If your doctor has prescribed reslizumab (Cinqair) to treat your asthma, you’d probably like to know more about what to expect and what to watch out for. Here are eight things to know before you take reslizumab.
What Conditions Does Reslizumab (Cinqair) Treat?
Reslizumab treats severe eosinophilic asthma in adults whose symptoms aren’t controlled well enough with other medications. In this type of asthma, large numbers of white blood cells multiply in the airways of your lungs. Those extra cells swell your airways and narrow them. That makes it harder to breathe.
This drug is a maintenance medication that you take to stop asthma symptoms from starting. Reslizumab doesn’t stop asthma attacks once they begin. Your doctor can prescribe a short-acting inhaler for you to use during asthma attacks.
Reslizumab is considered an “add-on” treatment that you use along with asthma medications like steroids and inhalers.
How Does Reslizumab (Cinqair) Work?
Reslizumab is a type of drug called a monoclonal antibody. Although exactly how it works on asthma is unclear, reslizumab blocks a chemical in your immune system called interleukin-5 (IL-5).
Blocking IL-5 reduces how many eosinophils your immune system makes and keeps the eosinophils you already have from surviving. This leads to less swelling in your airways and fewer asthma symptoms.
How Do You Take Reslizumab (Cinqair)?
Your doctor or a nurse will give you reslizumab as an infusion through an IV. You get reslizumab once every 4 weeks. Each treatment takes between 20 and 50 minutes.
You have to get this medicine at a medical office or clinic so the doctor or nurse can watch you for a possible allergic reaction afterward. Although allergic reactions are rare, they can be serious.
Common Side Effects of Reslizumab (Cinqair)
Throat pain is the most common side effect of reslizumab. About 2 out of every 100 people in clinical trials reported this problem.
Some other side effects you could notice when you take reslizumab are:
- Muscle pain or weakness
- Neck pain
- Pain in your bones, ligaments, or tendons
- Pain in your chest muscles
Side effects may go away in a few weeks as your body gets used to the drug. Talk to your doctor if they last a long time or get in the way of your daily life.
While they're less common, more serious side effects have happened with this medicine, such as:
Allergic reactions. Reslizumab has a boxed warning – the most serious type of warning – about the chance of a rare but dangerous allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Reactions usually happen within the first 20 minutes after the IV treatment starts. Because anaphylaxis can be life-threatening, your doctor or nurse will watch you carefully during the treatment. They’ll stop the drug right away and treat you if you do have a reaction.
Get medical help right away if you have symptoms like these after a reslizumab treatment:
- Wheezing, trouble breathing, or shortness of breath
- Dizziness or fainting
- Confusion
- Pale skin
- Fast heartbeat
- Itching or hives
- Trouble swallowing
- Nausea or vomiting
Cancer. A small number of people have been diagnosed with various types of cancer after taking reslizumab. Most of them learned they had cancer within 6 months after they got this medicine. If you have any unusual symptoms in the months after a reslizumab infusion, tell your doctor about them.
Warnings and Safety Issues With Reslizumab (Cinqair)
Before taking reslizumab, make sure your doctor knows what other medications you take, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements. And always tell any other doctors you see that you take reslizumab.
Reslizumab prevents asthma symptoms. It doesn’t treat asthma attacks. Let your doctor know if your asthma doesn't improve or if it gets worse after this treatment.
If you also take steroid medicine to control your asthma, don’t stop it without talking to your doctor. Going off a steroid too quickly could cause withdrawal symptoms. Your doctor will tell you when you can stop the steroid and how to do it safely. You may need to lower your dose slowly.
Tell your doctor if you have hookworm or another parasitic infection before you take reslizumab. This medicine could make it harder for your immune system to fight the infection. Your doctor will treat the parasite before you start taking reslizumab.
What Is the Long-Term Safety of Reslizumab (Cinqair)?
Reslizumab has been approved to treat severe eosinophilic asthma since 2016.
Studies that followed people for more than 4 years found reslizumab was just as safe as a dummy treatment (a placebo). More of the study participants who took the placebo reported side effects than those who took reslizumab.
The most common side effects reported in these studies were:
- Asthma symptoms
- Colds
- Upper respiratory infections
A few cases of severe allergic reactions happened in people who took reslizumab.
Who Shouldn't Take Reslizumab (Cinqair)?
Don't take reslizumab if you’re allergic to this medication or any of its ingredients. Tell your doctor about any allergies you have.
Talk to your doctor about whether this medicine is safe to take if you're:
Pregnant. Studies in lab animals haven’t shown that this medication raises the chances of harm to an unborn baby. But scientists don’t have enough evidence to show whether reslizumab is safe for pregnant people. Medicines like reslizumab can cross the placenta and reach the growing baby. However, poorly controlled asthma can also cause problems during pregnancy. Your doctor will consider the benefits and risks of reslizumab before deciding whether to prescribe it for you.
Nursing. We don’t know whether reslizumab can get into a mother's milk supply or how it might affect a breastfeeding baby. Your doctor will consider the need to treat your asthma and any possible risks to your baby before they prescribe this medicine.
Under 18. Reslizumab isn’t approved to treat children under 18. Scientific research hasn’t proven whether it’s safe or works well in this age group.
How Well Does Reslizumab (Cinqair) Work?
Studies have looked at the effectiveness of reslizumab in people with severe eosinophilic asthma. Compared to people who took a placebo, those who got reslizumab once every 4 weeks:
- Had fewer asthma attacks
- Didn't need to take steroid medicine as often
- Needed fewer hospital visits to treat severe asthma symptoms
Reslizumab also improved lung function of people who took it, as measured on a forced expiratory volume (FEV1) test. This test measures the strength of your breath as you breathe into a machine.
