Raxone - patient leaflet, side effects, dosage

Patient leaflet - Raxone

1. What Raxone is and what it is used for

Raxone contains a substance called idebenone.

Idebenone is used to treat vision impairment in adults and adolescents with an eye disease called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON).

– This eye problem is inherited – this means it runs in families.
– It is caused by a problem with your genes (called a “genetic mutation”) that affects the ability of cells in the eye to produce the energy they need to work normally, so they become inactive.
– LHON can lead to loss of eyesight due to the inactivity of cells responsible for vision.

Treatment with Raxone can restore the ability of cells to produce energy and so allow inactive eye cells to work again. This can lead to some improvement in lost eyesight.

2. What you need to know before you take Raxone

Do not take Raxone

– if you are allergic to idebenone or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking Raxone if:

– you have any blood, liver or kidney problems.

Change in urine colour

Raxone may make your urine become reddish brown. This change in colour is harmless – it does not mean your treatment needs to change. However, the change in colour could mean that you have problems with your kidneys or bladder.

– Tell your doctor if your urine changes colour.
– He or she may do a urine check to make sure the change in colour is not hiding other problems.

Tests

Your doctor will check your eye-sight before you start taking this medicine and then at regular visits while you are taking it.

Children and adolescents

This medicine should not be used in children This is because it is not known if Raxone is safe or works in patients under 12 years of age.

Other medicines and Raxone

Some medicines may interact with Raxone. Tell your doctor if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines, especially any of the following:

– antihistamines to treat allergies (astemizole, terfenadine)
– to treat heartburn (cisapride)
– to treat muscle and speech tics associated with Tourette syndrome (pimozide)
– to treat hearth rhythm disorders (quinidine)
– to treat migraine (dihydroergotamine, ergotamine)
– to put you to sleep called “anaesthetics” (alfentanil)
– to treat inflamation in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis (cyclosporine)
– to prevent the rejection of an organ transplant (sirolimus, tacrolimus)
– to treat strong pain called “opioids” (fentanyl)

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you might be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before taking this medicine.

– Your doctor will prescribe Raxone to you only if the benefits of the treatment are greater than the risks to the unborn child.
– Raxone may pass into the mother’s milk. If you are breast-feeding your doctor will discuss with you whether to stop breast-feeding or to stop taking the medicine. This will take into account the benefit of breast-feeding to the child and the benefit of the medicine for you.

Driving and using machines

Raxone is not expected to affect your ability to drive or use machines.

Raxone contains lactose and sunset yellow (E110)

– Raxone contains lactose (a type of sugar). If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product..
– Raxone contains a colourant called “sunset yellow” (also called E110). This may cause allergic reactions.

3. How to take Raxone

Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

How much to take

The recommended dose is 2 tablets three times a day – this is a total of 6 tablets per day.

Taking this medicine

– Take the tablets with food – this helps to get more of the medicine from your stomach into your blood.
– Swallow the tablets whole with a glass of liquid.
– Do not crush or chew the tablets.
– Take the tablets at the same time of day each day. For example in the morning at breakfast, with lunch at mid-day and with dinner in the evening.

If you take more Raxone than you should

If you take more Raxone than you should, talk to your doctor straight away.

If you forget to take Raxone

If you forget a dose, skip the missed dose. Take the next dose at the usual time.

Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.

If you stop taking Raxone

Talk to your doctor before you stop taking this medicine.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

4. Possible side effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. The following side effect may happen with this medicine:

Very common (may affect more than 1 in 10 people):

– nasopharyngitis (cold)
– cough

Common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):

– diarrhoea (mild to moderate that usually does not require discontinuation of treatment)
– back pain

Unknown frequency (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data):

– bronchitis
– changes in blood test results: low level of white blood cells, or low level of red blood cells, or low level of platelets
– increased cholesterol or fat in the blood -shown in tests
– fits, feeling confused, seeing or hearing things that are not real (hallucinations), feeling excited, movements that you cannot control, a tendency to wonder away, feeling dizzy, headache, feeling restless, dazed and unable to act or think normally
– nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, indigestion
– high levels of some liver enzymes in the body which mean you have liver problems – shown in tests, high levels of “bilirubin” – this can make your skin and the whites of your eyes look yellow, hepatitis
– rash, itching
– pain in extremity
– high levels of nitrogen in the blood – shown in tests change in urine colour
– generally feeling unwell

Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the national reporting system in Appendix V. By reporting side effecs you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

5. How to store Raxone

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 the bottle after ‘EXP’.

The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.

6. Contents of the pack and other information

What Raxone contains

– The active substance is idebenone. Each film-coated tablet contains 150 mg of idebenone.
– The other ingredients are:

Tablet core: lactose monohydrate, cellulose microcrystalline, croscarmellose sodium, povidone K25, magnesium stearate and silica colloidal anhydrous.

Tablet film-coating: macrogol, poly(vinyl alcohol), talc, titanium dioxide, sunset yellow (E110).

What Raxone looks like and contents of the pack

– Raxone film-coated tablets are orange, round tablets of 10 mm diameter, engraved with the Santhera logo on one side and ‘150’ on the other side.
– Raxone is supplied in white plastic bottles. Each bottle contains 180 tablets.