Alimera Sciences Europe Limited

Address: Alimera Sciences Europe Limited, 77 Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Block C, Grand Canal Docklands, Dublin 2, D02 VK60

Telephone: +353 (0)1 5530215

Medical Information E-mail: medicalinformation@alimerasciences.com

Customer Care direct line: + 44 (0)800 1488274

Medical Information Direct Line : 1800 932 379

Alimera Sciences Europe Limited

ILUVIEN 190 micrograms intravitreal implant in applicator

PACKAGE LEAFLET: INFORMATION FOR THE USER

ILUVIEN 190 micrograms intravitreal implant in applicator

(fluocinolone acetonide)

Read all of this leaflet carefully before you are given this medicine because it contains important information for you.

  • Keep this leaflet. You may need to read it again.
  • If you have any further questions, ask your doctor.
  • If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.

What is in this leaflet

  1. What ILUVIEN is and what it is used for
  2. What you need to know before you are given ILUVIEN
  3. How ILUVIEN is administered
  4. Possible side effects
  5. How to store ILUVIEN
  6. Contents of the pack and other information

 

1.         WHAT ILUVIEN IS AND WHAT IT IS USED FOR

ILUVIEN is a tiny tube that is inserted into the eye and releases very small amounts of the active ingredient, fluocinolone acetonide, for up to 3 years. Fluocinolone acetonide belongs to a group of medicines called corticosteroids.

ILUVIEN is used to treat vision loss associated with diabetic macular oedema when other available treatments have failed to help. Diabetic macular oedema is a condition that affects some people with diabetes and causes damage to the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye responsible for central vision, the macula. The active ingredient (the drug fluocinolone acetonide) helps to reduce the inflammation and the swelling that builds up in the macula in this condition. ILUVIEN can therefore help to improve the damaged vision or stop it from getting worse.

ILUVIEN is used to prevent relapses of inflammation of the back of the eye. This inflammation can cause floaters which are black dots or wispy lines that move across what you can see (‘field of vision’) or can cause loss of vision by damaging the part of the eye responsible for good vision, called the ‘macula’. The loss of vision may not improve unless the inflammation is treated. ILUVIEN helps to reduce the inflammation and the swelling that it can cause in the back of the eye. It can help improve your sight or stop it from getting worse. It may stop future attacks of inflammation.

 

2.       WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ARE GIVEN ILUVIEN

You must not receive ILUVIEN:

  • If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to fluocinolone acetonide or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).
  • If you have an infection of any kind in or around your eye.
  • If you have glaucoma (high pressure inside your eye).

Warnings and precautions

  • Before your ILUVIEN injection tell your doctor if:
    • You are taking any medicines to thin the blood
    • You have had a herpes simplex infection in your eye in the past (an ulcer on the eye that has been there a long time).
  • ILUVIEN is given as an injection into the eye. Occasionally the injection may cause an infection inside the eye, pain or redness in the eye, or a detachment or tear of the retina.  It is important to identify and treat these as soon as possible. Please tell your doctor immediately if you develop increased eye pain or discomfort, worsening redness of your eye, flashing lights and sudden increase in floaters, partially blocked vision, decreased vision or increased sensitivity to light after your injection.
  • In some patients the eye pressure may increase with the possible development of glaucoma. This is something you may not notice; therefore you must be monitored by your doctor with visits to the clinic.
  • In the majority of patients who have not yet had an operation for cataracts, a clouding of the eye’s natural lens (a cataract) may occur after treatment with ILUVIEN. If this occurs your vision will decrease, and you are likely to need an operation to remove the cataract. Your doctor will help you to decide when is the most appropriate time to perform this operation, but you should be aware that until you are ready for your operation your vision may be as bad or worse than it was before you received your ILUVIEN injection.
  • The injection of ILUVIEN into both eyes at the same time has not been studied and is not recommended. Your doctor should not inject ILUVIEN into both eyes at the same time.
  • There is a potential for the ILUVIEN implant to move from the back to the front of the eye. There is an increased risk of this if you have had previous cataract surgery. A sign that the implant may have moved to the front of the eye could be distorted vision or other visual disturbance, swelling of the surface of the eye (corneal swelling) or you may notice a change in the appearance of your eye at the front.  Please tell your doctor immediately if you notice anything unusual that may lead you to suspect the implant has moved.
  • In patients with inflammation of the back of the eye, the eye pressure may decrease, but it usually lasts for a few days after the injection. This is something you may not notice therefore you must be monitored by your doctor within 2 to 8 days and with subsequent visits to the clinic.

Children and adolescents (below 18 years of age)

The use of ILUVIEN in children and adolescents has not been studied and is therefore not recommended.

Other medicines and ILUVIEN

Please tell your doctor if you are using or have recently used any other medicines, including medicines bought without a prescription.

Pregnancy, breast-feeding and fertility

  • There is limited experience of using ILUVIEN in pregnant women or during breast-feeding; therefore the potential risks are unknown.
  • There are no fertility data available. However, since ILUVIEN is inserted directly into the eye, effects on either male or female fertility is unlikely.
  • If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor for advice before ILUVIEN treatment.

Driving and using machines

After ILUVIEN treatment you may experience some temporary vision blurring.  If this happens, do not drive or use machines until this resolves.

 

3.       HOW ILUVIEN IS ADMINISTERED

The ILUVIEN injection will be administered by your eye doctor.

ILUVIEN is given as a single injection into your eye.  Afterwards, your doctor will monitor your vision regularly.

Before the injection, your doctor will use antibiotic eye drops and wash your eye carefully to prevent infection.  Your doctor will also give you a local anaesthetic to prevent any pain that the injection might cause.

Before and after the injection, your doctor may ask you to use antibiotic eye drops in order to prevent any possible eye infection. Please follow these instructions carefully.

If the effect of the implant wears off and your doctor recommends it, another implant may be injected into your eye. This applies only if you are administered Iluvien for the treatment of diabetic macular oedema.

If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor.

 

4.       POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS

Like all medicines, ILUVIEN can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

With administration of ILUVIEN, there may be some side effects, mostly in the eye. Occasionally the injection may cause an infection inside the eye, pain or redness in the eye, or a detachment or tear of the retina. It is important to identify and treat these as soon as possible.  Please tell your doctor immediately if you develop increased eye pain or discomfort, worsening redness of your eye, flashing lights and sudden increase in floaters, partial blocked vision, decreased vision or increased sensitivity to light after your injection.  Other side effects may include increased or decreased eye pressure or clouding of the eye’s natural lens. Increased pressure in the eye which damages the optic nerve (glaucoma) may be more likely if the pressure inside your eye is higher than average before treatment.

Your doctor will discuss the risks of this with you before treatment. The symptoms you might experience and what you should do if you experience these symptoms are described in Section 2 of this leaflet (Warnings and precautions).
 

The following side effects may be seen with ILUVIEN:

Very common (affects more than 1 in 10  patients)

Increased eye pressure, clouding of the eye’s natural lens (cataract) or eye surgery to correct the cataract.

Common (affects between 1 and 10 in every 100 patients)

Increased pressure in the eye which damages the optic nerve (glaucoma), detachment of the light-sensitive layer from the back of the eye (retinal detachment), bleeding in the white part of your eye or inside the eye, small particles or spots in vision (floaters), a feeling of looking  through mist or fog, decreased pressure in the eye which causes sudden pain and blurred vision,  Loss of your usual field of vision, eye pain or irritation, reduced vision, or eye surgery or procedure to relieve increased eye pressure or to remove the gel material that fills the back of the eye, increased protein and cells in the front of the eye due to inflammation, foreign body sensation in the eye, dry eye.

Uncommon (affects fewer than 1 in every 100 patients)

Blockage of the blood vessels at the back of the eye, new blood vessel growth inside the eye, ulcer on the white of the eye, changes in the gel material that fills the back of the eye, clouding of the bag holding the lens of the eye, redness of the eye, itching or infection of the eye, thinning of the white outer layer of the eye, trauma to the eye from the injection of the medicine, unplanned movement of implant through white part of eye, and/or other complications from the injection, movement of the ILUVIEN implant from the back to the front of the eye, swelling of the surface of the eye (corneal swelling), involuntary closing of the eyelids, achy and sore eyes with sudden onset of severe pain at times associated with blurred vision, deposits on the eye’s outermost layer, painful eye condition caused by a scratch on the surface of the eye, swelling of the eye.

The most common non-visual side effect reported to be possibly caused by the drug or by the injection procedure is headache.
 

Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the national reporting system.

United Kingdom

Yellow Card Scheme

Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard

Ireland

HPRA Pharmacovigilance Earlsfort Terrace

IRL - Dublin 2

Tel: +353 1 6764971

Fax: +353 1 6762517 Website: www.hpra.ie

e-mail: medsafety@hpra.ie

By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

 

5.         HOW TO STORE ILUVIEN

  • Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
  • Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton and inner wrap after EXP.
  • Store below 30°C.
  • Do not refrigerate or freeze.
  • Do not open the sealed tray until just before application.
  • Do not throw away any medicines via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
  • Dispose of the applicator safely in a biohazard sharps container

 

6.         CONTENTS OF THE PACK AND OTHER INFORMATION

What ILUVIEN contains

  • The active substance is fluocinolone acetonide.
  • Each intravitreal implant contains 190 micrograms fluocinolone acetonide.
  • The other ingredient is polyvinyl alcohol.
  • The implant is a tiny tube made of polyimide and sealed with silicone adhesive on one end and polyvinyl alcohol on the other end.

What ILUVIEN looks like and contents of the pack

ILUVIEN consists of a tiny light brown tube (approximately 3.5 mm x 0.37 mm) which is preloaded in an applicator system. The preloaded applicator is placed in a polycarbonate tray and sealed with a peelable lid.  Each sealed tray is provided in a carton which includes the package leaflet.

Marketing Authorisation Holder and Manufacturer

Marketing Authorisation Holder:

United Kingdom: Alimera Sciences Limited

Royal Pavilion

Wellesley Road

Aldershot

Hampshire, GU11 1PZ

United Kingdom

UK Tel: 0800 019 1253

Ireland: Alimera Sciences Europe Limited

77 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay

Dublin 2

Ireland

IE Tel: 1800 932 379

Manufacturer:

AndersonBrecon (UK) Limited

Wye Valley Business Park Hay-on-Wye

Hereford HR3 5PG, United Kingdom
 

Millmount Healthcare Limited

Block-7, City North Business Campus

Stamullen

Co. Meath

K32 YD60

Ireland

This leaflet was last revised in 06/2021

This medicinal product is authorised in the following Member States of the EEA under the invented name ‘Iluvien’:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Detailed information on this medicine is available on the website of the HPRA: https://www.hpra.ie and the MHRA: https://www.gov.uk/pil-spc