BLENIX 1000 mg GASTRO-RESISTANT TABLETS

Introduction

Patient Information Leaflet

Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

mesalazine

Read the entire leaflet carefully before starting to take this medicine, as it contains important information for you.

• Keep this leaflet, as you may need to read it again.
• If you have any doubts, consult your doctor or pharmacist.
• This medicine has been prescribed to you only, and you should not give it to others, even if they have the same symptoms as you, as it may harm them.
• If you experience side effects, consult your doctor or pharmacist, even if they are not listed in this leaflet. See section 4.

Contents of the Leaflet

1. What Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets are and what they are used for
2. What you need to know before taking Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets
3. How to take Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets
4. Possible side effects
5. Storage of Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets
6. Package contents and additional information

1. What Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets are and what they are used for

Blenix gastro-resistant tablets contain 1000 mg of the active ingredient mesalazine (also known as 5-aminosalicylic acid), which belongs to the group of medicines called intestinal anti-inflammatory agents.

Blenix is indicated for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease of the intestine.

2. What you need to know before taking Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

Do not take Blenix

• if you are allergic to mesalazine or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6)
• if you are allergic to acetylsalicylic acid or any other salicylate
• if you have a medical condition that may make you prone to bleeding
• if you have severe kidney and/or liver impairment

Warnings and precautions

Consult your doctor before starting to take Blenix

• if you are or plan to become pregnant
• if you are breastfeeding
• if you have liver or kidney problems
• if you suffer from any lung disease, such as asthma
• if you have had an allergy to sulfasalazine in the past
• if you have a stomach or intestinal ulcer
• if you have previously had inflammation of the heart (which could be a consequence of a heart infection)
• if you have ever suffered from severe skin rash, peeling, or blisters in the mouth after using mesalazine.

If you experience severe headache or recurrent headache, vision changes, or ringing in the ears, contact your doctor immediately.

In case of appearance of any allergic manifestation (e.g., skin rash, itching) or cramps, abdominal pain, severe headache, and fever during the course of treatment, do not take more tablets and inform your doctor immediately.

Before and during treatment, your doctor may want to perform regular blood and urine tests to check the functioning of your liver, kidneys, blood, and lungs.

Kidney stones may occur with the use of mesalazine. The symptoms include pain in the sides of the abdomen and blood in the urine. Make sure to drink enough liquid during treatment with mesalazine.

Severe skin rashes, such as drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SSJ), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), have been observed with mesalazine treatment. Stop taking mesalazine and seek medical attention immediately if you observe any of the symptoms related to these severe skin reactions described in section 4.

Mesalazine may cause a discoloration of the urine to a reddish-brown color after contact with sodium hypochlorite bleach in the toilet water. This is a chemical reaction between mesalazine and bleach and is harmless.

Children and adolescents

Information on safety in the use of this medicine in children and adolescents is limited.

Do not administer to children under 5 years of age.

Other medicines and Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

In general, you can continue treatment with other medicines while taking Blenix. However, inform your doctor or pharmacist if you are using, have recently used, or may need to use any other medicine, including those obtained without a prescription.

Blenix may interact with some medicines if taken at the same time.

In particular:

• medicines to lower blood sugar levels (antidiabetics)
• medicines to lower blood pressure (antihypertensives/diuretics)
• medicines for the treatment or prevention of gout attacks
• medicines that help with bowel movements (laxatives containing lactulose)
• medicines to prevent blood clotting (anticoagulants)
• medicines to reduce the activity of the immune system (e.g., azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine, or thioguanine)
• medicines to treat pain and inflammation (anti-inflammatory agents)

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, consult your doctor or pharmacist before using this medicine.

There is limited experience with the use of mesalazine during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The newborn may develop allergic reactions after breastfeeding, such as diarrhea. If the newborn develops diarrhea, breastfeeding should be interrupted.

The use of Blenix is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding unless your doctor advises otherwise.

Driving and using machines

No adverse effects of Blenix on the ability to drive or use machines have been reported.

Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets contain sodium

This medicine contains 98 mg of sodium (main component of table salt/cooking salt) in each gastro-resistant tablet. This is equivalent to 5% of the maximum recommended daily intake of sodium for an adult.

Consult your doctor or pharmacist if you need to take 4 or more gastro-resistant tablets daily for a prolonged period, especially if you have been advised to follow a low-salt diet (sodium).

3. How to take Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

Follow your doctor's instructions for taking this medicine exactly. If you are unsure, consult your doctor or pharmacist again.

Your doctor will indicate the duration of your treatment with this medicine. Do not stop treatment before completing the prescribed course, even if you feel better, as symptoms may return if treatment is stopped too soon.

Strictly follow the treatment as instructed by your doctor, both in the acute inflammatory phase and in the maintenance phase.

The recommended dose in adults is:

For treating an acute episode of colitis,your doctor will normally prescribe a dose between 1.5 (one 1000 mg tablet and one 500 mg tablet) and 4 grams (four 1000 mg tablets) of mesalazine per day, which can be taken in one or several doses.

To help prevent further episodes,your doctor may prescribe a dose between 1.5 (one 1000 mg tablet and one 500 mg tablet) and 3 grams (three 1000 mg tablets) of mesalazine per day, which can be taken in one or several doses.

Blenix gastro-resistant tablets should be taken orally.

The tablets should be taken on an empty stomach and swallowed whole with the help of liquid. Do not divide, chew, or crush.

In both cases, it may be necessary to use the 500 mg tablets of Blenix to provide the dose that best suits you.

Use in children and adolescents

The administration of Blenix is not recommended in children and adolescents due to the lack of data on its safety and efficacy. Do not administer to children under 5 years of age.

Use in the elderly

The use of Blenix in elderly patients should be done with caution and limited to those patients with normal renal function.

If you take more Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets than you should

Consult your doctor if you have taken more than prescribed. In case of overdose or accidental ingestion, consult your doctor or pharmacist immediately or call the Toxicology Information Service, phone: 91 562 04 20, indicating the medicine and the amount taken. It is recommended to take the package and leaflet of the medicine to the healthcare professional.

If you forget to take Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

Do not take a double dose to make up for the forgotten dose.

If you stop taking Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

It is important that you take Blenix gastro-resistant tablets every day, even when you do not have symptoms of ulcerative colitis. Always complete the treatment prescribed by your doctor.

If you have any other doubts about the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

4. Possible side effects

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

All medicines can cause allergic reactions, although severe allergic reactions are very rare. If you experience any of the following symptoms after using this medicine, stop using this medicine and contact your doctor immediately:

• allergic skin rash;
• fever;
• difficulty breathing.

If you experience fever or throat or mouth irritation, stop using this medicine and contact your doctor immediately. These symptoms may be due, very rarely, to a decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood (a condition called agranulocytosis).

Severe side effects:

Stop taking mesalazine and seek medical attention immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• reddish patches, or circular or coin-shaped patches on the chest, often with central blisters, skin peeling, ulcers in the mouth, throat, nose, genitals, and eyes, generalized rash, fever, and swollen lymph nodes. These severe skin rashes are often preceded by fever or flu-like symptoms.
• if you experience severe headache or recurrent headache, vision changes, or ringing in the ears. These could be symptoms of increased pressure inside your skull (idiopathic intracranial hypertension).

The following side effects have also been reported in patients using mesalazine:

Rare side effects(may affect up to 1 in 1,000 patients)

• abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, nausea, and vomiting;
• headache, dizziness;
• chest pain, difficulty breathing, or swollen limbs due to a heart effect;
• increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight and ultraviolet light (photosensitivity)

Very rare side effects(may affect less than 1 in 10,000 patients)

• kidney problems, sometimes with swollen limbs or side pain;

• severe abdominal pain due to acute pancreatitis;
• worsening of colitis symptoms;
• fever, sore throat, or nausea due to changes in blood count;

• difficulty breathing, cough, wheezing, spots on lung X-ray due to allergic and/or inflammatory conditions in the lungs;
• diarrhea and severe abdominal pain due to an allergic reaction to the medicine at the intestinal level;

• skin rash or inflammation;
• muscle and joint pain;
• jaundice or abdominal pain due to liver or biliary disorders;
• hair loss and development of baldness;
• erythema multiforme;
• numbness and tingling of the fingers and toes (peripheral neuropathy)
• reversible decrease in semen production;
• blood count disorders.

Side effects of unknown frequency(cannot be estimated from available data).

• kidney stones and associated kidney pain (see also section 2).

severe skin reactions: drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SSJ), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).

• increased pressure inside the skull (idiopathic intracranial hypertension)

Photosensitivity

More severe reactions have been reported in patients with pre-existing skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis and atopic eczema.

If these symptoms continue or worsen, consult your doctor.

Reporting side effects:

If you experience any side effects, consult your doctor or pharmacist, even if they are not listed in this leaflet. You can also report them directly through the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Medicines: www.notificaRAM.es. By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

5. Storage of Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.

This medicine does not require special storage conditions.

Do not use this medicine after the expiration date stated on the package after EXP. The expiration date is the last day of the month indicated.

Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Deposit the packages and medicines you no longer need in the SIGRE collection point at the pharmacy. If you have any doubts, ask your pharmacist how to dispose of packages and medicines you no longer need. This will help protect the environment.

6. Package contents and additional information

Composition of Blenix 1000 mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets

• Each gastro-resistant tablet contains 1000 mg of mesalazine.
• The other ingredients are anhydrous sodium carbonate, glycine, povidone, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium croscarmellose, colloidal anhydrous silica, calcium stearate, methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer (1:1) dispersion 30%, methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate copolymer (1:1), methacrylic acid-methyl methacrylate copolymer (1:2), dibutyl sebacate, talc, titanium dioxide (E-171), macrogol, yellow iron oxide (E-172), red iron oxide (E-172).

Appearance and package contents

Blenix are oblong tablets with a homogeneous orange coating.

This medicine is marketed in PVC/PVDC-Aluminum blisters packaged in cardboard boxes containing 60 or 100 tablets.

Not all pack sizes may be marketed.

Marketing authorization holder

Faes Farma, S.A.

Autonomia Etorbidea, 10

48940 Leioa (Bizkaia)

Spain

Manufacturer

Faes Farma, S.A.

Maximo Agirre Kalea, 14

48940 Leioa (Bizkaia)

Spain

This medicine is authorized in the Member States of the European Economic Area under the following names:

Spain:Blenix 1000 mg gastro-resistant tablets

France:Mazalvix 1000 mg gastro-resistant tablets

Italy:Salcrozine

Netherlands:Azzavix 1000 mg gastro-resistant tablets

Date of last revision of this leaflet: October 2023

Detailed information on this medicine is available on the website of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS): http://www.aemps.gob.es/