Filgrastim

Indications and Usage

Filgrastim is FDA approved to 

• Decrease the incidence of infection‚ as manifested by febrile neutropenia‚ in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs associated with a significant incidence of severe neutropenia with fever
• Reduce the time to neutrophil recovery and the duration of fever, following induction or consolidation chemotherapy treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
• Reduce the duration of neutropenia and neutropenia-related clinical sequelae‚ e.g.‚ febrile neutropenia, in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies undergoing myeloablative chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplantation (BMT)
• Mobilize autologous hematopoietic progenitor cells into the peripheral blood for collection by leukapheresis
• Reduce the incidence and duration of sequelae of severe neutropenia (e.g.‚ fever‚ infections‚ oropharyngeal ulcers) in symptomatic patients with congenital neutropenia‚ cyclic neutropenia‚ or idiopathic neutropenia
• Increase survival in patients acutely exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation (Hematopoietic Syndrome of Acute Radiation Syndrome)

Side effects needing medical attention

Aching in the bones and muscles; spleen rupture; acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS); serious allergic reactions; sickle cell crisis; kidney injury; Capillary Leak Syndrome; decreased platelet count (thrombocytopenia); increased white blood cell count (leukocytosis); inflammation of your blood vessels (cutaneous vasculitis).

*A biosimilar is a biological product that is highly similar to and has no clinically meaningful differences from an existing FDA-approved reference product. Click here for more information.