⛔ FDA Black Box Warning
WARNING: SERIOUS INFECTIONS AND MALIGNANCY WARNING: SERIOUS INFECTIONS AND MALIGNANCY See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. Serious infections leading to hospitalization or death including tuberculosis (TB), bacterial sepsis, invasive fungal (such as histoplasmosis), and other opportunistic infections have occurred in patients receiving SIMPONI ( 5.1 ) Discontinue SIMPONI if a patient develops a serious infection or sepsis ( 5.1 ) Perform test for latent TB; if positive, start treatment for TB prior to starting SIMPONI ( 5.1 ) Monitor all patients for active TB during treatment, even if initial latent TB test is negative ( 5.1 ) Lymphoma and other malignancies, some fatal, have been reported in children and adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers, of which SIMPONI is a member ( 5.2 ) SERIOUS INFECTIONS Patients treated with SIMPONI are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . Most patients who developed these infections were taking concomitant immunosuppressants such as methotrexate or corticosteroids. Discontinue SIMPONI if a patient develops a serious infection. Reported infections with TNF blockers, of which SIMPONI is a member, include: Active tuberculosis, including reactivation of latent tuberculosis. Patients with tuberculosis have frequently presented with disseminated or extrapulmonary disease. Test patients for latent tuberculosis before SIMPONI use and during therapy. Initiate treatment for latent TB prior to SIMPONI use. Invasive fungal infections including histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, and pneumocystosis. Patients with histoplasmosis or other invasive fungal infections may present with disseminated, rather than localized, disease. Antigen and antibody testing for histoplasmosis may be negative in some patients with active infection. Consider empiric antifungal therapy in patients at ri
Contraindications
4 CONTRAINDICATIONS None. None ( 4 )
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
8.1 Pregnancy Risk Summary Available data from postmarketing case reports with golimumab use in pregnant women have not identified a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. An observational study of northern European births observed similar unadjusted rates of major birth defects in infants exposed in utero to golimumab compared to no treatment or non-biologic systemic therapy. However, this study had important limitations (see Data ) . Monoclonal antibodies, such as golimumab, are transported across the placenta during the third trimester of pregnancy and may affect immune response in the in utero exposed infant (see Clinical Considerations ) . In an animal reproductive study, golimumab administered by the subcutaneous route to pregnant monkeys, during the period of organogenesis, at doses that produced exposures approximately 360 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) had no adverse fetal effects (see Data ) . In a pre- and post-natal development study with pregnant monkeys, subcutaneous administration of golimumab, during the later gestational and lactation periods, at doses producing maximal maternal blood concentrations approximately 460 times those found with the MRHD had no adverse developmental effects on infants (see Data ) . Data suggest that there are risks to the mother and the fetus associated with rheumatoid arthritis and ulcerative colitis in pregnancy (see Clinical Considerations ) . All pregnancies have a background risk of birth defect, loss, or other adverse outcomes. The background risk of major birth defects and miscarriage for the indicated populations is unknown. In the U.S. general population, the estimated background risks of major birth defects and miscarriage in clinically recognized pregnancies is 2–4% and of miscarriage is 15–20%, respectively. Clinical Considerations Disease-associated Maternal and/or Embryo/Fetal Risk Published data suggest that increased disease activit