Cimerli

Generic name: Ranibizumab-eqrn (ophthalmic)
Dosage form: intravitreal injection
Drug class: Anti-angiogenic ophthalmic agents

Usage of Cimerli

Cimerli is a prescription medicine that is injected by intravitreal injection into the eye once a month. It is used to prevent vision loss or blindness in certain eye conditions that cause fluid to leak into the macula, including wet age-related macular degeneration resulting from the growth of abnormal blood vessels, and macular edema.

Cimerli is made from a human antibody fragment. It works by inhibiting the biologic activity of human vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), a protein that is thought to play an important role in the formation of new blood vessels.

Cimerli is the second approved biosimilar to Lucentis (ranibizumab), but is the first interchangeable biosimilar, which means it may be substituted for Lucentis without consulting the prescriber.

Cimerli side effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Cimerli may cause serious side effects. Call your doctor at once if you have:

eye pain or redness, swelling around your eyes;

blurred vision, tunnel vision, eye pain, or seeing halos around lights;

increased sensitivity to light;

discharge or bleeding from the eye;

seeing flashes of light or "floaters" in your vision;

sudden numbness or weakness (especially on one side of the body); or

sudden severe headache, problems with speech or balance.

Common side effects may include:

eye pain or irritation;

feeling like something is in your eye;

itchy or watery eyes;

dry eyes, puffy eyelids;

blurred vision;

sinus pain, sore throat, cough; or

nausea.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Before taking Cimerli

You should not receive Cimerli if you are allergic to ranibizumab, or if you have any type of infection in or around your eyes.

To make sure this medicine is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:

glaucoma; or

a history of blood clots or stroke.

It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

It is not known whether Cimerli passes into breast milk or if it could affect the nursing baby. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding.

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How to use Cimerli

Usual Adult Dose for Macular Degeneration:

0.5 mg via intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days)

Comment: Although not as effective, patients may be treated with 3 monthly doses followed by less frequent dosing with regular assessment. Patients may also be treated with one dose every 3 months after 4 monthly doses. Patients should be assessed regularly.

Use: Neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Usual Adult Dose for Macular Edema Following Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO):

0.5 mg via intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days)

Use: Macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO)

Usual Adult Dose for Diabetic Macular Edema (DME):

0.3 mg via intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days)

Use: Diabetic macular edema (DME)

Usual Adult Dose for Diabetic Retinopathy:

0.3 mg via intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days)

Use: Diabetic retinopathy

Usual Adult Dose for Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization (mCNV):

0.5 mg via intravitreal injection once a month (approximately 28 days) for up to three months. Patients may be retreated if needed.

Use: Myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV):

Warnings

You should not receive Cimerli if you are allergic to ranibizumab, or if you have any type of infection in or around your eyes.

Call your doctor at once if you have sudden vision problems, eye pain or redness, or if your eyes are more sensitive to light.

The timing of your monthly injections is very important for this medicine to be effective.

What other drugs will affect Cimerli

Other drugs may interact with Cimerli, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Tell each of your health care providers about all medicines you use now and any medicine you start or stop using.

Popular FAQ

A biosimilar is a biological product that is similar to a reference biologic (usually the original product) and for which there are no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency. As an example, the biosimilar Amjevita (adalimumab-atto) was approved as the first biosimilar to Humira (adalimumab). Continue reading

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