HOW WE DISCOVERED DUPIXENT
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used:
- to treat adults and children 6 months of age and older with moderate-to-severe eczema (atopic dermatitis) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 months of age.
- with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.
- with other medicines for the maintenance treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) in adults whose disease is not controlled. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis under 18 years of age.
- to treat adults and children 1 year of age and older with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), who weigh at least 33 pounds (15 kg). It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with eosinophilic esophagitis under 1 year of age, or who weigh less than 33 pounds (15 kg).
- to treat adults with prurigo nodularis (PN). It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with prurigo nodularis under 19 years of age.
Important Safety Information
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for full Prescribing Information
Individual results may vary.
CHRISTAN: Hi, I'm Christan, and I'm partnering with Sanofi and Regeneron. My son Aston has severe asthma that we treat with DUPIXENT.
I want to tell you how our DUPIXENT journey began.
Aston was diagnosed with severe asthma when he was three years old. As he got older, his asthma attacks got worse and worse. He was admitted to the hospital for days at a time and required several visits to the ICU. Aston's asthma was affecting the quality of his life. He wasn't able to fully participate in sports or activities like he wanted to.
He missed so much time at school that it began to affect his academics. We had so many medications we needed to pack every day. Multiple pills, controller medications, and inhalers, which we had to bring with us wherever we went. After several years of this, my husband and I knew we needed to look for another treatment option. We went to Aston's allergist for help. That's when he told us about DUPIXENT.
He said DUPIXENT was a biologic drug that is an add-on treatment for people six years and older with specific types of moderate to severe asthma to help reduce asthma attacks and improve lung function for better breathing.
He told us it was an injection, a biologic medication, that was administered once every four weeks.
At first, we were a little scared. I had never heard of a biologic and was nervous about giving my son an injectable medication.
But my husband and I knew that if this could help treat Aston's asthma, it might be worth it in the long run.
Before Aston started DUPIXENT, I told his doctor about all the medical conditions he had and medications he was taking. We talked about the potential benefits and risks of adding DUPIXENT to Aston's current treatment, including the most common side effects, such as injection site reactions...
...and some serious side effects, including allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe, inflammation of your blood vessels, and joint aches and pain.
We are happy with the decision we have made for Aston. It's worth Aston taking an injection to help him breathe better and do more of the things he loves.
Now you know how my family's DUPIXENT journey started. Thanks for watching.
VO:
Important Safety
Information and Indication
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- have a parasitic (helminth) infection
- are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
- Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
- Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
- Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.
The most common side effects in patients with asthma include injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. 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.
Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
Indication
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.
OUR DUPIXENT INJECTION ROUTINE
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used:
- to treat adults and children 6 months of age and older with moderate-to-severe eczema (atopic dermatitis) that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with atopic dermatitis under 6 months of age.
- with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.
- with other medicines for the maintenance treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) in adults whose disease is not controlled. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis under 18 years of age.
- to treat adults and children 1 year of age and older with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), who weigh at least 33 pounds (15 kg). It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with eosinophilic esophagitis under 1 year of age, or who weigh less than 33 pounds (15 kg).
- to treat adults with prurigo nodularis (PN). It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with prurigo nodularis under 19 years of age.
Important Safety Information
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Please see additional Important Safety Information throughout this video and adjacent links for full Prescribing Information
Individual results may vary.
CHRISTAN: Hi, I'm Christan, and I'm partnering with Sanofi and Regeneron. My son Aston has severe asthma that we treat with DUPIXENT.
Giving a once-monthly injection to a kid can be tricky sometimes. So, I want to share with you how we made DUPIXENT part of our routine.
After Aston received his first dose, we were given a choice to come to the office for Aston's injection every four weeks or administer DUPIXENT at home. For Aston, it made so much more sense to give him his injection at home.
We wanted to try our best to build into his routine without interruption by having to go into the doctor's office.
I was nervous about giving Aston his injection at home, but the nurses at the office explained the process and recommended watching the supplemental injection videos on the DUPIXENT website.
I also reviewed additional resources on the DUPIXENT website, such as MyWay Patient Support Services, and the Instructions for Use.
The available resources from DUPIXENT MyWay and nurses at the doctor's office have been very helpful in making me feel comfortable administering DUPIXENT at home.
We have a big calendar in our kitchen where I keep track of everything. I write “DUPIXENT day” on the calendar every four weeks to mark Aston's injection day.
Seeing it on the calendar makes it less of a surprise for Aston and helps prepare him mentally.
On injection day, I take Aston's DUPIXENT dose out of the refrigerator 45 minutes before and tell him it's almost time for his shot.
Once the DUPIXENT reaches room temperature, I ask him if he's ready.
Sometimes, he may not be yet, but after a while he'll come up and tell me, “Okay, let's do it.”
We wash our hands and sit down. The injection goes best when Aston is focused on something else.
Now, we've gotten into a rhythm with Aston. When I give him the shot, he might react a little, but as soon as the needle is out, I put a bandage over the injection site and give him a big hug.
He knows the reasons why he takes his medication and that helps him stay positive about injection days.
He doesn't want to go back to the hospital for his asthma attacks, so he's willing to take the injection. Of course, just like any kid, special treats on injection day certainly help too.
Before Aston started DUPIXENT, I told his doctor about all the medical conditions he had and medications he was taking.
We talked about the potential benefits and risks of adding DUPIXENT to Aston's current treatment, including the most common side effects, such as injection site reactions...
...and some serious side effects, including allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe, inflammation of your blood vessels, and joint aches and pain.
Making a routine around giving an injection to a kid every four weeks can be challenging. But I hope these tips can help other families on their DUPIXENT journey, just as they have helped mine.
Thanks for watching.
VO:
Important Safety
Information and Indication
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- have a parasitic (helminth) infection
- are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
- Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
- Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
- Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.
The most common side effects in patients with asthma include injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. 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.
Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
Indication
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.
INJECTION TIPS FROM CAREGIVERS
Lori - Mom: Nobody prepares you for this. Right? We were lucky to have a great healthcare provider who trained us on the injection process, including how much to inject and how often.
Wendy - Grandmother: It's definitely been a learning curve, learning how to administer an injection to my granddaughter.
Rahmel - Father: I was a little overwhelmed in the beginning, but I found being calm is super important. My daughter Kia and I practice ways to keep calm. We like taking deep, long breaths together before we start.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: I always told parents just to have a plan because kids pick up on your nervousness. If you're calm, they're calm.
Amanda - Healthcare Professional: That's for sure. A lot of kids do well with a little calm chit chat, but others could benefit from other activities. So you want to have a few options ready ahead of time.
Lori - Mom: I tried all sorts of things before we got into a comfortable routine. Distractions with toys, holding an ice cube to the injection site and having him get involved in the process like getting a cotton ball or an alcohol wipe. I've learned the best distraction is other family members. His older sister tells the best jokes.
Wendy - Grandmother: And it can change as they get older. My granddaughter, Emma, didn't want anything to do with the pre injection process when she was younger. But now, helping out really gives her a sense of control. She gets the alcohol swabs and I get the medication from the fridge.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Where and when you administer the injection is important as well.
Lori - Mom: Exactly. Eventually, we found doing the injection at the kitchen table allowed us to maintain Austin's bedroom and playroom as play spaces. I don't know why it worked, but we just stuck with it.
Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Well, the kitchen is the heart of the home.
Lori - Mom: Yeah. Maybe that's why.
Rahmel - Father: It's because the cookies are closer.
Lori - Mom: Yes. I can just grab one. Yeah.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: One thing I also tell parents to patients is practice patience, because you got to realize that these are young people that we're dealing with.
Christine - Healthcare Professional: I always like to give as many options as possible and just trying to get them involved in the process so they have some control of something that they have no control over really.
Wendy - Grandmother: Yeah. A lot of times I would say, "Do you want to do this before breakfast or after dinner?"
Christine - Healthcare Professional: Right.
Wendy - Grandmother: And giving them that choice of the time of day. I'm finally comfortable giving the injections. But my granddaughter, Emma, is such a trooper sometimes I forget she's still just a little girl and she could use some reassurance.
Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Always remember, uncertainty can cause anxiety. I always tell parents and caregivers a little encouragement and understanding goes a long way.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Look, when it comes to the actual injection, your physical technique is important. Leg and arm hold methods are simple to learn and reduce squirming. Don't forget to refer to any instructions for use before any injection, for additional information and to use as a reference.
Christine - Healthcare Professional: And there's so many options out there now. You can numb with an ice cube. They have devices that divert pain signals, it like vibrates on your arm so they don't feel the injection so much. They have numbing creams, numbing sprays.
Lori - Mom: Right.
Christine - Healthcare Professional: There's so many things and every child is going to want something different. Some don't want anything at all.
Lori - Mom: Yes.
Wendy - Grandmother: Yeah. My granddaughter's really into the imagination type style, so it always involved her stuffed animals and unicorns and the fake shot injection. And it's like, Okay, if I'm getting this, then so is Panda, so is Uni. It was like, Okay, well who's going first and it just created almost like a magical land for her and she just really seemed to enjoy it more.
Rahmel - Father: At first, simply explaining what I was doing and how the treatment was going to help calmed my daughter down. She's really into taking an active role in managing her condition.
Christine - Healthcare Professional: One thing I would suggest is to let your child's likes lead the way. If they like music, sing a song with them while giving the injection. If they like stories, have them read one to you or read one to them.
Lori - Mom: Great point. Our son loves superheroes, so I made up a superhero. His name is Flash Bang.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: Flash Bang.
Lori - Mom: And I tell him a two-minute story when I give the injection. Now he looks forward to new episodes so much. He reminds me as we get ready, which makes everything easier.
Wendy - Grandmother: The basics work for us, the calm chit chat, and then using toys and screens as a distraction.
Deantre - Healthcare Professional: You know what? Parents have an advantage. When we work with young patients, we have to earn their trust. You guys already have it. Be calm, confident, positive as you give the injection, eventually it'll become routine.
Lori - Mom: We use screen time as a reward. It helps make it a positive experience and gives them something to look forward to after the injection.
Christine - Healthcare Professional: Rewards after the injection are a great idea.
Wendy - Grandmother: Yes. It was important for me to get to know Emma's likes and dislikes. It's tough though because they changed so often. One day, bringing her giant stuffed panda into the room worked like a charm and the next it didn't. Sparkly stars and unicorn stickers though, that's where we're at now.
Rahmel - Father: We're all so busy with work and school schedules, we make the reward all about spending time together with a game or movie night and she gets to pick the game or movie. She beat me last time too.
Amanda - Healthcare Professional: Don't let yourself get too stressed out about the reward thing. I have a lot of little patients that react to very simple stuff. New, fun bandaids, extra hugs, sometimes simple is best.
Lori - Mom: Throwing in a few sweets never hurts. I like to mix up the rewards that way he's looking forward to finding out what the next reward will be. It makes it feel like a celebration.
Rahmel - Father: I mean, this has definitely been great sharing this experience with the other caregivers.
Lori - Mom: Yes, so helpful.
Rahmel - Father: Especially healthcare professionals, you guys have just made this process so much easier. So many new tools for my toolbox that'll make this whole process much better.
Lori - Mom: I'm glad we were able to get together and do this for them.
VO:
Important Safety
Information and Indication
Do not use if you are allergic to dupilumab or to any of the ingredients in DUPIXENT®.
Before using DUPIXENT, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:
- have a parasitic (helminth) infection
- are scheduled to receive any vaccinations. You should not receive a "live vaccine" right before and during treatment with DUPIXENT.
- are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known whether DUPIXENT will harm your unborn baby.
- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known whether DUPIXENT passes into your breast milk.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Especially tell your healthcare provider if you are taking oral, topical, or inhaled corticosteroid medicines or use an asthma medicine. Do not change or stop your corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine without talking to your healthcare provider. This may cause other symptoms that were controlled by the corticosteroid medicine or other asthma medicine to come back.
DUPIXENT can cause serious side effects, including:
- Allergic reactions. DUPIXENT can cause allergic reactions that can sometimes be severe. Stop using DUPIXENT and tell your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you get any of the following signs or symptoms: breathing problems or wheezing, swelling of the face, lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, fainting, dizziness, feeling lightheaded, fast pulse, fever, hives, joint pain, general ill feeling, itching, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, nausea or vomiting, or cramps in your stomach-area.
- Inflammation of your blood vessels. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive DUPIXENT. This may happen in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by DUPIXENT. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have: rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs, or persistent fever.
- Joint aches and pain. Some people who use DUPIXENT have had trouble walking or moving due to their joint symptoms, and in some cases needed to be hospitalized. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or worsening joint symptoms. Your healthcare provider may stop DUPIXENT if you develop joint symptoms.
The most common side effects in patients with asthma include injection site reactions, high count of a certain white blood cell (eosinophilia), pain in the throat (oropharyngeal pain), and parasitic (helminth) infections.
Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all the possible side effects of DUPIXENT. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. 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.
Use DUPIXENT exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider. It’s an injection given under the skin (subcutaneous injection). Your healthcare provider will decide if you or your caregiver can inject DUPIXENT. Do not try to prepare and inject DUPIXENT until you or your caregiver have been trained by your healthcare provider. In children 12 years of age and older, it’s recommended DUPIXENT be administered by or under supervision of an adult. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age, DUPIXENT should be given by a caregiver.
Please see accompanying full Prescribing Information including Patient Information.
Indication
DUPIXENT is a prescription medicine used with other asthma medicines for the maintenance treatment of moderate-to-severe eosinophilic or oral steroid dependent asthma in adults and children 6 years of age and older whose asthma is not controlled with their current asthma medicines. DUPIXENT helps prevent severe asthma attacks (exacerbations) and can improve your breathing. DUPIXENT may also help reduce the amount of oral corticosteroids you need while preventing severe asthma attacks and improving your breathing. DUPIXENT is not used to treat sudden breathing problems. It is not known if DUPIXENT is safe and effective in children with asthma under 6 years of age.