Orencia®

What ORENCIA is used for
ORENCIA contains abatacept; a medicine which is used to treat:

moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis in adults;
severe, active and progressive rheumatoid arthritis,
psoriatic arthritis in adults, and
polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that causes pain and joint inflammation (tenderness and swelling). It can also cause joint damage.

You may be given ORENCIA and methotrexate to:

Reduce the signs and symptoms of your disease.
Slow down the damage to your bones and joints.
Improve your physical function and your ability to do normal daily activities.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints, usually accompanied by psoriasis, an inflammatory disease of the skin. If you have active psoriatic arthritis you will first be given other medicines. If you do not respond well enough to these medicines, you may be given ORENCIA.

Polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis

ORENCIA infused intravenously is also used to treat moderate to severe polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children and adolescents 6 years of age and older who have had an inadequate response to one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

It is not recommended to use the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA in children.

ORENCIA is available in two formulations:

ORENCIA powder for infusion MUST ONLY BE GIVEN BY YOUR DOCTOR OR NURSE.
ORENCIA solution for injection is injected under the skin and can be injected by your doctor, nurse, carer or yourself.