Drug Interactions With Infliximab

When certain medications are taken with infliximab, drug interactions could occur. For example, taking it with "live" vaccinations, anakinra, and etanercept can cause the body to metabolize the medications differently than intended, which can lead to problems. Some of these drug interactions can increase your risk of infections or cause you to become infected with the virus or bacteria from the live vaccine.

Infliximab (Remicade)

An Introduction to Infliximab Interactions

Infliximab (Remicade^®) can potentially interact with a few other medicines. Some of the medicines that may lead to drug interactions with infliximab include:

Anakinra (Kineret^®)
Etanercept (Enbrel^®)
"Live" vaccinations, including:

Chickenpox vaccine (varicella vaccine)
FluMist^® (the nasal vaccine for influenza; the injected vaccine is not live)
MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine)
Polio vaccine
Rotavirus vaccine
Smallpox vaccine
Yellow fever vaccine
BCG vaccine (used in some countries for tuberculosis).

Interactions With Infliximab Explained

The following sections explain in detail the potentially negative interactions that can occur when infliximab is combined with any of the drugs listed above.

Anakinra

Combining infliximab with anakinra can increase your risk of infection. In general, these two medications should not be taken together.

Etanercept

Taking infliximab with etanercept can increase your risk of infection. In most cases, these two medications should not be taken together.

(Drug Interactions With Infliximab Continued: Page 2)