200 mg film-coated tablets
bezafibrate
1. What Bezalip is and what it is used for
Bezalip belongs to a group of medicines called fibrates. These drugs are used to lower the fat content ( lipids ) in the blood. For example, fats called triglycerides are.
High levels of LDL – cholesterol, and triglycerides increase the risk of atherosclerosis, angina, and heart attack, especially in combination with other risk factors (eg if you smoke, have high blood pressure, or diabetes ).
Bezalip is used with diet and other non-medical treatments, such as exercise and weight loss, to lower blood fat levels.
Bezafibrate contained in Bezalip may also be approved for the treatment of other conditions not mentioned in this product information. Ask your doctor, pharmacist, or another healthcare professional if you have any further questions, and always follow their instructions.
2. What you need to know before taking Bezalip
Do not take Bezalip:
- if you are allergic to bezafibrate, other fibrates, or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6),
- if you have severe liver or kidney disease,
- if you are being treated with dialysis,
- if you have had skin reactions due to sunlight when you have previously been treated with fibrates ( cholesterol- and triglyceride-lowering drugs).
Warnings and cautions
Talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse before taking Bezalip. This is especially true if you have liver, kidney or gallstone disease.
Concomitant use of Bezalip and another lipid-lowering drug called statins (eg simvastatin or atorvastatin) may increase the risk of muscle damage. Talk to your doctor if you are taking Bezalip and statins at the same time.
Other drugs and Bezalip
Tell your doctor if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines. The effect of Bezalip can be affected if Bezalip and certain other medicines are taken at the same time.
This is especially true if Bezalip is used concomitantly with statins and cholestyramine ( cholesterol-lowering drugs). If Bezalip and cholestyramine are used at the same time, the drugs should be taken at least 2 hours apart.
Other drugs that can affect the treatment effect are:
- sulphonylureas and insulin (used for diabetes ),
- warfarin (an agent that inhibits the ability of the blood to clot),
- cyclosporine (an agent that suppresses the immune system).
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
Pregnancy
There is limited experience of use during pregnancy. Bezalip is not recommended during pregnancy as safety has not yet been established.
Breast-feeding
Lack of experience. Mothers treated with Bezalip should not breast-feed.
Driving and using machines
In less common cases, dizziness, fatigue, or muscle weakness appear as a side effect, which can impair the ability to drive and use machines.
You are responsible for assessing whether you are fit to drive a motor vehicle or perform work that requires sharpened attention. One of the factors that can affect your ability in these respects is the use of drugs due to their effects and/or side effects. Descriptions of these effects and side effects can be found in other sections. Read all the information in this leaflet for guidance. If you are not sure, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Bezalip contains sodium
This medicine contains less than 1 mmol (23 mg) sodium per tablet, ie it is essentially ‘sodium-free’.
3. How to take Bezalip
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are unsure.
Dose one is determined by the doctor who adjusts it individually for you. The recommended dose is 1 tablet 3 times daily. The tablet is suitably taken with food and should be swallowed whole.
Use for children
The use of Bezalip in children is not recommended as the efficacy and safety of children have not been established.
If you forget to take Bezalip
Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose.
If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse.
4. Possible side effects
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.
Stop taking Bezalip and contact a doctor as soon as possible:
- if you get unexplained muscle pain, muscle cramps or muscle weakness. (This may be a sign of a rare side effect called rhabdomyolysis that may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people.)
- if you get severe skin reactions, such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome (an extremely severe allergic reaction with skin rash usually in the form of blisters or sores in the oral cavity and eyes and other mucous membranes such as the genitals) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (severe widespread skin damage with dermal and superficial skin mucous membranes). These reactions are very rare.
Common (may affect more than 1 user in 100):
- Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, such as stomach cramps, acid regurgitation, nausea
Uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
- Headache, dizziness
- Diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, gas, abdominal pain, decreased appetite
- Skin rash, itching, photosensitivity, hives
- Liver effects, gallstones, gallstones
- Muscle weakness, muscle pain, muscle cramps
- Acute renal failure
- Impotence
- Hypersensitivity reaction
- Changed laboratory values
Rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
- Hair loss
- Decreased number of white and/or red blood cells
- Muscle inflammation
- Pancreatitis
- Disorders of nerve function, loss of sensation, or a stinging sensation in the skin
Very rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):
- Reduced platelet count
- Lung disease
No known frequency (cannot be calculated from the available data):
- Depression, insomnia
Reporting of side effects
If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly to the Medical Products Agency, www.lakemedelsverket.se. By reporting side effects, you can help increase drug safety information.
5. How to store Bezalip
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not store above 25 ° C.
Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the carton after EXP. The expiration date is the last day of the specified month.
Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.
6. Contents of the packaging and other information
Content declaration
- The active substance is bezafibrate. One tablet contains 200 mg of bezafibrate.
- Other ingredients are:
- Tablet core: corn starch, pregelatinized starch, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium starch glycolate, anhydrous colloidal silica, magnesium stearate
- Tablet coating: Opadry (polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide (dye E171), macrogol, talc).
What the medicine looks like and the contents of the pack
White, round, film-coated tablet marked G6.
Blister pack, 100 tablets.
Marketing Authorization Holder and Manufacturer
Marketing Authorisation Holder
Actavis Group PTC ehf.
Reykjavikurvegur 76-78
220 Hafnarfjörður
Iceland
Manufacturer
Cenexi
52, Rue Marcel and Jacques Gaucher
FR-94120 Fontenay-Sous-Bois
France