If you have been watching any television lately, I’m sure you have seen the ads that Humira® is now available as a citrate-free pen. But what exactly does that mean and how will this affect your treatment?
Changes that would affect your treatment if you switch:
• No more citrate: Citrate was found to cause pain when Humira® is injected. So along with other inactive ingredients, it has been removed.
• Even smaller needle: The older version of Humira® had a 27-gauge needle, whereas the new form has a 29-gauge needle. The higher the number of the gauge, the smaller the needle. It’s not too big of a difference, but who doesn’t like having less pain when taking a medication?
• Less injection volume: There is the same amount of active ingredient (adalimumab) in the injection, BUT there is half the amount of liquid that you have to inject. This will make the injection faster and easier. The injection is now 0.4 mL while the older formulation is 0.8 mL.
Changes that are small (but still helpful) and likely will not affect your therapy too much:
• New cap: The manufacturers have changed the color of the cap to white.
• Bigger viewing window: You can now see inside the pen more than the older formulation.
• Blue box: Humira® Citrate-free is distributed in a blue box.
So what’s the same? The drug inside Humira® (adalimumab) is exactly the same. It will work just as well as your previous formulation of Humira®. Humira® still requires a prescription from your doctor and will still require close monitoring to make sure that it is working right for you.
Too long, didn’t read version: Less pain, same effect.
If you have any questions about the new formulation of Humira®, please do not hesitate to contact us or your doctor! You can reach a pharmacist at Sunray Specialty Pharmacy at (888) 260-9555.