Communities & Resources | SOMAVERT® (pegvisomant for injection) | Safety Info

Acromegaly communities and resources

If you or someone you care for has acromegaly, there are several groups and websites that may help.

Acromegaly Community

This is a support network run by patients for people touched by acromegaly. It offers information on issues such as surgery, medication, radiation, and postdiagnosis support. In addition, it provides a network of emotional support for acromegaly patients, as well as their friends and family.

Hormone Health Network

hormone.org

This is the public education affiliate of The Endocrine Society. Its mission is to be a resource for the public by promoting the prevention, treatment, and cure of hormone-related conditions.

Pituitary Society

pituitarysociety.org

This website presents articles on pituitary diseases, information about International Pituitary Congress programs, the Pituitary Society Newsletter, and tables of contents from back issues of the society's journal Pituitary.

Pituitary Network Association (PNA)

pituitary.org

Founded by a group of patients with acromegaly, this is the website of an international nonprofit organization. The PNA is the world's largest patient advocacy organization for people with pituitary tumors and disorders.

Pituitary World News (PWN)

pituitaryworldnews.org

PWN connects thought leaders to patients and brings up-to-date information on health-related matters of importance to those with pituitary tumors and other pituitary disorders.

The links above are for your convenience. These websites are neither owned nor controlled by Pfizer. Pfizer does not endorse and is not responsible for the content or services of these sites.

Pfizer Patient Affairs Liaisons

Patient Affairs Liaisons serve as professionals dedicated to connecting patients and caregivers with Pfizer educational information and programs. Patient Affairs Liaisons also work with community-based patient organizations to understand their needs and provide patients and families with educational programs about living with rare diseases such as acromegaly. Patient Affairs Liaisons do not provide medical advice and will recommend that any treatment-related questions be referred directly to a healthcare provider. SOMAVERT patients can receive communications from a Pfizer Patient Affairs Liaison by visiting the website www.togetherforrare.com.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

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Do not use SOMAVERT^® (pegvisomant for injection) if you are allergic to SOMAVERT or anything that is in it.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you use narcotic painkillers (opioid medicines) because the dose of SOMAVERT may need to be changed.

Blood sugar levels may go down when taking SOMAVERT. Be sure to tell your doctor if you use insulin or other medicines (oral hypoglycemic medicines) for diabetes. The dose of these medicines may need to be reduced when you use SOMAVERT.

Some people who have used SOMAVERT have developed liver problems. These problems generally disappeared when those people stopped taking SOMAVERT.

Stop the drug right away and call your doctor if you get any of these symptoms:

Your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice)
Your urine turns dark
Your bowel movements (stools) turn light in color
You do not feel like eating for several days
You feel sick to your stomach (nausea)
You have unexplained tiredness
You have pain in the stomach area (abdomen)

Your doctor may do blood tests before and during your treatment with SOMAVERT to check that the IGF-I levels in your blood are normal and/or that your liver is working correctly. Your dose of SOMAVERT may be changed based on the results of these tests.

If you have stopped SOMAVERT because of an allergic reaction, your doctor will carefully monitor what happens if you start SOMAVERT again.

The most common side effects with SOMAVERT are infection, pain, nausea, diarrhea, abnormal liver function tests, flu-like symptoms, and reaction at the injection site. These are not all of the possible side effects of SOMAVERT. For more information, speak to your doctor.

Inject SOMAVERT in a different place on your body each day. This can help prevent skin problems such as lumpiness or soreness.

SOMAVERT has not been studied in pregnant women. It is not known if SOMAVERT passes into the mother’s milk or if it can harm the baby.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/MedWatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

INDICATION

SOMAVERT is a prescription medicine for acromegaly. It is for patients whose disease has not been controlled by surgery or radiation, or patients for whom these options are not appropriate. The goal of treatment with SOMAVERT is to have a normal IGF-I level in the blood.

This site is intended only for U.S residents. The products discussed in this site may have different product labeling in different countries. The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace discussions with a healthcare provider.

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