How is Kymriah administered?
Kymriah is administered as a suspension through a tube (intravenous catheter) into your vein. This single-dose infusion usually takes less than one hour.
Once you receive Kymriah, you should plan to stay within 2 hours of the location where you received treatment for at least 4 weeks. Your healthcare providers will check on you frequently to monitor how well your treatment is working and for possible side effects.
Before you receive Kymriah, you may have chemotherapy for a few days to help prepare your body to receive the treatment.
What did the FDA approve Kymriah for?
- Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) is a chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy used in pediatric and young adult patients (up to age 25) with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that has come back (relapsed) or did not respond to initial treatments (refractory).
- It is also approved in adults to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, after having at least two other kinds of treatment.
- The FDA has also approved Kymriah for adults with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after 2 or more lines of systemic therapy in adults.
- ALL, DLBCL and FL are all types of blood cancers that affect blood cells and their production in the bone marrow.
Related questions
- What is the cost of Kymriah?
- What's the difference between Kymriah and Yescarta?
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How is Kymriah made?
Kymriah is made from your own white blood cells in a process called leukapheresis.
- A tube (intravenous catheter) is placed in your vein to collect white blood cells from the blood. Leukapheresis takes 3 to 6 hours and may need to be repeated.
- The blood cells are frozen and sent to the manufacturing site to make tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah).
- It takes roughly 3 to 4 weeks to make Kymriah, but this time can vary. Once the medicine is made, it is shipped back to your healthcare provider.
This is not all the information you need to know about Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) for safe and effective use and does not take the place of your doctor's directions. Review the full product information and discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.
References
- Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) prescribing information. Revised 5/2022. Novartis Inc., East Hanover, NJ. Dec. 2020. Accessed June 3, 2022 at https://www.novartis.us/sites/www.novartis.us/files/kymriah.pdf
Read next
What type of drug is Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel)?
Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) is a chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy. In CAR-T cell therapy, a patient's cells are genetically modified to include a new protein that directs that specific white blood cell (known as T-cell) to target and kill leukemia cells. Continue reading
What is the difference between Truxima and Rituxan?
Truxima (rituximab-abbs) is a biosimilar to Rituxan (rituximab). While both drugs are CD20-directed cytolytic antibodies used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), Rituxan has additional FDA-approved indications beyond NHL. Continue reading
What is the success rate of Rituxan (rituximab) in patients with blood cancers?
In patients with hematological or blood cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Rituxan’s success is measured in a number of ways. It is measured by looking at how long patients responded to treatment (median duration of response), how long they live without their disease progressing (progression-free survival) and how many patients respond to treatment (response rate).
Rituxan treatment improves outcomes in certain patients with NHL. Adding Rituxan alongside standard therapies enhances the response patients have to treatment and improves overall outcomes, including increasing the time patients live for without experiencing a progression of their disease.
Rituxan helps to improve overall survival in certain patients with CLL and also helps to increase the time patients live for without experiencing disease progression. Adding Rituxan alongside standard therapy enhances the response patients have to therapy. Continue reading
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Drug information
- Kymriah Information for Consumers
- Kymriah prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side Effects of Kymriah (detailed)
Related support groups
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