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Understanding Your Condition

Your next relapse could change everything

When you’re living with anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), you may feel less like yourself and more afraid of what the future holds.

Understanding anti-AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD and relapses

NMOSD is a rare autoimmune disease of the central nervous system characterized by relapses. These relapses are the onset of new or worsening neurological symptoms that last for more than 24 hours when you’ve been stable for at least 30 days. They happen because of new damage to your optic nerves, spinal cord, or brain.

Relapses may look different for everyone

Relapses can all have potentially life-altering consequences. Possible symptoms of a relapse may be:

Sharp pain

Numbness or tingling

Vision changes

Additional symptoms of a relapse include, but are not limited to, limb weakness, loss of bowel or bladder control, severe nausea and vomiting, or hiccups. Make sure you talk to your doctor whenever you have symptoms of a relapse.

It’s important to do everything you can to help reduce your risk of relapse. Each one has the potential for permanent damage.

Up to 93% of people with anti-AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD have relapsed

  • Antibodies are naturally produced by your immune system to defend against infections and other threats
  • 73% of adults with NMOSD test positive for anti-AQP4 antibodies
  • With anti-AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD, the presence of these antibodies can cause your body to attack itself
Ask your doctor about your anti-AQP4 antibody status.

You never know when your next relapse may occur

Doctor reviewing information with a patient.

To understand the chance of relapsing again with anti-AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD, you can think of it like having to pull a marble out of a bag every day.

If you pull a white marble, you won’t relapse that day. If you pull a gray marble, you will relapse.

Doctor reviewing information with a patient.

Everybody living with anti-AQP4 antibody-positive NMOSD has their own unique risk of relapse—their own mixed bag of marbles. This represents how likely they are to relapse.

Relapses can be unpredictable. In other words, it’s impossible to tell when you may pull a gray marble.
Doctor Discussion Guide.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION & INDICATION FOR SOLIRIS® (eculizumab), INCLUDING BOXED WARNING
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
What is the most important information I should know about SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS is a medicine that affects your immune system and may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections.
  • SOLIRIS increases your chance of getting serious meningococcal infections that may quickly become life-threatening or cause death if not recognized and treated early.
  1. You must complete or update your meningococcal vaccine(s) at least 2 weeks before your first dose of SOLIRIS.
  2. If you have not been vaccinated and SOLIRIS must be started right away, you should receive the required vaccine(s) as soon as possible.
  3. If you have not been vaccinated and SOLIRIS must be started right away, you should also receive antibiotics for as long as your healthcare provider tells you.
  4. If you had a meningococcal vaccine in the past, you might need additional vaccines before starting SOLIRIS. Your healthcare provider will decide if you need additional meningococcal vaccines.
  5. Meningococcal vaccines do not prevent all meningococcal infections. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care right away if you get any of these signs and symptoms of a serious meningococcal infection: fever, fever with high heart rate, headache and fever, confusion, muscle aches with flu-like symptoms, fever and rash, headache with nausea or vomiting, headache with a stiff neck or stiff back, or eyes sensitive to light.

Your healthcare provider will give you a Patient Safety Card about the risk of serious meningococcal infection. Carry it with you at all times during treatment and for 3 months after your last dose of SOLIRIS. Your risk of meningococcal infection may continue for several weeks after your last dose of SOLIRIS. It is important to show this card to any healthcare provider who treats you. This will help them diagnose and treat you quickly.

SOLIRIS is only available through a program called the ULTOMIRIS and SOLIRIS Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). Before you can receive SOLIRIS, your healthcare provider must: enroll in the REMS program; counsel you about the risk of serious meningococcal infections; give you information about the signs and symptoms of serious meningococcal infection; make sure that you are vaccinated against serious infections caused by meningococcal bacteria, and that you receive antibiotics if you need to start SOLIRIS right away and you are not up to date on your vaccines; give you a Patient Safety Card about your risk of meningococcal infection.

SOLIRIS may also increase the risk of other types of serious infections, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Certain people may be at risk of serious infections with gonorrhea. Certain fungal infections (Aspergillus) may occur if you take SOLIRIS and have a weak immune system or a low white blood cell count.

Who should not receive SOLIRIS?
Do not receive SOLIRIS if you have a serious meningococcal infection when you are starting SOLIRIS.
Before you receive SOLIRIS, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: have an infection or fever, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, and are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if SOLIRIS will harm your unborn baby or if it passes into your breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the vaccines you receive and medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements which could affect your treatment.

What are the possible side effects of SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS can cause serious side effects including serious infusion-related reactions. Tell your healthcare provider or nurse right away if you get any of these symptoms during your SOLIRIS infusion: chest pain, trouble breathing or shortness of breath, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, and feel faint or pass out. If you have an infusion-related reaction to SOLIRIS, your healthcare provider may need to infuse SOLIRIS more slowly, or stop SOLIRIS.
The most common side effects in people with NMOSD treated with SOLIRIS include: common cold (upper respiratory infection), pain or swelling of your nose or throat (nasopharyngitis), diarrhea, back pain, dizziness, flu like symptoms (influenza) including fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, and body aches, joint pain (arthralgia), throat irritation (pharyngitis), and bruising (contusion).

Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of SOLIRIS. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

INDICATION
What is SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a disease called neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who are anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive. It is not known if SOLIRIS is safe and effective in children with NMOSD.

Please see the full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide for SOLIRIS, including Boxed WARNING regarding serious meningococcal infections.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION & INDICATION FOR SOLIRIS® (eculizumab), INCLUDING BOXED WARNING
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
What is the most important information I should know about SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS is a medicine that affects your immune system and may lower the ability of your immune system to fight infections.
  • SOLIRIS increases your chance of getting serious meningococcal infections that may quickly become life-threatening or cause death if not recognized and treated early.
  1. You must complete or update your meningococcal vaccine(s) at least 2 weeks before your first dose of SOLIRIS.
  2. If you have not been vaccinated and SOLIRIS must be started right away, you should receive the required vaccine(s) as soon as possible.
  3. If you have not been vaccinated and SOLIRIS must be started right away, you should also receive antibiotics for as long as your healthcare provider tells you.
  4. If you had a meningococcal vaccine in the past, you might need additional vaccines before starting SOLIRIS. Your healthcare provider will decide if you need additional meningococcal vaccines.
  5. Meningococcal vaccines do not prevent all meningococcal infections. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care right away if you get any of these signs and symptoms of a serious meningococcal infection: fever, fever with high heart rate, headache and fever, confusion, muscle aches with flu-like symptoms, fever and rash, headache with nausea or vomiting, headache with a stiff neck or stiff back, or eyes sensitive to light.

Your healthcare provider will give you a Patient Safety Card about the risk of serious meningococcal infection. Carry it with you at all times during treatment and for 3 months after your last dose of SOLIRIS. Your risk of meningococcal infection may continue for several weeks after your last dose of SOLIRIS. It is important to show this card to any healthcare provider who treats you. This will help them diagnose and treat you quickly.

SOLIRIS is only available through a program called the ULTOMIRIS and SOLIRIS Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). Before you can receive SOLIRIS, your healthcare provider must: enroll in the REMS program; counsel you about the risk of serious meningococcal infections; give you information about the signs and symptoms of serious meningococcal infection; make sure that you are vaccinated against serious infections caused by meningococcal bacteria, and that you receive antibiotics if you need to start SOLIRIS right away and you are not up to date on your vaccines; give you a Patient Safety Card about your risk of meningococcal infection.

SOLIRIS may also increase the risk of other types of serious infections, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Certain people may be at risk of serious infections with gonorrhea. Certain fungal infections (Aspergillus) may occur if you take SOLIRIS and have a weak immune system or a low white blood cell count.

Who should not receive SOLIRIS?
Do not receive SOLIRIS if you have a serious meningococcal infection when you are starting SOLIRIS.
Before you receive SOLIRIS, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: have an infection or fever, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, and are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if SOLIRIS will harm your unborn baby or if it passes into your breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the vaccines you receive and medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements which could affect your treatment.

What are the possible side effects of SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS can cause serious side effects including serious infusion-related reactions. Tell your healthcare provider or nurse right away if you get any of these symptoms during your SOLIRIS infusion: chest pain, trouble breathing or shortness of breath, swelling of your face, tongue, or throat, and feel faint or pass out. If you have an infusion-related reaction to SOLIRIS, your healthcare provider may need to infuse SOLIRIS more slowly, or stop SOLIRIS.
The most common side effects in people with NMOSD treated with SOLIRIS include: common cold (upper respiratory infection), pain or swelling of your nose or throat (nasopharyngitis), diarrhea, back pain, dizziness, flu like symptoms (influenza) including fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, and body aches, joint pain (arthralgia), throat irritation (pharyngitis), and bruising (contusion).

Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of SOLIRIS. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

INDICATION
What is SOLIRIS?
SOLIRIS is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a disease called neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) who are anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive. It is not known if SOLIRIS is safe and effective in children with NMOSD.

Please see the full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide for SOLIRIS, including Boxed WARNING regarding serious meningococcal infections.