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Preparing for treatment day

Preparing for treatment day

Preparing for treatment day; Andrew received treatment with ELEVIDYS

Once a doctor has confirmed eligibility for ELEVIDYS, there are a few additional steps leading up to treatment day. The treatment center will walk you through these steps.

1. Doctor’s visit

A doctor will perform the required pretreatment tests and discuss what to expect on treatment day, including possible side effects. They will also ask you about any recent infections or vaccinations, and will perform a few tests to measure liver function, platelet counts, and heart function. These values will then be compared to results after treatment as part of ongoing follow-up and safety monitoring.

2. Know what to expect

You will receive a detailed kit in the mail outlining important steps before and after treatment and sharing ideas from other families to help make treatment day as smooth as possible. It may also be helpful to discuss the plan for the day with your child’s doctor. 

This animated video can help you explain the ELEVIDYS treatment process to your child.

Help your child understand ELEVIDYS
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3. Treatment-related steroids

Your child may already take steroids. Additional oral treatment-related steroids are required just before treatment to help reduce the chance their body’s immune system will react to ELEVIDYS. These will be taken right before and for at least 60 days after treatment. It’s important to follow the doctor’s instructions regarding the required dose.

Here’s some helpful information for when treatment-related steroids will likely begin:

If your childThen start the oral treatment-related steroid regimen
check Currently takes steroids
1 day before treatment day
Does not currently take steroids
1 week before treatment day

All vaccinations must be up to date at least 4 weeks before beginning treatment-related steroids. This is because the treatment-related steroids could interfere with how well the vaccinations work.

The importance of staying healthy

ELEVIDYS treatment may be postponed if your child has a current or recent infection (within the last 4 weeks) due to the risk of a serious immune response. In the weeks leading up to the ELEVIDYS treatment day, it can be helpful to wear a mask in crowded spaces, wash hands frequently, and avoid being around those who are sick.

Guide for friends and family

Download Family Network Resource

A resource for your support network to better understand ELEVIDYS and how they can help you throughout the process.

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Next up: What to expect on treatment day

Now that you’ve learned more about what happens before the infusion, discover how ELEVIDYS is given.

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What is ELEVIDYS?

ELEVIDYS is a prescription gene therapy used to treat ambulatory individuals at least 4 years old with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) who have a confirmed mutation in the DMD gene.

ELEVIDYS is not recommended for individuals with:

  • Preexisting liver problems or liver infection because of the high risk of rapid serious liver injury and rapid liver failure
  • Recent vaccination (within 4 weeks of ELEVIDYS treatment)
  • Current or recent infections (within 4 weeks of ELEVIDYS treatment)
     

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, and Medication Guide.

Important Safety Information

What is the most important information to know about ELEVIDYS?
Rapid Serious Liver Injury and Rapid Liver Failure

  • ELEVIDYS can increase certain liver lab test levels and cause rapid serious liver injury, rapid liver failure, and death. Patients with preexisting liver problems may be at higher risk.
  • Complication of blood clots in the blood vessel in the abdomen that helps carry blood from the intestines to the liver has happened.
  • Patients will receive oral corticosteroid medication before and after ELEVIDYS infusion and will need weekly blood tests to monitor liver function for 3 months or longer after treatment.
  • For at least 2 months following ELEVIDYS infusion, stay close to a healthcare facility that the doctor recommends.
  • Contact a doctor immediately if the patient’s skin and/or whites of the eyes appear yellowish or if the patient misses a dose of corticosteroid or vomits it up.

Serious Infection

  • Because patients will be taking corticosteroids as part of ELEVIDYS treatment, this may lower the ability of their immune system to fight infections and make it easier to get an infection. Getting an infection (like a cold, flu, stomach flu, ear infection, chest infection) before or after ELEVIDYS infusion could lead to more serious health problems, including death.
  • Contact a doctor right away if you notice any signs of infection, such as coughing, wheezing, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, or fever.
  • Vaccinations should be completed at least 4 weeks before starting the corticosteroids that are part of the ELEVIDYS treatment.
  • ELEVIDYS should not be given to patients with an infection.

Inflammation of the Heart Muscle

  • Serious and life-threatening inflammation of the heart muscle has happened following ELEVIDYS infusion.
  • Patients will need weekly blood tests for a heart protein that can detect damage to the heart muscle cells for the first month after treatment.
  • Contact a doctor right away if the patient begins to experience chest pain and/or trouble breathing or shortness of breath.

Infusion-related Reactions

  • Infusion-related reactions, including hypersensitivity and serious allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), have happened during and after ELEVIDYS infusion.
  • Contact a doctor right away if you notice: fast heart rate, fast breathing, swollen lips, shortness of breath, nostrils widening, hives, red and blotchy skin, itchy or inflamed lips, rash, vomiting, nausea, chills, and fever.
  • Your doctor will monitor you during and at least 3 hours after ELEVIDYS infusion. If an infusion-related reaction occurs, your doctor may slow or stop the ELEVIDYS infusion and provide additional medical treatment as needed.

Immune Response Affecting Muscles (Immune-mediated Myositis)

  • Immune response affecting muscles, including serious and life-threatening reactions, has happened in patients about 1 month after receiving ELEVIDYS infusion.
  • Contact a doctor immediately if the patient experiences any unexplained increased muscle pain, tenderness, or weakness, including trouble swallowing, breathing, or speaking.

Antibodies to ELEVIDYS

  • Patients need to have blood tests to ensure that they do not have antibodies that may prevent them from being able to receive ELEVIDYS. High levels of antibodies may keep the medicine from working as intended.
  • Treatment with ELEVIDYS is not recommended for patients who have high antibodies to the vector, the part of gene therapy used to deliver ELEVIDYS.

You should discuss the potential benefits and risks of ELEVIDYS with your doctor.

Who should not receive ELEVIDYS?
Individuals with a certain type of genetic mutation, called a deletion, involving any portion of or the entire exon 8 and/or exon 9 in the DMD gene, should not receive ELEVIDYS.

Are there any considerations for vaccination schedules and ELEVIDYS?
Patient vaccinations should be up to date with current immunization guidelines. Vaccinations should be completed at least 4 weeks before starting corticosteroids that are part of the ELEVIDYS treatment.

Are there any precautions that need to be considered when handling a patient’s bodily waste?
Vector shedding of ELEVIDYS occurs primarily through body waste. Patients and caregivers should use proper hand hygiene, such as hand washing, when coming into direct contact with patient body waste. Place potentially contaminated materials that may have the patient’s bodily fluids/waste in a sealable bag and dispose into regular trash. Precautions should be followed for 1 month after ELEVIDYS infusion.

What are the most common side effects of ELEVIDYS?
The most common side effects that occurred in patients treated with ELEVIDYS were vomiting, nausea, liver injury, fever, lower number of platelets (a kind of blood cell that helps you stop bleeding), and higher levels of heart protein that can detect damage to muscle cells in the heart. 

The safety information provided here is not comprehensive. Talk to the patient’s doctor about any side effects that bother the patient or that don’t go away. 

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. You may also report side effects to Sarepta Therapeutics at 1-888-SAREPTA (1-888-727-3782).

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning, and Medication Guide.