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How To Take Esbriet® (pirfenidone)

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How To Take Esbriet
Esbriet Dosing Schedule
Make Esbriet Part of Your Daily Routine
Important Notes About Taking Esbriet

How To Take Esbriet

Taking your dose correctly from the start and throughout treatment

Starting Esbriet

  • Before you start Esbriet, your doctor should do certain blood tests to check how your liver is working
  • When you start Esbriet, your doctor will slowly increase the dose over 2 weeks. This continues until you reach the full daily dose. This will allow your body time to get used to the medicine. (Increasing or decreasing the dose is called titration)
  • Your doctor may adjust your dose to help alleviate side effects. It is always important to follow your doctor's instructions

Esbriet Dosing Schedule

Esbriet dosing is intended to allow your body to gradually adjust to the medicine

Follow the dosing schedule your doctor gave you. The table below shows the recommended Esbriet dosing schedule for the 267 mg capsules or tablets.

  • The recommended full daily dose of Esbriet is 3 pills (267 mg each, yellow tablets or white capsules) taken 3 times every day with food
  • Doses should be taken at the same times each day with food: in the morning, afternoon, and evening
    • If you miss a dose of Esbriet, take it with food as soon as you remember
    • Do not take 2 doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose
    • Do not take more than 3 doses in a day
    • If you take too much Esbriet, call your doctor or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away
  • Taking Esbriet with or at the end of a meal may help reduce certain side effects
  • If you experience side effects, talk with your healthcare provider, who may need to reduce your dose or ask you to stop taking Esbriet for a short time to help reduce side effects

You should always take Esbriet with food. Doing so may help reduce certain side effects, including dizziness or nausea. Taking Esbriet with food decreases how quickly Esbriet is absorbed. It also decreases the drug level of Esbriet in the blood.

An option with fewer pills per day

After you are doing well with the 9 pills (267 mg each, yellow tablets or white capsules) of Esbriet a day, you and your doctor may want to talk about moving to a 3-tablet-per-day option.

  • Each brown tablet has the same amount of medicine as 3 of the 267 mg pills
  • 1 brown tablet is taken 3 times a day with food 
  • After you are doing well on 9 pills per day, talk with your doctor about whether the 1 brown tablet, 3 times a day, option is right for you

Once you are doing well on 9 pills a day, ask your doctor if transitioning to 3 brown tablets is an option for you.

If you have questions about your Esbriet dose, talk to your doctor.

Make Esbriet Part of Your Daily Routine—Take It With Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Always take Esbriet with food to reduce side effects like nausea and dizziness

Taking Esbriet with food can slow how quickly it is absorbed by the gut. Talk with your doctor about what foods and how much you should eat with Esbriet.

How do I know if I’m having an appropriate meal?

If you are not sure you are eating appropriate meals with each dose of Esbriet, talk to your doctor. Your doctor may also recommend talking to a nutritionist about healthy diets for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

USDA sample meal suggestions for adults include:

Esbriet Dosing Schedule Breakfast icon

For breakfast, a combination of grains such as toast or oatmeal, protein such as eggs, and dairy such as yogurt.

Esbriet Dosing Schedule Lunch icon

Lunch includes a combination of grains such as rice or pasta, proteins such as meat or beans, dairy such as cheese or milk, and vegetables.

Esbriet Dosing Schedule Dinner icon

Dinner includes a combination of grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and protein.

Important Notes About Taking Esbriet

To make it easier to remember these points when taking Esbriet, you can write them down and keep them with your medicine.

  • Take Esbriet exactly as your doctor tells you to take it 
  • Your doctor may change your dosage of Esbriet as needed
  • Always take Esbriet with food to help reduce certain side effects

Other important things about your Esbriet treatment.

  • Once you begin taking Esbriet, you may not “feel” different because Esbriet does not treat the symptoms of IPF and does not reverse the scarring in your lungs
  • IPF worsens at different rates in different people. With or without Esbriet, lung function may continue to decline. Remember, the goal is to slow the decline. Your doctor will conduct lung function tests to measure how IPF is affecting your lungs over time

 Tips and Helpful Links

Managing IPF is not always easy, but there are ways you can help stay focused and motivated.

View Tips
NEXT: Building a routine

Select Important Safety Information and Indication

About Esbriet

Esbriet® (pirfenidone) is a prescription medicine used to treat people with a lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

It is not known if Esbriet is safe and effective in children.

Before you take Esbriet, tell your doctor if you:
  • have other medical conditions (particularly liver or kidney problems).
  • are a smoker.
  • are or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed (Esbriet has not been studied in these patients).
  • are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements.
What are the possible side effects of Esbriet?

Esbriet may cause serious side effects, including:

  • liver problems. Call your doctor if you have symptoms such as yellowing of your skin or eyes, dark or brown urine, pain on the upper right side of your stomach area, bleeding or bruising more easily than normal, or increased fatigue. Your doctor will also do regular blood tests to check your liver.
  • sun sensitivity and rash. When you are outside, use sunscreen (SPF 50) and wear a hat and clothes that cover your skin to avoid getting a sunburn.
  • severe skin reactions. Call your doctor right away if you have a severe skin reaction such as skin blisters, rash, sores in the mouth, hives or any other severe skin symptoms.
  • stomach problems. Esbriet may cause stomach problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, heartburn, and stomach pain.

Your doctor may change your dose or discontinue Esbriet if side effects do not go away.

The most common side effects of Esbriet include upper respiratory tract infections, feeling tired, headache, dizziness, loss of appetite, sinusitis, insomnia, or weight loss.

These are not all the possible side effects of Esbriet.

What should you avoid while taking Esbriet?
  • Direct exposure to sunlight, or light from sunlamps and tanning beds.
  • Other medicines that can make your skin sensitive to sunlight.
  • Smoking, which may affect how well Esbriet works.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch or to Genentech at 1-888-835-2555.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Patient Information, for additional important safety information.

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    • Genentech’s educators are called Clinical Education Managers. They do not provide medical advice. If you have questions about your health or treatment, you are encouraged to contact your health care provider.

      Genentech’s educators are called Clinical Education Managers. They do not provide medical advice. If you have questions about your health or treatment, you are encouraged to contact your health care provider.

    • Zitter Health Insights. Policy & Access Tracking Tool for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Published September 2017.

      Zitter Health Insights. Policy & Access Tracking Tool for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Published September 2017.

    • Independent co-pay assistance foundations have their own rules for eligibility. We cannot guarantee a foundation will help you. We only can refer you to a foundation that supports your disease state. We do not endorse or show financial preference for any particular foundation. The foundations we refer you to are not the only ones that might be able to help you.

      Independent co-pay assistance foundations have their own rules for eligibility. We cannot guarantee a foundation will help you. We only can refer you to a foundation that supports your disease state. We do not endorse or show financial preference for any particular foundation. The foundations we refer you to are not the only ones that might be able to help you.

    • The Medicare Extra Help program is not a Genentech program. It is administered by the Social Security Administration. The co-pay amount for Medicare Extra Help changes each year.

      The Medicare Extra Help program is not a Genentech program. It is administered by the Social Security Administration. The co-pay amount for Medicare Extra Help changes each year.

    • This Esbriet $5 Co-pay Program is valid ONLY for patients with commercial insurance who have a valid prescription for a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indication of a Genentech medication. Patients using Medicare, Medicaid or any other federal or state government program to pay for their medications are not eligible.

      Under the program, the patient will pay a co-pay. After reaching the maximum program benefit, the patient will be responsible for all out-of-pocket expenses.

      All participants are responsible for reporting the receipt of all program benefits as required by any insurer or by law. No party may seek reimbursement for all or any part of the benefit received through this Program. The program is only valid in the United States and U.S. Territories. This program is void where prohibited by law and shall follow state restrictions in relation to AB-rated generic equivalents (e.g., MA, CA) where applicable. The patient, guardian, prescriber, hospital and any other person using the program agree not to seek reimbursement for all or any part of the benefit received by the patient through the offer of this program. Genentech reserves the right to rescind, revoke or amend the program without notice at any time. Additional terms and conditions apply. Please visit EsbrietCopay.com for the full list of Terms and Conditions.

      This Esbriet $5 Co-pay Program is valid ONLY for patients with commercial insurance who have a valid prescription for a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indication of a Genentech medication. Patients using Medicare, Medicaid or any other federal or state government program to pay for their medications are not eligible.

      Under the program, the patient will pay a co-pay. After reaching the maximum program benefit, the patient will be responsible for all out-of-pocket expenses.

      All participants are responsible for reporting the receipt of all program benefits as required by any insurer or by law. No party may seek reimbursement for all or any part of the benefit received through this Program. The program is only valid in the United States and U.S. Territories. This program is void where prohibited by law and shall follow state restrictions in relation to AB-rated generic equivalents (e.g., MA, CA) where applicable. The patient, guardian, prescriber, hospital and any other person using the program agree not to seek reimbursement for all or any part of the benefit received by the patient through the offer of this program. Genentech reserves the right to rescind, revoke or amend the program without notice at any time. Additional terms and conditions apply. Please visit EsbrietCopay.com for the full list of Terms and Conditions.

    • To be eligible for free Genentech medicine from the Genentech Patient Foundation, insured patients who have coverage for their medicine must have exhausted all other forms of patient assistance (including the Esbriet $5 Co-pay Program and support from independent co-pay assistance foundations) and must meet certain financial criteria. Uninsured patients and insured patients without coverage for their medicine must meet different financial criteria.

      To be eligible for free Genentech medicine from the Genentech Patient Foundation, insured patients who have coverage for their medicine must have exhausted all other forms of patient assistance (including the Esbriet $5 Co-pay Program and support from independent co-pay assistance foundations) and must meet certain financial criteria. Uninsured patients and insured patients without coverage for their medicine must meet different financial criteria.

    • Eligible patients will pay as little as $5 per valid prescription, subject to a maximum benefit of $25,000 for a 12-month period.

      Eligible patients will pay as little as $5 per valid prescription, subject to a maximum benefit of $25,000 for a 12-month period.