PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER

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Nevirapine 200 mg Tablets

Nevirapine

Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it contains important information for you.

•    Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.

•    If you have any further questions, ask your doctor, pharmacist or nurse.

•    This medicine has been prescribed for you only. Do not pass it on to others. It may harm them, even if their signs of illness are the same as yours.

•    If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet.

What is in this leaflet:

1.    What Nevirapine is and what it is used for

2.    What you need to know before you take Nevirapine

3.    How to take Nevirapine

4.    Possible side effects

5.    How to store Nevirapine

6.    Contents of the pack and other information

ASANDOZ

1

What Nevirapine is and what it is used for

Nevirapine belongs to a group of medicines called antiretrovirals, used in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) infection.

The active substance of your medicine is called nevirapine. Nevirapine reduces the amount of viruses in the blood thus improving your medical condition. Nevirapine belongs to a class of anti-HIV medicines called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme that HIV needs in order to multiply. Nevirapine stops reverse transcriptase from working. By stopping reverse transcriptasefrom working, Nevirapine helps control HIV-1 infection.

You must take Nevirapine together with other antiretroviral medicines. Your doctor will recommend the best medicines for you.

What you need to know before you take Nevirapine

Do not take Nevirapine

•    if you are allergic to nevirapine or any of the other ingredients of this medicine. See Section 6 of this leaflet for a list of other ingredients (“What Nevirapine con tains ”).

•    if you have taken Nevirapine before and had to stop the treatment because you suffered from:

•    severe skin rash

•    skin rash with other symptoms for example:

-    fever

-    blistering

-    mouth sores

-    inflammation of the eye

-    swelling of the face

-    general swelling

-    shortness of breath

-    muscle orjoint pain

-    general feelings of illness

-    abdominal pain

•    hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions

•    inflammation of the liver (hepatitis).

•    if you have severe liver disease.

•    if you have had to stop Nevirapine treatment in the past because of changes in your liver function.

•    if you are taking a medicine containing the herbal substance St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum). Thisherbal substance may stop Nevirapine from working properly.

Warnings and precautions

Talk to your doctor before taking Nevirapine.

During the first 18 weeks of treatment with Nevirapine it is very important that you and your doctor watch out for signs of liver or skin reactions. These can become severe and even life threatening. You are at greatest risk of such a reaction during the first 6 weeks of treatment.

If you experience severe rash or hypersensitivity (allergic reactions that may appear in the form of rash) accompanied by other side effects such as

•    fever,

•    blistering,

•    mouth sores,

•    inflammation of the eye,

•    swelling of the face,

•    general swelling,

•    shortness of breath,

•    muscle or joint pain,

•    general feelings of illness,

•    or abdominal pain

YOU SHOULD DISCONTINUE TAKING Nevirapine AND YOU MUST CONTACT your doctor IMMEDIATELY as such reactions can be potentially life-threatening or lead to death.

If you ever have only mild rash symptoms without any other reaction please inform your doctor immediately, who will advise you whether you should stop taking Nevirapine.

If you experience symptoms suggesting damage of the liver, such as

•    loss of appetite,

•    feeling sick (nausea),

•    vomiting,

•    yellow skin (jaundice),

•    abdominal pain

you should discontinue taking Nevirapine and must contact your doctor immediately.

If you develop severe liver, skin or hypersensitivity reactions whilst taking Nevirapine, NEVER TAKE Nevirapine again without referring to your doctor.

You must take the dosage of Nevirapine as prescribed by your doctor. This is especially important within the first 14 days of treatment (see more information in “How to take Nevirapine”)

In some patients with advanced HIV infection (AIDS) and a history of opportunistic infection (AIDS defining illness), signs and symptoms of inflammation from previous infections may occur soon after anti-HIV treatment is started. It is believed that these symptoms are due to an improvement in the body’s immune response, enabling the body to fight infections that may have been present with no obvious symptoms. If you notice any symptoms of infection, please inform your doctor immediately.

Changes of body fat may occur in patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy. Contact your doctor if you notice changes in bodyfat (see section 4 “POSSIBLESIDEEFFECTS”).

Some patients taking combination antiretroviral therapy may develop a bone disease called osteonecrosis (death of bone tissue caused by loss of blood supply to the bone). The length of combination antiretroviral therapy, corticosteroid use, alcohol consumption, severe weakness of the immune system and higher body mass index may be some of the many risk factors for developing this disease. Signs of osteonecrosis are joint stiffness, aches and pains (especially of the hip, knee and shoulder) and difficulty in movement. If you notice any of these symptoms please inform your doctor.

Nevirapine is not a cure for HIV infection. Therefore, you may continue to develop infections and other illnesses associated with HIV infection. You should therefore remain in regular contact with your doctor. There is still a risk of passing HIV to others through blood or sexual contact or contamination with blood when taking Nevirapine. Use appropriate precautions to prevent passing on HIV to other people. Please refer to your doctor.

Use in children

Nevirapine tablets can be taken by:

•    children 16 years of age or older

•    children under 16 years of age who:

•    weigh 50 kg or more

•    or have a body surface area above 1.25 square meters.

For smaller children an oral suspension liquid form is available in the market.

Other medicines and Nevirapine

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines. Inform your doctor about all other medicines you are taking before you start taking Nevirapine. Your doctor might need to monitor whether your other medicines are still working and adjust doses. Carefully read the package leaflet of all other HIV medicinal products you are taking in combination with Nevirapine.

It is particularly important that you tell your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken:

•    St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum, medicine to treat depression)

•    rifampicin (medicine to treat tuberculosis)

•    rifabutin (medicine to treat tuberculosis)

•    macrolides e.g. clarithromycin (medicine to treat bacterial infections)

•    fluconazole (medicine to treat fungal infections)

•    ketoconazole (medicine to treat fungal infections)

•    itraconazole (medicine to treat fungal infections)

•    methadone (medicine used for treatment of opiate addicts)

•    warfarin (medicine to reduce blood clotting)

•    hormonal contraceptives (e.g. the “pill”)

•    atazanavir (another medicine to treat HIV-infection)

•    lopinavir/ritonavir (another medicine to treat HIV-infection)

•    fosamprenavir (another medicine to treat HIV-infection)

•    efavirenz (another medicine to treat HIV-infection).

Your doctor will carefully monitor the effect of Nevirapine and any of these medicines if you are taking them together.

If you are undergoing kidney dialysis, your doctor may consider a dose adjustment of Nevirapine. This is because Nevirapine can be partly washed out of your blood by dialysis.

Nevirapine with food and drink

There are no restrictions on taking Nevirapine with food and drink. Pregnancy and breast-feeding

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

You should stop breast-feeding if you are taking Nevirapine. It is in general recommended that you do not breast-feed if you have HIV infection because it is possible that your baby can become infected with HIV through your breast milk.

Driving and using machines

You may experience fatigue when taking Nevirapine. Use caution when engaging in activities such as driving, using any tools or machines. If you experience fatigue you should avoid potentially hazardous tasks such as driving or using any tools or machines.

3

How to take Nevirapine

You should not use Nevirapine on its own. You must take it with at least two other antiretroviral medicines. Your doctor will recommend the best medicines for you.

The following patients are at increased risk of developing liver

problems:

•    women

•    infected with hepatitis B or C

•    abnormal liver function tests

•    treatment-naive patients with higher CD4 cell counts at the start of Nevirapine therapy (women more than 250 cells/mm³, men more than 400 cells/mm3)

•    pre-treated patients with detectable HIV-1 plasma viral load and higher CD4 cell counts at the start of Nevirapine therapy (women more than 250 cells/mm3, men more than 400 cells/mm3)

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

Dose:

The dose is one 200 mg tablet per day for the first 14 days of treatment (“lead-in” period). After 14 days, the usual dose is one 200 mg tablet twice a day.

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It is very important that you take only one Nevirapine tablet a day forthe first 14days (“lead-in” period). If you have any rash during this period, do not increase the dose but consult your doctor.

The 14-day “lead-in” period has been shown to lower the risk of skin rash.

As Nevirapine must always be taken together with other HIV antiretroviral medicines, you should follow the instructions for your other medicines carefully. These are supplied in the package leaflets for those medicines.

Nevirapine is also available in the market in liquid form as an oral suspension. This is particularly suitable:

•    if you have problems swallowing tablets, or

•    for a child weighing less than 50 kg, or with a body surface area less than 1.25 square metres (your doctor will work out your surface area).

You should continue to take Nevirapine for as long as instructed by your doctor.

As explained in ‘Take special care with Nevirapine’, above, your doctor will monitor you with liver tests or for undesirable effects such as rash.

Depending on the outcome your doctor may decide to interrupt or stop your Nevirapine treatment. Your doctor might then decide to restart you on a lower dose.

Only take Nevirapine tablets by mouth. Do not chew your tablets. You may take Nevirapine with or without food.

The score line is only there to help you break the tablet if you have difficulty swallowing it whole.

If you take more Nevirapine than you should

Do not take more Nevirapine than prescribed by your doctor and described in this leaflet. There is at present little information on the effects of nevirapine overdose. Consult your doctor if you have taken more Nevirapine than you should.

If you forget to take Nevirapine

Try not to miss a dose. If you notice that you have missed a dose within 8 hours, take the next dose as soon as possible. If you notice it more than 8 hours later, take the next dose at the usual time.

If you stop taking Nevirapine

Taking all doses at the appropriate times:

•    greatly increases the effectiveness of your combination antiretroviral medicines

•    reduces the chances of your HIV infection becoming resistant to your antiretroviral medicines.

It is important that you continue taking Nevirapine correctly, as described above, unless your doctor instructs you to stop.

If you stop taking Nevirapine for more than 7 days your doctor will instruct you to start the 14 day ‘lead-in’ period (described above) once again, before returning to the twice daily dose.

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

The side effects described below have been experienced by patients given nevirapine:

Very common:

•    rash.

Common:

•    decreased numbers of white blood cells (granulocytopenia)

•    allergic reactions (hypersensitivity)

•    headache

•    feeling sick (nausea)

•    vomiting

•    abdominal pain

•    loose stools (diarrhoea)

•    inflammation of the liver (hepatitis)

•    feeling tired (fatigue)

•    fever

•    abnormal liver function test.

Uncommon:

•    allergic reaction characterised by rash, swelling of the face, difficulty breathing (bronchial spasm) or anaphylactic shock

•    decreased numbers of red blood cells (anaemia)

•    yellow skin (jaundice)

•    severe and life-threatening skin rashes (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis)

•    hives (urticaria)

•    fluid under the skin (angioedema)

•    joint pain (arthralgia)

•    muscle pain (myalgia)

•    decreased blood phosphorus

•    increased blood pressure.

•    sudden and intense inflammation of the liver (fulminant hepatitis)

•    drug rash with systemic symptoms (drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms).

Combination antiretroviral therapy may cause changes in body shape due to changes in fat distribution. These may include loss of fat from legs, arms and face, increased fat in the abdomen (belly) and other internal organs, breast enlargement and fatty lumps on the back of the neck (‘buffalo hump’). The cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known at this time. Combination antiretroviral therapy may also cause raised lactic acid and sugar in the blood, hyperlipaemia (increased fats in the blood) and resistance to insulin.

The following events have also been reported when nevirapine has been used in combination with other antiretroviral agents:

•    decreased numbers of red blood cells or platelets

•    inflammation of the pancreas

•    decrease in or abnormal skin sensations.

These events are commonly associated with other antiretroviral agents and may be expected to occur when Nevirapine is used in combination with other agents; however, it is unlikely that these events are due to treatment with Nevirapine.

Use in children

A reduction in white blood cells (granulocytopenia) can occur, which is more common in children. A reduction in red blood cells (anaemia), which may be related to nevirapine therapy, is also more commonly observed in children. As with rash symptoms, please inform your doctor of any side effects.

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any side effects not listed in this leaflet.

4

Possible side effects

5

How to store Nevirapine

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

As mentioned in ‘Take special care with Nevirapineabove, the most important side effects of Nevirapine are severe and life threatening skin reactions and serious liver damage. These reactions occur mainly in the first 18 weeks of treatment with Nevirapine. This is therefore an important period which requires close monitoring by your doctor.

If you ever observe any rash symptoms, inform your doctor immediately.

When rash occurs it is normally mild to moderate. However, in some patients a rash, which appears as a blistering skin reaction, can be severe or life-threatening (Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis) and deaths have been recorded. Most of the cases of both severe rash and mild/moderate rash occur in the first six weeks of treatment.

If rash occurs and you also feel sick, you must stop treatment and visit your doctor immediately.

Hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions can occur. Such reactions may appear in the form of anaphylaxis (a severe form of allergic reaction) with symptoms such as:

•    rash

•    swelling of the face

•    difficulty breathing (bronchial spasm)

•    anaphylactic shock.

Hypersensitivity reactions can also occur as rash with other side effects such as:

•    fever

•    blistering of your skin

•    mouth sores

•    inflammation of the eye

•    swelling of the face

•    general swelling

•    shortness of breath

•    muscle or joint pain

•    a reduction in the numbers of your white blood cells (granulocytopenia)

•    general feelings of illness

•    severe problems with liver or kidneys (liver or kidney failure).

Tell your doctor immediately if you experience rash and any of the other side effects of a hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction. Such reactions can be life-threatening.

Abnormal liver functioning has been reported with the use of nevirapine. This includes some cases of inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), which can be sudden and intense (fulminant hepatitis), and liver failure, which can be both fatal.

Tell your doctor if you experience any of the following clinical symptoms of liver damage:

•    loss of appetite

•    feeling sick (nausea)

•    vomiting

•    yellow skin (jaundice)

•    abdominal pain.

Evaluation of the side effects is based on the following frequencies:

Very common: Common:

Uncommon:

Rare:

in at least 1 out of 10 patients treated in at least 1 out of 100 and less than 1 out10 patients treated

in at least 1 out of 1000 and less than 1 out 100 patients treated

in at least 1 out of 10,000 and less than 1 out 1000 patients treated

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 on the blister after “EXP”. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

This medicinal product does not require any special storage conditions.

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 Nevirapine contains

•    The active substance is nevirapine. Each tablet contains 200 mg nevirapine (as anhydrate).

•    The other ingredients are:

•    microcrystalline cellulose

•    croscarmellose sodium

•    maize starch

•    povidone (K30)

•    sodium starch glycolate

•    silica, colloidal anhydrous

•    magnesium stearate.

What Nevirapine looks like and contents of pack

Off-white to pale yellow coloured, capsule shaped, biconvex tablets, debossed with ‘H’ on one side and ‘7’ on the other side with breakline on both sides.

Nevirapine tablets are supplied in blisters, with 14, 60, 120, 180 or 200 tablets per carton. Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer

Marketing Authorisation Holder Sandoz Ltd,

Frimley Business Park, Frimley,

Camberley, Surrey, GU16 7SR, UK.

Manufacturer

Pharmadox Healthcare Ltd.,

KW20A Kordin Industrial Park, Paola, PLA3000,

Malta

or

Salutas Pharma GmbH,

Otto-von-Guericke-Allee 1, 39179 Barleben,

Germany.

This leaflet was last revised in 04/2013.

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