Akynzeo
Generic Name/API: netupitant/palonosetron
Manufacturer: Helsinn Birex Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Dosage Forms & Strength & Pack Size:
hard capsules, 300mg 0.5ml, 1’s or 2’s
Storage:
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
• Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and blister after
‘EXP’. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.
• This medicine does not require any special storage conditions.
• Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist
how to throw away
What Akynzeo is
Akynzeo contains two medicines (‘active substances’) called:
• netupitant
• palonosetron.
What Akynzeo is used for
Akynzeo is used to help prevent adults with cancer feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting) while having cancer treatment called ‘chemotherapy’.
How Akynzeo works
Chemotherapy medicines can cause the body to release substances called serotonin and substance P. This stimulates the vomiting centre in the brain, making you feel or be sick. The medicines in Akynzeo attach to the receptors in the nervous system through which serotonin and substance P work: netupitant (an NK1 receptor antagonist) blocks the receptors for substance P, and palonosetron (a 5- HT3 receptor antagonist) blocks certain receptors for serotonin. By blocking the actions of substance P and serotonin in this way, the medicines help prevent the stimulation of the vomiting centre and the resulting sickness.
Warnings and precautions
Talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Akynzeo if:
• you have liver problems
• you have a blockage in your gut, or you have had constipation in the past
• you or one of your close relatives has ever had a heart problem called ‘QT interval
prolongation’
• you have any other heart problems
• you have been told you have an imbalance of minerals in your blood such as potassium and magnesium that has not been corrected.
If any of the above apply to you (or you are not sure), talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Akynzeo.
Children and adolescents
Akynzeo should not be taken by children and adolescents under 18 years.
Other medicines and Akynzeo
Tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines.
In particular tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse if you are taking any of the following medicines:
• medicines for depression or anxiety called SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) – such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, citalopram or escitalopram
• medicines for depression or anxiety called SNRIs (serotonin noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitors) – such as venlafaxine or duloxetine.
Also tell your doctor, pharmacist or nurse if you are taking any of the following medicines as your doctor may need to change the dose of these other medicines:
• medicines that might cause abnormal heartbeat such as amiodarone, nicardipine, quinidine, moxifloxacin, haloperidol, chlorpromazine, quetiapine, thioridazine or domperidone
• medicines with a narrow therapeutic range that are primarily metabolized by CYP3A4, such as cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, everolimus, alfentanil, diergotamine, ergotamine, fentanyl, or quinidine
• some chemotherapy medicines – such as docetaxel or etoposide
• erythromycin – to treat bacterial infections
• midazolam – a sedative used to treat anxiety
• dexamethasone – can be used to treat feeling and being sick
• ketoconazole – to treat Cushing’s syndrome
• rifampicin – to treat tuberculosis (TB) and other infections.
If any of the above apply to you (or you are not sure), talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse before taking Akynzeo.
*The contents of this site are for reference only. We do not offer drug procurement service. All information must not be used for any commercial purpose.
