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Patient Treatment Information
Ocrelizumab
Your treatment is called ocrelizumab (oh-kre-LIZ-oo-mab) or Ocrevus™ (oak-rev-us). It is used to treat multiple
sclerosis (MS) and has also been used to treat other diseases. Ocrelizumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets
the immune cells that cause MS and helps decrease MS symptoms.
What Do I Need to Know Before Starting Treatment?
Be sure to tell your healthcare provider about any prescription or over-the-counter products you are taking,
including dietary supplements, vitamins, herbal medicines and homeopathic remedies.
Use an effective birth control method during your treatment and for six months after the last dose. Ocrelizumab
may cause harm to a fetus, so tell your healthcare provider right away if you or your partner becomes pregnant.
It is not known if ocrelizumab passes into breast milk. Do not breastfeed during treatment unless you talk with
your healthcare provider first.
You should have any vaccines you need at least six weeks before starting ocrelizumab. Do not get any types of
immunizations or vaccinations, including live vaccines, until your healthcare provider tells you your immune
system has recovered.
What Do I Need to Know Before Starting Ocrelizumab?
Ocrelizumab can cause an infusion reaction. The reaction can happen anytime within 24 hours of a dose. Tell
your healthcare provider right away if you have a rash, itching, flushing, low blood pressure, nausea, fatigue, a
headache, dizziness, chest tightness, or trouble breathing while you are taking ocrelizumab.
Ocrelizumab can increase your risk of infections or make any infection you have worse. Common infections
during treatment include upper respiratory tract infections, lower respiratory infections, and viral infections. Tell
your healthcare provider right away if you have any signs of infection, such as a fever, a cough, flu-like
symptoms, painful or frequent urination, or warm, red or painful skin. Also tell your healthcare provider if you have
an infection that does not go away, a history of infections that keep coming back, or if you have an illness that
puts you at high risk for infections, such as cancer, HIV or diabetes that is not well controlled. If you have had
hepatitis B or herpes viruses, ocrelizumab can increase the risk that they will become active again. If hepatitis B
becomes active again it can cause serious liver problems.
In very rare cases, ocrelizumab can cause a rare, but serious, infection in the brain called progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy (PML). This infection most often happens in people with weakened immune systems or who
take other medicines that can weaken the immune system. You also have a higher risk of PML if you have been
exposed to the JC virus. This is a common virus that is usually harmless but can cause PML in people with a
weakened immune system. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have sudden changes in vision, loss of
strength or balance, weakness on one side of the body, difficulty using your arms or legs, changes in thinking,
memory loss or confusion.
In rare cases, ocrelizumab can cause cancer, including breast cancer.
In rare cases, some of the side effects caused by ocrelizumab can be severe and life threatening.
Your treatment can interact with other substances that suppress your immune system, such as daclizumab,
natalizumab, teriflunomide or mitoxantrone. Please note this list is a summary and does not contain all possible
interactions. Tell your healthcare provider if you are taking any substances that can interact with your treatment.
You should not take this treatment if you:
 Are allergic to ocrelizumab or any of its components.
 Have active hepatitis B infection.
How Will I Get the Treatment?
Your healthcare provider will give you your treatment by injection into a vein.
Your healthcare provider will give you a steroid (such as methylprednisolone) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl®)
before every treatment to reduce your chance of an infusion reaction.
Do not share any medicine with others. Sharing medicine with anyone else could be harmful.
When Should I Call My Healthcare Provider?
Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms:
 Shaking chills or a fever of 100.5º F or higher
 Unusual bleeding, easy bruising or pinpoint red spots on your skin
 Painful or frequent urination or blood in your urine
 Diarrhea that does not go away, severe diarrhea, or diarrhea with a fever, cramps or bloody stools
 Vision changes, loss of speech, seizures, sudden paralysis or confusion
 Rash with itching, trouble breathing, or swelling of the lips, throat or tongue
 Depression or thoughts of suicide
What Are the Possible Side Effects?
Side effects that usually occur in at least 5% of patients are listed below; it does not list all possible side effects.
For more information, talk with your healthcare provider.
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Infections, such as upper and lower respiratory tract infections and skin infections
Infusion reactions
Pain in the back, arms or legs
Depression
Diarrhea
Fluid retention
Notes
This information was compiled from manufacturers’ information and online reference sources. Additional product information, including “black box” warnings and precautions, is
available from the manufacturer and other sources. Every effort was made to ensure that the information is accurate and complete at the time of publication, but the information is
not all-inclusive, may be out of date, and may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. Information regarding available treatments and known side effects changes frequently,
and McKesson Specialty Health undertakes no responsibility to update this document. This information is provided “AS IS”, “WITH ALL FAULTS” and “AS AVAILABLE”. ALL
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, ARE DISCLAIMED (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, AND IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE). Each patient’s situation is unique and the information presented may not apply to your situation. Patients should consult with an appropriate clinician
for specific evaluation, advice, diagnosis, and treatment tailored to their situation. Use of this information shall not be construed to create a practitioner-patient relationship or
similar relationship with any McKesson entity.
April 2017
© 2017 McKesson Corporation. All rights reserved.
Reference:
1. Ocrevus [package insert]. South San Francisco, CA: Genentech, Inc.;2017.
2. Hauser SL, Bar-Or A, Comi G, et al. Ocrelizumab versus interferon beta-1a in relapsing multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med.
2017; 376:221-234.
3. Montalban X, Hauser SL, Kappos L, et al. Ocrelizumab versus placebo in primary progressive multiple sclerosis. N Engl
J Med. 2017; 376:209-220.
Ocrelizumab (MS)
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