Tofacitinib (oral route)

Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR

Tofacitinib is used alone or together with other medicines (eg, DMARDs) to treat moderate to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, active psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis, ankylosing spondylitis, and polyarticular course juvenile idiopathic arthritis (pcJIA) in patients who have taken other medicines (eg, methotrexate) that did not work well. Tofacitinib is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that works on the immune system. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription. This product is available in the following dosage forms:

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered: Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of tofacitinibextended-release tabletin the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated pediatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of tofacitinibtabletandoral liquidin children 2 to 17 years of age with pcJIA. Safety and efficacy have been established. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of tofacitinib in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have serious infections, which may require caution in patients receiving tofacitinib. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding. Weigh the potential benefits against the potential risks before taking this medication while breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially: