WHAT IS ZEPZELCA?
ZEPZELCA® (lurbinectedin) is a prescription medicine used to treat adults
with a kind of lung cancer called small cell lung cancer (SCLC).
ZEPZELCA may be used when your lung cancer:
- has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic), and
- you have received treatment with chemotherapy that contains platinum, and it did not
work or is no longer working.
ZEPZELCA is approved based on response rate and how long the response lasted.
Additional studies will further evaluate the benefit of ZEPZELCA for this use.
Important safety Information
Before receiving ZEPZELCA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions,
including if you:
- have liver or kidney problems.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. ZEPZELCA can harm your unborn baby.
- Females who are able to become pregnant:
- Your healthcare provider should do a pregnancy test before you start treatment with ZEPZELCA.
- You should use effective birth control (contraception) during treatment with and for 6 months after your
final dose of ZEPZELCA.
- Tell your healthcare provider right away if you become pregnant or think that you are pregnant during
treatment with ZEPZELCA.
Males with female partners who are able to become pregnant should use
effective birth control during treatment with and for 4 months after your final dose of ZEPZELCA.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if ZEPZELCA passes into your
breastmilk. Do not breastfeed during treatment with ZEPZELCA and for 2 weeks after your final dose of ZEPZELCA.
Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby during treatment with ZEPZELCA.
- Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you
take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Certain
other medicines may affect how ZEPZELCA works.
What should I avoid while using ZEPZELCA?
Avoid eating or drinking grapefruit, or products that contain grapefruit juice during
treatment with ZEPZELCA.
ZEPZELCA can cause serious side effects, including:
- Low blood cell counts. Low blood counts including
low neutrophil counts (neutropenia) and low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia) are common with ZEPZELCA, and can
also be severe. Some people with low white blood cell counts may get fever, or an infection throughout the body
(sepsis), that can cause death. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests before you receive each treatment
with ZEPZELCA to check your blood cell counts.
- Tell your healthcare provider right away if you
develop:
- fever or any other signs of infection
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- tiredness
- pale colored skin
- Liver problems. Increased liver function tests
are common with ZEPZELCA, and can also be severe. Your healthcare provider should do blood tests to check your
liver function before you start and during treatment with ZEPZELCA.
- Tell your healthcare provider right away if you develop symptoms
of liver problems including:
- loss of appetite
- nausea or vomiting
- pain on the right side of your stomach area (abdomen)
- Leakage of ZEPZELCA out of your vein during the
infusion. If ZEPZELCA leaks into the tissues around your infusion site, it can cause damage and death of
tissue cells around the infusion site. You may need to have surgery to remove any dead tissue. Tell your
healthcare provider right away if you see any ZEPZELCA leaking out of your vein or around the catheter during your
infusion, or if you notice any redness, swelling, itching or discomfort at the infusion site at any time.
- Severe muscle problems (rhabdomyolysis). Tell
your
healthcare provider if you have severe muscle pain or weakness.
Your healthcare provider may temporarily stop treatment, lower
your dose, or permanently stop ZEPZELCA if you develop serious side effects during treatment with
ZEPZELCA.
The most common side effects of ZEPZELCA include:
- tiredness
- low white and red blood cell counts
- increased kidney function blood test (creatinine)
- increased liver function blood tests
- increased blood sugar (glucose)
- nausea
- decreased appetite
- muscle and joint (musculoskeletal) pain
- low level of albumin in the blood
- constipation
- trouble breathing
- low levels of sodium and magnesium in the blood
- vomiting
- cough
- diarrhea
These are not all of the possible side effects of ZEPZELCA.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. 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. You may also report
side effects to Jazz Pharmaceuticals at 1-800-520-5568.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information,
and discuss with your doctor.
