How PROMACTA May Help

PROMACTA

How does your doctor know if PROMACTA is working?

Adding PROMACTA® (eltrombopag) to immunosuppressive therapy has been shown to be an effective first option for patients diagnosed with SAA.

 

Your doctor is looking to get a “response” from treatment with PROMACTA. A response is when your blood tests show that your white blood cell, red blood cell, or platelet counts have increased.

 

  • If your white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets all increase above a certain level, that is called “complete response
  • If some, but not all, of your blood cell counts increase above a specific level, that is called a “partial response
  • When complete and partial response rates are added together, that is called an "overall response"
  • Once you start responding to therapy, your doctor will monitor how long your response lasts—that is called “duration of response

Be sure to talk with your doctor about your specific treatment goals.

Why should you start with PROMACTA?

PROMACTA and immunosuppressive therapy was proven in a clinical trial to show high response rates.

 

Based on 87 patients

 

After 6 months

 

Median Duration of response

 

 

 

If you are being prescribed PROMACTA, you should tell your doctor if you:

  • have liver problems
  • have a precancerous condition called MDS or a blood cancer
  • have or had a blood clot
  • have a history of cataracts
  • have had surgery to remove your spleen (splenectomy)
  • have bleeding problems
  • are of Asian ancestry (such as Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, or Korean)
  • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
  • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

Be sure to tell your doctor about any other medications you may be taking, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

 

During treatment with PROMACTA, your doctor will have you go for routine bloodwork and vision monitoring.

What if your initial therapy does not include PROMACTA?

If your initial therapy does not work, your doctor may choose to put you on PROMACTA alone.

A clinical study showed that PROMACTA was effective after other treatments failed.

 

In the study:

 

40 percent of the patients

40% of patients (17 of 43) saw an increase in their platelet levels by the third month of treatment

 

For up to 10 months

These 17 patients remained transfusion free for both platelets and red blood cells for a median of 6-7 months

 

More than a half

More than half of patients (8 of 14) who responded had an increase in platelets as well as red or white blood cells. Half of those patients continued to respond to PROMACTA after therapy ended