Nucala (mepolizumab) is typically a long-term treatment that’s injected every 4 weeks. The decision to continue taking Nucala depends on your individual needs, treatment response, and your doctor’s recommendation.
Nucala is a prescription medication used as an add-on treatment for a severe type of asthma and several other inflammatory conditions. As an immunosuppressant drug, it helps reduce inflammation and ease symptoms. Nucala is given as an injection under the skin.
Keep reading to learn how long and how often Nucala is used, including what happens if you stop treatment.
How long you use Nucala depends on several factors, including:
- Your specific condition: If your condition is chronic (long term) and doesn’t go away, you may need ongoing treatment.
- How effective Nucala is: If the symptoms of your condition ease and your quality of life improves, your doctor may recommend you continue using Nucala as long as needed.
- Whether side effects are tolerable: Nucala can cause mild and serious side effects. If side effects last a long time or become difficult to manage, your doctor can discuss whether to continue treatment.
- If you take corticosteroids: Nucala is often used to reduce or replace long-term oral corticosteroids. Your doctor may taper (slowly reduce) the dosage of your corticosteroid drug during Nucala treatment. If you don’t have any side effects from the taper, they may recommend you continue using Nucala.
- Risk of flare-ups: Some inflammatory conditions, such as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) can flare up if Nucala treatment is stopped. For asthma, stopping Nucala may cause your asthma attacks to worsen. If you have flare-ups, your doctor may recommend you continue Nucala treatment.
- Other health-related factors: Certain other factors may affect whether you should continue taking Nucala. These include being an older adult (ages 65 years or older), being pregnant or planning to be, having an increased risk of infection, and having other conditions.
It’s important to talk with your doctor to make sure the benefits of using Nucala outweigh any possible risks. They can help figure out if your dosage or treatment plan should be changed.
Is Nucala safe to take long term?
Yes, Nucala is typically safe to take long term if your doctor recommends it. In studies, the drug’s effects were studied for 52 weeks for most conditions.
In addition, in a long-term safety study, Nucala’s side effects were generally the same when compared with a shorter study. However, in the long-term study, more cases of shingles were reported. (Shingles is a known side effect of Nucala.)
If you’re concerned about whether Nucala is safe for you, talk with your doctor. They can discuss the side effects of the drug and help determine if the medication is right for you.
Nucala is injected once every 4 weeks for all uses. However, the exact dose may differ depending on the condition you’re using it to treat. Injecting Nucala every 4 weeks keeps enough drug in your system to make it effective for your condition.
If you have questions about your Nucala dosage, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
If you stop Nucala treatment, the symptoms of the condition you’re taking Nucala to treat may return.
If you’d like to stop treatment with the drug, be sure to talk with your doctor. They can determine if there are similar medications that may be right for you and your condition.
While Nucala can be a long-term treatment option for managing severe asthma and certain inflammatory conditions, your doctor will continue to monitor how well it’s working for you. This is to make sure it’s still effective and safe for you to use. Be sure to talk with your doctor if you have concerns about the medication, especially if you’d like to stop using it.
Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.