Interferon alfa

EUEMA:by INNUSDailyMed:Ropeginterferon alfa Contraindicated L03AB15(WHO) US:℞-onlyEU:Rx-only 1335098-50-4 DB15119 981TME683S D11027 Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, sold under the brand nameBesremi, is amedicationused to treatpolycythemia veraandessential thrombocythemia.It is aninterferon.It is given by injection. The most common side effects include low levels of white blood cells and platelets (blood components that help the blood to clot), muscle and joint pain, tiredness, flu-like symptoms and increased blood levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase (a sign of liver problems).Ropeginterferon alfa-2b can cause liver enzyme elevations, low levels of white blood cells, low levels of platelets, joint pain, fatigue, itching, upper airway infection, muscle pain and flu-like illness.Side effects may also include urinary tract infection, depression and transient ischemic attacks (stroke-like attacks). It was approved for medical use in the European Union in February 2019,and in the United States in November 2021.Ropeginterferon alfa-2b is the first medication approved by the USFood and Drug Administration(FDA) to treat polycythemia vera that people can take regardless of their treatment history, and the first interferon therapy specifically approved for polycythemia vera.The FDA considers it to be afirst-in-class medication.