aubagio with or without food.
What are the possible side effects of Aubagio?
Aubagio may cause serious side effects, including:
- see "What is the most important information I should know about Aubagio?"
- decreases in your white blood cell count. Your white blood cell counts should be checked before you start taking Aubagio. When you have a low white blood cell count you:
- may have more frequent infections. You should have a skin test for TB (tuberculosis) before you start taking Aubagio. Tell your doctor if you have any of these symptoms of an infection:
- fever
- tiredness
- body aches
- chills
- nausea
- vomiting
- should not receive certain vaccinations during your treatment with Aubagio and for 6 months after your treatment with Aubagio ends.
- may have more frequent infections. You should have a skin test for TB (tuberculosis) before you start taking Aubagio. Tell your doctor if you have any of these symptoms of an infection:
- numbness or tingling in your hands or feet that is different from your MS symptoms. You have a greater chance of getting peripheral neuropathy if you: Tell your doctor if you have numbness or tingling in your hands or feet that is different from your MS.
- are over 60 years of age
- take certain medicines that affect your nervous system
- have diabetes
- Allergic reactions, including serious skin problems. Tell your doctor if you have difficulty breathing, itching, swelling on any part of your body including in your lips, eyes, throat or tongue, or any skin problems such as rash or redness and peeling.
- new or worsening breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have shortness of breath or coughing with or without fever.
- high blood pressure. Your doctor should check your blood pressure before you start taking Aubagio and while you are taking Aubagio.
The most common side effects of Aubagio include:
- headache
- diarrhea
- nausea
- hair thinning or loss (alopecia)
- increases in the results of blood tests to check your liver function
Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
These are not all the possible side effects of Aubagio. For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-332-1088.
Aubagio Images
General information about the safe and effective use of Aubagio
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use Aubagio for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give Aubagio to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them.
This Medication Guide summarizes the most important information about Aubagio. If you would like more information, talk with your doctor. You can ask your doctor or pharmacist for information about Aubagio that is written for healthcare professionals.
For more information, go to www.aubagio.com or call Genzyme Medical Information Services at 1-800-745-4447, option 2.
How should I store Aubagio?
- Store Aubagio at room temperature between 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C).
- Keep Aubagio and all medicines out of reach of children.
What are the ingredients in Aubagio?
Active ingredient: teriflunomide
Inactive ingredients in 7 mg and 14 mg tablets: lactose monohydrate, corn starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, titanium dioxide, talc, polyethylene glycol and indigo carmine aluminum lake.
In addition, the 7 mg tablets also contain iron oxide yellow.
