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The text only version may be available in large print, Braille or audio CD. For further information call emc accessibility on 0800 198 5000. The product code(s) for this leaflet is: PL 14895/0293.
Humatrope 6mg, 12mg, or 24mg powder and solvent for solution for injection
Humatrope® 6 mg/ 12 mg/ 24 mg powder and solvent for solution for injection
somatropin
1. What Humatrope is and what it is used for
2. What you need to know before you use Humatrope
3. How to use Humatrope
4. Possible side effects
5. How to store Humatrope
6. Contents of the pack and other information
Your medicine or the medicine of the person in your care is called Humatrope. It contains human growth hormone, also called somatropin. Humatrope is made by a special process known as recombinant DNA technology. It has the same structure as the growth hormone that your body produces.
Growth hormone regulates the growth and development of cells in your body. When it stimulates growth of cells in the spine and in the long bones of the legs, it causes an increase in height.
In growth hormone deficiency, growth hormone also increases the bone mineral content, the number and size of the muscle cells and reduces the body fat stores.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using Humatrope.
If you have a replacement therapy with glucocorticoids, you should consult your doctor regularly, as you may need adjustment of your glucocorticoid dose.
If you have been treated for growth hormone deficiency during childhood, your doctor will re-examine you for growth hormone deficiency to decide if you require further Humatrope treatment during adulthood.
If you have completed previous anti-tumour therapy, a scan of your brain may be required before the start of Humatrope treatment. You should be examined regularly to make sure that the tumour does not come back or start growing.
A higher risk for having a second tumour (benign and malignant) has been reported in patients that survived their cancer and were treated with somatropin. Of these second tumours, in particular, brain tumours were the most common.
If you have symptoms such as frequent or bad headache, with nausea and/or vision problems occur, tell your doctor immediately. Your doctor should perform an examination of the eyes to look for evidence of increased brain pressure. Depending on the results of this examination, treatment with Humatrope may have to be interrupted.
If you develop a limp or pain in the hip, please ask your doctor for advice. During periods of growth, you may develop bone disorders in your hips.
If you start treatment, Humatrope can affect the amount of thyroid hormones in your blood. If the thyroid hormone level is low, it may reduce your response to Humatrope. Therefore, you must have regular thyroid function tests regardless whether you receive thyroid hormone therapy or not.
If you are a child, make sure that you continue treatment until the end of growth has been reached.
If you take a higher than prescribed dose of Humatrope, you may experience overgrowth of some parts of your body such as ears, nose, jaw, hands and feet. Overdose may also lead to increased levels of blood sugar and sugar in the urine. Always use Humatrope as recommended by your doctor.
If you have growth disorder due to kidney damage, treatment with Humatrope should be stopped prior to kidney transplantation.
If you have acute critical illness, your treating doctor should be notified. Deaths have been reported in patients receiving somatropin during critical illness.
If you are growth hormone deficient and also have Prader-Willi syndrome (a genetic disorder), your doctor should examine you for breathing problems and airway infections before starting Humatrope treatment, especially if you are overweight, have previously experienced severe breathing problems (especially during sleep), or suffered infection of the lungs or airways. If during treatment you have signs of breathing problems (snoring), treatment should be interrupted and the cause assessed by your doctor.
Humatrope may affect the way your body handles sugar from food and drink by interfering with the way your body uses insulin. Therefore, if you take Humatrope, your doctor should check if your body is dealing with the sugars correctly.
If you have diabetes mellitus, your insulin dose may need to be adjusted after starting Humatrope treatment. Your doctor will check the amount of sugar in your blood and may adjust your diabetes therapy.
If you have a growth disorder associated with being born small for gestational age, your blood sugar and insulin levels will be checked before starting the treatment and regularly during treatment.
Elderly patients (over 65 years) may be more sensitive to Humatrope and may be prone to side effects.
Humatrope may cause an inflammation of the pancreas, which causes severe pain in the abdomen and back. Contact your doctor if you or your child develops stomach ache after taking Humatrope.
Scoliosis (an increase in sideways curvature of the spine) may progress in any child during rapid growth. Signs of scoliosis should be monitored during treatment.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using, have recently used or are planning to use any other medicines.
In particular, inform your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken any of the following medicines. Your doctor may need to adjust the dose of Humatrope or of the other medicines:
Humatrope should not be used during pregnancy, unless your doctor tells you to do so. If you become pregnant, tell your doctor immediately.
It is not known whether somatropin enters the breast milk. If you are breast-feeding, or intend to breast-feed, please ask your doctor for advice before using Humatrope.
Humatrope has no known effect on ability to drive or use machines.
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23mg) per daily dose, that is to say essentially sodium-free.
Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Your doctor will advise you on your dosage and administration schedule. Do not change your dosage without talking to your doctor.
Usually, treatment with Humatrope is a long term treatment; your doctor may need to adjust your dose over time depending on your body weight and response to treatment. In general, the dose is calculated according to the following recommendations and administered once daily:
Growth hormone deficiency in adults:
Treatment should be started with a low dose of 0.15–0.30 mg daily. Lower starting doses may be required in older and overweight patients. The starting dose may be increased gradually according to your individual requirements. Total daily dose usually does not exceed 1 mg.
Dose requirements may decline with increasing age. Women, especially those on oral oestrogen replacement, may require higher doses than men.
If you have injected more Humatrope than you should have, please ask your doctor for advice.
Do not inject a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose. Continue with the prescribed dosage. If you forget to inject Humatrope and have any doubts about what to do, please contact your doctor.
Please ask your doctor for advice before stopping treatment. Interruption or early stopping of treatment with Humatrope may impair the success of the Humatrope treatment.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them. You may experience any of the following side effects after injecting Humatrope:
The following convention has been used for the classification of the adverse reactions:
Very common side effects may happen in more than 1 in 10 patients
Common side effects may happen in 1 in 100 to 1 in 10 patients
Uncommon side effects may happen in 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100 patients
Rare side effects may happen in 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000 patients
Very rare side effects may happen in fewer than 1 in 10,000 patients, including isolated reports
Other possible side effects (frequency cannot be estimated from the available data)
Children
Common:
Uncommon:
Rare:
Very rare:
Other:
Adults
Very common:
Common:
Uncommon:
Rare:
Other:
The effect of insulin may be reduced.
Leukaemia has been reported in a small number of children who have been treated with growth hormone. However there is no proof that leukaemia occurrence is elevated in patients receiving growth hormone.
If you get any of the side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via
United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland):
or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store,
Malta:
By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
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 label and carton. The expiry date (EXP) refers to the last day of the month.
Do not use this medicine if you notice that the solution is cloudy or has any particles in it. Always store Humatrope in a refrigerator (2°C – 8°C). Do not freeze.
After mixing Humatrope, do not leave it out of the refrigerator for longer than 30 minutes each day. Humatrope can be used for up to 28 days after mixing if you keep it in the fridge and no longer than 30 minutes each day at room temperature.
Do not throw away any medicines via waste water or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to throw away medicines you no longer use. These measures will help protect the environment.
Powder in a cartridge
The active substance is somatropin. Each cartridge contains 6 mg, 12 mg or 24 mg depending on the strength. When reconstituted:
The other ingredients are: mannitol, glycine, dibasic sodium phosphate.
[Phosphoric acid or sodium hydroxide (or both) may have been used in the manufacturing process to adjust acidity].
Sterile Diluent Syringe
The pre-filled solvent syringe contains: glycerol, metacresol, water for injection. [Hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide (or both) may have been used in the manufacturing process to adjust acidity].
Humatrope 6 mg:
Humatrope 12 mg:
Humatrope 24 mg:
Not all pack sizes may be available in your country
For any information about this medicine, please contact the local representative of the Marketing Authorisation Holder:
This medicinal product is authorised in the Member States of the EEA under the following names:
In member states of the EEA where this medicinal product is authorized, it is authorized under the name "Humatrope", except in France where it is authorized under "Umatrope”.
The following instructions explain how to inject Humatrope. Please read the instructions carefully and follow them step by step.
You will require five items:
1. Humatrope cartridge of the correct strength
2. A syringe filled with diluent
3. A CE-marked Humatrope pen
4. A sterile pen needle, and
5. An alcohol swab
Wash your hands before you continue with the next steps
*Note: The liquid is colourless. It is shown here as blue for illustration purposes only.
Step 1 Unpacking
1a Remove ALL contents from the tray. Note: This product is designed for left or right handed use. Please feel free to use whichever hand is most comfortable for you.
1b Grasp Needle Cover, which is at the bottom of the Diluent Syringe.
1c Remove Needle Cover and discard. DO NOT depress Plunger yet. It is okay if a drop of fluid is lost. It is not necessary to release air from the Diluent Syringe.
Step 2&3 Connecting the cartridge
2 Hold cartridge, Black Triangles up. Align the cartridge and Diluent Syringe in a straight line. DO NOT insert the cartridge at an angle.
3 PUSH the cartridge STRAIGHT in until it stops AND the Black Triangles ARE COVERED. You may hear or feel a click. DO NOT twist the cartridge.
Step 4 Mixing Humatrope
4a Hold the Diluent Syringe and the cartridge together with TWO HANDS. Push and release the Plunger 2 or 3 times until the Diluent is in the cartridge.
4b Remove thumb from the Plunger and check that the Diluent Syringe is empty (it is normal for small drops of Diluent to remain in the Diluent Syringe).
Step 5&6 Release Cartridge and Discard Diluent
5 With thumb OFF the plunger, pull the cartridge from the Diluent Syringe.
6 Place the End Cap on a hard, flat surface. Push the Diluent Syringe onto the End Cap and immediately discard the Diluent Syringe as instructed by your healthcare professional.
Step 7 Gently Mix
Step 8 Injecting Humatrope using a suitable pen injection system
Humatrope is a trademark of Eli Lilly and Company Limited
This leaflet was last revised in March 2021
HT033a