SOLIRIS (eculizumab): The first treatment specifically approved for PNH

My name is Margarita.

Margarita

I'm 36 years old — and a mother of 3.
I've had PNH for 18 years.
This is my story.
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Margarita tried to maintain a normal life because she didn't want to give in to the disease. But her constant fatigue and fainting spells soon left her with no choice but to leave her job. And keeping up with her three children was almost impossible.

'Going to the park with the kids was depressing. I wanted to have fun with them but I couldn't do anything because I was too tired.'

'It was like living on a planet with half the oxygen and twice the gravity.'It was like living on a planet with half the oxygen and twice the gravity. Even worse, she feared she wasn't doing her best as a mother. Though her children knew she was sick, she still felt guilty whenever she found herself in the hospital, missing holidays, birthdays, and vacations — and being away from her loved ones.

Adding to her feelings of isolation, she could no longer travel to Puerto Rico to visit her family. Constantly out of breath, even a walk around the block would leave Margarita desperately looking for a place to sit down. Everyday chores became monumental tasks. Margarita would have to stay in her car while her daughter shopped for groceries. Even doing the laundry required energy that she just didn't have as a result of her PNH.

'My laundry room became my living room and bedroom. That way I didn't have to go up and down the stairs. It would sometimes take me a week just to wash clothes.'

Margarita's social life was nonexistent. With her frequent hospitalizations and constant exhaustion, she had no time — and no energy — for having fun with her friends, or even going out to dinner with her family.

PNH wasn't just claiming Margarita's health, her energy, and her vitality, it was taking away her identity. All the things that defined her — family, friends, hobbies — were no longer a part of her life.

It was only when her hematologist contacted her about a clinical study being conducted for a new drug called eculizumab (now known by its brand name, SOLIRIS®), that Margarita would reclaim her life from PNH.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: SERIOUS MENINGOCOCCAL INFECTION

SOLIRIS® increases the risk of meningococcal infections.

Patients should be vaccinated with a meningococcal vaccine at least 2 weeks prior to receiving the first dose of SOLIRIS. Revaccinate according to current medical guidelines for vaccine use.

Patients should be monitored closely for early signs of meningococcal infections and evaluated immediately if infection is suspected, and treated with antibiotics if necessary.

The effect of withdrawal of anticoagulant therapy during SOLIRIS treatment has not been established. Therefore, treatment with SOLIRIS should not alter anticoagulant management.

SEE FULL PRESCRIBING INFORMATION FOR COMPLETE BOXED WARNING INCLUDING WARNINGS, PRECAUTIONS, AND ADVERSE REACTIONS.

The most frequent adverse events observed in clinical studies were headache, nasopharyngitis, back pain, nausea, fatigue, and cough.

Please see important safety information (including boxed warning) as well as the complete prescribing information.