Frequently Asked Questions
When can I expect to see results from taking ENBREL?
Improvement may be seen as early as 1 week after starting ENBREL in adults and within 2 weeks in children. In clinical trials, full effect was usually seen by 3 months in both adults and children and was sustained with continued treatment.
In clinical trials with psoriatic arthritis, one quarter of patients saw improvement in their joint symptoms within 1 month, one half of patients saw improvement within 3 months, and three quarters of patients saw improvement within 9 months of treatment with ENBREL.
During the psoriatic arthritis clinical trials, approximately 2% of patients treated with ENBREL stopped taking ENBREL due to side effects and up to 5% of ENBREL-treated patients stopped taking ENBREL due to lack of improvement.
What are the other common side effects?
In studies comparing ENBREL to placebo (inactive injection), side effects that occurred more frequently in patients treated with ENBREL were:
- Reactions where the injection was given. These reactions are usually mild and included redness, rash, swelling, itching or bruising. These usually go away within 3 to 5 days. If you have pain, redness or swelling around the injection site that doesn't go away or gets worse, call your doctor.
- Upper respiratory infections (sinus infections).
- Headaches.
This is not a complete list of side effects. For any unexpected effects while taking ENBREL, contact your doctor or pharmacist.
The needle cap on the SureClick Autoinjector and on the prefilled syringe contains a derivative of latex. If you know you are allergic to latex, talk to your healthcare provider before using ENBREL. The ENBREL 25 mg lyophilized powder format does not contain latex.
Who should not take ENBREL?
You should not take ENBREL if you have ever had an allergic reaction to ENBREL or any of the ingredients of ENBREL. You should not take ENBREL if you have an infection that has spread through your body (sepsis).
Can I take ENBREL if I am taking other medicines for my rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), plaque psoriasis (PsO) or other conditions?
- It is important that you tell your doctor about any other medicines (for example, high blood pressure medicine) you are taking for other conditions before you start taking ENBREL. You should also tell your doctor about any over-the-counter drugs, herbal medicines and vitamin and mineral supplements you are taking.
- In adults, ENBREL can be used in combination with methotrexate. However, little is known of the interaction of ENBREL with methotrexate and other drugs in children with idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis.
- Taking ENBREL with Kineret® (anakinra) is not recommended because this may increase your risk of getting a serious infection.
- Taking ENBREL with Orencia® (abatacept) is not recommended because this may increase your risk for serious side effects.
- Taking ENBREL with cyclophosphamide (used to treat cancer or immune diseases) is not recommended. You may have a higher chance for getting certain cancers when taking ENBREL with cyclophosphamide.
Can I take ENBREL if I am pregnant or breast-feeding?
ENBREL has not been studied in pregnant women or nursing mothers, and therefore its effect on pregnant women or nursing babies is not known. You should tell your doctor if you are pregnant, become pregnant, or are thinking about becoming pregnant.
Pregnancy Registry: Amgen has a registry for pregnant women exposed to ENBREL. The purpose of this registry is to check the health of the pregnant mother and her child. Patients are encouraged to contact the registry themselves or ask their doctors to contact the registry for them by calling
What should I do if I take too much ENBREL?
Call your doctor if you accidentally inject ENBREL more frequently than instructed.
What should I do if I miss a dose of ENBREL?
If you forget to take ENBREL when you are supposed to, contact your doctor or pharmacist to find out when to take your next dose of ENBREL. A toll-free information service is also available:
How should I store ENBREL?
If you use the SureClick Autoinjector or ENBREL prefilled syringe, always keep it refrigerated at 2° to 8°C. Refrigerated ENBREL will remain stable until the expiration date printed on the autoinjector or syringe.
If you use lyophilized ENBREL, the ENBREL dose tray containing sterile powder must be refrigerated at 2° to 8°C. Reconstituted solutions of ENBREL prepared with the supplied Sterile Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP (0.9% benzyl alcohol) may be stored in the original vial for up to 14 days at 2° to 8°C, with overall room temperature exposure of less than 12 hours during storage and handling/usage. Discard reconstituted solution after 14 days.
Product stability and sterility cannot be assured after 14 days. DO NOT FREEZE ENBREL.
What are the best places on the body to inject ENBREL?
Choose an injection site. Three recommended injection sites for ENBREL include the front of your middle thighs, the abdomen (except for the two-inch area right around your navel) or the outer area of your upper arms. Injection sites should be rotated with every injection. You should not inject into areas where the skin is tender, bruised, hard or red.
When I inject ENBREL, could something happen to my skin?
In clinical trials, about one-third (37%) of all people reported mild to moderate injection site reactions, usually within the first month. Sometimes the skin around the injection site became red and itchy, but this usually decreased after the first month. If you have concerns, you should talk to your doctor.
