An Overview of Tocilizumab Interactions
Tocilizumab (
Actemra®) can potentially interact with other medications. Although some information about specific tocilizumab drug interactions is available, it is also thought that (in general) tocilizumab may possibly affect the body's ability to metabolize many other medications.
Specific, Known Drug Interactions With Tocilizumab
People who take tocilizumab are warned against taking other biological medications for
rheumatoid arthritis treatment. Such medications (sometimes known as biological response modifiers) include:
It is thought that combining tocilizumab with other biological medications may suppress the immune system too much, increasing the risk of dangerous infections.
In general, tocilizumab can be combined with
methotrexate or other
rheumatoid arthritis medications, as long as they are not biological medications. There is some thought that some of the drugs commonly used to treat
rheumatoid arthritis might increase the risk of tears (perforations) in the stomach or intestines in people taking tocilizumab, so make sure to check with your healthcare provider before combining tocilizumab with any such medication. It should be noted that the risk of such problems is very small.
Lastly, you should not receive any live vaccinations while taking tocilizumab. It is possible that this medication may suppress your immune system enough to make the live vaccinations unsafe (as well as ineffective). Not all vaccinations are live. Check with your healthcare provider before receiving any vaccine while taking tocilizumab.
