What are Remicade and Humira prescribed for?
Humira and Remicade Side Effects: Infection, Cancer, Liver Damage, Skin Problems, Other
Have you been injured by Remicade or Humira?

Remicade and Humira are prescription drugs known to cause serious and life threatening side effects. Both of these medications increase the risk of serious infection, cancer, liver damage, skin problems, and other severe health conditions. If you or a loved one is taking one of these medications, it is important to speak with your doctor about these dangers and take every precaution to reduce your risk of Remicade or Humira side effects.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or illness while taking Remicade or Humira, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your losses and suffering through a Remicade lawsuit or Humira lawsuit. Please contact us to speak with a qualified attorney about your legal rights and options.

What are Remicade and Humira prescribed for?
The Food and Drug Administration approved Remicade (infliximab), made by Centocor (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), in 1998 to treat Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Remicade is an injection that is typically administered in the doctor’s office.

Humira (adalimumab), made by Abbott Pharmaceuticals, was approved in 2002 to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. This drug is available as an injection, which can be administered at home or in the doctor’s office.

Both of these drugs are in a class of medications called anti-TNF drugs, or anti-tumor necrosis factor antibodies. The tumor necrosis factor is thought to help prevent infection and certain types of cancer. Thus, the blocking action anti-TNF drugs (i.e. Humira and Remicade) significantly increases the risks that a patient will experience these adverse medical conditions.

Humira and Remicade Side Effects
Both Remicade and Humira pose serious and life-threatening side effects including:

INFECTION
Remicade and Humira decrease the body’s ability to fight infection, thus increasing the risk that a patient will develop a serious and potentially deadly infection. Sepsis, tuberculosis, histoplasmosis, and other serious infections are possible Humira and Remicade side effects. According to a recent study appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Remicade and Humira use doubles the risk of contracting a serious infection such as tuberculosis or pneumonia.

Patients with tuberculosis (an infection of the lungs) may or may not have symptoms. Asymptomatic patients will often get worse and begin to develop symptoms. Possible symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) include chest pain, trouble breathing, cough, sore throat, flu-like symptoms, weight loss, loss of appetite, and night sweats. Patients with any of these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention. Before administering Remicade or Humira, doctors should perform a skin test on a patient to ensure they do not have an inactive tuberculosis infection.

Patients with the following risk factors are more likely to suffer a serious Humira or Remicade infection:

• history of immune disease – such as AIDS, HIV, cancer, or severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID)
• history of recurring or chronic infection, or active infection – such as cold sores, bladder infections, etc.
• concurrent use of immunosuppressant drugs, such as oral corticosteroids, azathioprine, chemotherapy drugs, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, or similar medications
• older age
• history of Hepatitis B; use of Remicade or Humira can cause this disease to become active again.
• other underlying conditions (check with your doctor for further information)
• travel or living in certain places in the world; in certain regions of the world or the United States certain infections are endemic and pose a greater risk of Humira or Remicade infection.

To reduce the risk of Remicade or Humira infection, health experts recommend that patients avoid others who are sick, wash their hands frequently, and be sure to keep all appointments with their doctor. If any symptoms of Remicade or Humira infection develop, it is important to seek immediate medical attention.

CANCER
In 2004, Johnson & Johnson informed doctors that Remicade increased the risk of lymphoma (a form of cancer affecting the cells that fight infection), non-melanoma skin cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer.

In 2006, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that patients taking Remicade or Humira are three times more likely to develop cancer, compared to patients with rheumatoid arthritis not taking these drugs. This risk of cancer also appears to be dose-dependant: patients taking higher doses were 4.3 times more likely to develop cancer.

Medical experts also note that patients with rheumatoid arthritis are already at an increased risk of cancer compared to the general population.

The following factors appear to increase the risk that patients taking Remicade or Humira will develop cancer:

• history of cancer,
• higher medication dosage,
• sickness, and
• extended use of one of these medications

Medical experts recommend that patients using Remicade or Humira undergo routine cancer screenings.

LIVER DAMAGE
Also in 2004, the makers of Remicade announced that this drug increased the risk of life-threatening liver damage. Humira also appears to pose the same liver risks. Humira and Remicade liver damage can be so severe that it requires long-term medical treatment and/or liver transplant. Many patients become very ill and some even die due to these serious drug side effects.

Symptoms of Humira and Remicade liver toxicity include:

• jaundice (yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes)
• dark urine
• abdominal pain
• fever
• lost appetite
• fatigue
• diarrhea
• nausea

SKIN PROBLEMS
Remicade and Humira pose the risk of localized skin reactions at the injection site. These drugs can also pose more serious skin-related risks. In 2005, Dutch researchers publishing in the Arthritis Research and Therapy found that Remicade and Humira double the risk of skin infections, skin eruptions, eczema, and more. Moreover, approximately one in four patients taking one of these medications sought medical condition for a Remicade skin side effect within two years of using the drug.

OTHER SERIOUS RISKS OF REMICADE AND HUMIRA
Medical evidence suggests that Remicade and Humira can also increase the risk of the following conditions:

• Allergic reaction
• Anemia
• Aggravation of congestive heart failure
• Psoriasis
• Reactive arthritis
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Edema
• Vision problems
• Seizures
• More

Have you been injured by Remicade or Humira?

If you or a loved one has suffered serious injury or illness while taking Remicade or Humira, you may have legal recourse. Please contact the qualified Remicade attorneys at Oshman & Mirisola to learn more about your legal rights and options. Contact Us

Our qualified Humira lawyers and Remicade lawyers offer a free no-obligation consultation so that you can get answers to your questions and determine the best course of action for you. Through a Humira or Remicade lawsuit, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your past and future medical expenses, loss of income, loss of companionship (in the case of Remicade death or Humira death), pain and suffering, and more.