SYLATRON- peginterferon alfa-2b
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
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MEDICATION GUIDE
SYLATRON™ (SY-LA-TRON)
(Peginterferon alfa-2b)
Read this Medication Guide before you start taking SYLATRON, and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This Medication Guide does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or your treatment.
What is the most important information I should know about SYLATRON?
SYLATRON can cause serious mental health problems which can lead to suicide.
SYLATRON may cause you to develop mood or behavior problems that may get worse during treatment with SYLATRON or after your last dose. Call your healthcare provider right away if you, your family, or caregiver notice any of the following:
Former drug addicts may fall back into drug addiction or overdose.
If you have these symptoms, your healthcare provider should carefully monitor you during treatment with SYLATRON and for 6 months after your last dose.
If symptoms get worse or become severe and continue, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking SYLATRON permanently. These signs or symptoms may not go away after you stop taking SYLATRON.
See "What are the possible side effects of SYLATRON?" for more information about side effects.
What is SYLATRON?
SYLATRON is a prescription medicine that is used to prevent malignant melanoma (a kind of skin cancer) from coming back after it has been removed by surgery. SYLATRON should be started within 84 days of surgery to remove lymph nodes containing cancer.
It is not known if SYLATRON is safe and effective in children less than 18 years of age.
Who should not take SYLATRON?
Do not take SYLATRON:
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking SYLATRON?
Before you take SYLATRON, tell your healthcare provider about all of your health problems, including if you:
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
SYLATRON and certain other medicines may affect each other and cause side effects.
Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist each time you get a new medicine.
You should not start a new medicine before your talk with the healthcare provider who prescribes you SYLATRON.
How should I take SYLATRON?
Your healthcare provider should do blood tests before you start and regularly during treatment with SYLATRON.
Your healthcare provider will monitor you while taking SYLATRON. Based on this monitoring, your healthcare provider may:
What are the possible side effects of SYLATRON?
SYLATRON can cause serious side effects or worsen existing problems, including:
See "What is the most important information I should know about SYLATRON?".
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these serious side effects.
The most common side effects of SYLATRON include:
These are not all of the possible side effects of SYLATRON. For more information, ask your healthcare provider.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1–800–FDA–1088.
You may also report side effects to Schering Corporation at 1-800-526-4099.
How should I store SYLATRON?
Keep SYLATRON and all medicines out of the reach of children.
General information about the safe and effective use of SYLATRON
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use SYLATRON for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give SYLATRON to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you have. It may harm them.
This Medication Guide summarizes the most important information about SYLATRON. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider for information about SYLATRON that is written for healthcare professionals.
For more information, go to www.SYLATRON.com or call 1-800-526-4099.
What are the ingredients in SYLATRON?
Active ingredient: peginterferon alfa-2b
Inactive ingredients: dibasic sodium phosphate anhydrous, monobasic sodium phosphate dihydrate, polysorbate 80, sucrose, sterile water for injection is supplied as a diluent.