OLANZAPINE APOTEX 10 mg FILM-COATED TABLETS

Introduction

Package Leaflet: Information for the User

Olanzapine Apotex 2.5 mg film-coated tablets EFG

Olanzapine Apotex 5 mg film-coated tablets EFG

Olanzapine Apotex 7.5 mg film-coated tablets EFG

Olanzapine Apotex 10 mg film-coated tablets EFG

Olanzapine

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

• Keep this package leaflet, as you may need to read it again.
• If you have any questions, consult your doctor or pharmacist.
• This medication 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 package leaflet. See section 4.

Contents of the Package Leaflet

1. What is Olanzapine Apotex and what is it used for
2. What you need to know before taking Olanzapine Apotex
3. How to take Olanzapine Apotex
4. Possible side effects
5. Storage of Olanzapine Apotex
6. Package Contents and Additional Information

1. What is Olanzapine Apotex and what is it used for

Olanzapine Apotex contains the active ingredient olanzapine. Olanzapine Apotex belongs to a group of medications called antipsychotics and is indicated for the treatment of the following diseases.

• Schizophrenia, a disease whose symptoms are hearing, seeing, or feeling unreal things, mistaken beliefs, unusual suspicion, and becoming withdrawn. People suffering from these diseases may also be depressed, anxious, or tense.

• Moderate to severe manic disorder, characterized by symptoms such as excitement or euphoria.

Olanzapine Apotex has been shown to prevent the recurrence of these symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder whose manic episodes have responded to treatment with olanzapine.

2. What you need to know before taking Olanzapine Apotex

Do not take Olanzapine Apotex

• If you are allergic (hypersensitive) to olanzapine or any of the other components of this medication (listed in section 6). The allergic reaction may manifest as a rash, itching, swelling of the face or lips, or difficulty breathing. If this happens to you, tell your doctor.
• If you have previously been diagnosed with eye problems such as certain types of glaucoma (increased eye pressure).

Warnings and Precautions

Consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting to take Olanzapine Apotex.

• Olanzapine Apotex is not recommended for use in elderly patients with dementia, as it may have serious side effects.
• Medications of this type may cause unusual movements, especially in the face or tongue. If this happens to you after taking Olanzapine Apotex, tell your doctor.
• In very rare cases, medications of this type produce a combination of fever, rapid breathing, sweating, muscle stiffness, and a state of confusion or drowsiness. If this happens to you, contact your doctor immediately.
• A weight gain has been observed in patients taking Olanzapine Apotex. You and your doctor should check your weight regularly. If necessary, your doctor can help you plan a diet or consider referring you to a nutritionist.
• High levels of sugar and fat (triglycerides and cholesterol) have been observed in the blood of patients taking Olanzapine Apotex. Your doctor should perform blood tests to check your blood sugar and fat levels before you start taking Olanzapine Apotex and regularly during treatment.
• If you or someone in your family has a history of blood clots, consult your doctor, as medications of this type have been associated with the formation of blood clots.

If you have any of the following diseases, inform your doctor as soon as possible:

• Stroke or transient lack of blood flow to the brain (transient symptoms of stroke).
• Parkinson's disease
• Prostate problems
• Intestinal blockage (paralytic ileus)
• Liver or kidney disease
• Blood disorders
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Seizures
• If you think you may have loss of salts due to prolonged and intense diarrhea and vomiting or due to the use of diuretic medications (urination tablets).

If you suffer from dementia, you or your caregiver or family member should inform your doctor if you have ever had a stroke or a lack of blood flow to the brain.

As a routine precaution, if you are over 65 years old, it would be advisable for your doctor to check your blood pressure.

Children and Adolescents

Patients under 18 years of age should not take Olanzapine Apotex.

Using Olanzapine Apotex with Other Medications

Use other medications at the same time as Olanzapine Apotex only if your doctor authorizes it. You may feel drowsy if you combine Olanzapine Apotex with antidepressants or medications for anxiety or that help you sleep (tranquilizers).

Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are using, have recently used, or may need to use any other medication.

In particular, tell your doctor if you are taking:

• medication for Parkinson's disease
• carbamazepine (an antiepileptic and mood stabilizer), fluvoxamine (an antidepressant), or ciprofloxacin (an antibiotic). Your dose of Olanzapine Apotex may need to be changed.

Using Olanzapine Apotex with Alcohol

Do not drink alcohol if you have been given Olanzapine Apotex, as the combination of Olanzapine Apotex and alcohol may cause drowsiness.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, think you may be pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, consult your doctor before using this medication. You should not take this medication while breastfeeding, as small amounts of Olanzapine Apotex may pass into breast milk.

The following symptoms may occur in newborns of mothers who have used Olanzapine Apotex in the last trimester (last three months of pregnancy): tremors, muscle stiffness and/or weakness, drowsiness, agitation, respiratory problems, and difficulty eating. If your baby has any of these symptoms, contact your doctor.

Driving and Using Machines

There is a risk of drowsiness when taking Olanzapine Apotex. If this happens to you, do not drive vehicles or use machinery. Consult your doctor.

Olanzapine Apotex Contains Lactose

If your doctor has told you that you have an intolerance to certain sugars, consult with them before taking this medication.

3. How to Take Olanzapine Apotex

Follow the administration instructions of this medication exactly as indicated by your doctor. If in doubt, consult your doctor or pharmacist again.

Your doctor will tell you how many Olanzapine Apotex tablets to take and for how long. The daily dose of Olanzapine Apotex ranges from 5 mg to 20 mg. Consult your doctor if you experience symptoms again, but do not stop taking Olanzapine Apotex unless your doctor tells you to.

You should take your Olanzapine Apotex tablets once a day, following your doctor's instructions. Try to take the tablets at the same time every day. You can take them with or without food.

The film-coated tablets of Olanzapine Apotex are for oral administration. You should swallow the Olanzapine Apotex tablets whole with water.

If You Take More Olanzapine Apotex Than You Should

Patients who have taken more Olanzapine Apotex than they should have experienced the following symptoms: rapid heartbeat, agitation/aggression, speech problems, unusual movements (especially of the face and tongue), and a reduced level of consciousness. Other symptoms may include: acute confusion, seizures (epilepsy), coma, a combination of fever, rapid breathing, sweating, muscle stiffness, and a state of confusion or drowsiness, slowing of respiratory rate, aspiration, increased or decreased blood pressure, and abnormal heart rhythms. Contact your doctor or go to the hospital immediately if you notice any of the above symptoms. Show the doctor the package with the tablets.

If You Forget to Take Olanzapine Apotex

Take your tablets as soon as you remember. Do not take a double dose to make up for forgotten doses.

If You Stop Taking Olanzapine Apotex

Do not stop treatment just because you feel better. It is important that you continue taking Olanzapine Apotex while your doctor tells you to.

If you stop taking Olanzapine Apotex suddenly, symptoms such as sweating, insomnia, tremors, anxiety, or nausea and vomiting may appear. Your doctor may suggest that you gradually reduce the dose before stopping treatment.

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

4. Possible Side Effects

Like all medications, this medication can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them.

Contact your doctor immediately if you have:

• unusual movements (a frequent side effect that can affect up to 1 in 10 people), especially of the face or tongue.
• blood clots in the veins (an uncommon side effect that can affect up to 1 in 100 people), especially in the legs (symptoms include sweating, pain, and redness in the leg), which can travel through the blood to the lungs, causing chest pain and difficulty breathing. If you experience any of these symptoms, go to the doctor immediately.
• a combination of fever, rapid breathing, sweating, muscle stiffness, and a state of confusion or drowsiness (frequency cannot be estimated from available data).

Very common side effects (which can affect more than 1 in 10 people) include weight gain, drowsiness, and increased prolactin levels in the blood. In the early stages of treatment, some people may feel dizzy or faint (with slower heartbeats), especially when getting up from a lying or sitting position. This feeling usually disappears on its own, but if it does not, consult your doctor.

Common side effects (which can affect up to 1 in 10 people) include changes in the levels of some blood cells, circulating lipids, and temporary increases in liver enzymes at the start of treatment, increased blood sugar and urine levels, increased uric acid and creatine phosphokinase levels in the blood, increased appetite, dizziness, agitation, tremors, unusual movements (dyskinesia), constipation, dry mouth, skin rash, loss of strength, excessive fatigue, fluid retention that causes swelling of the hands, ankles, or feet, fever, joint pain, and sexual dysfunction such as decreased libido in men and women or erectile dysfunction in men.

Uncommon side effects (which can affect up to 1 in 100 people) include hypersensitivity (e.g., inflammation of the mouth and throat, itching, skin rash), diabetes or worsening of diabetes, occasionally related to ketoacidosis (acetone in blood and urine) or coma, seizures, mostly related to a history of seizures (epilepsy), muscle stiffness or spasms (including eye movements), restless legs syndrome, speech problems, stuttering, slow pulse, sensitivity to sunlight, nosebleeds, abdominal distension, excessive salivation, memory loss or forgetfulness, urinary incontinence, loss of urination ability, hair loss, absence or decrease of menstrual periods, and changes in the mammary gland in men and women, such as abnormal milk production or abnormal growth.

Rare side effects (which can affect up to 1 in 1,000 people) include a drop in normal body temperature, abnormal heart rhythm, sudden unexplained death, pancreatitis, which causes severe stomach pain, fever, and discomfort, liver disease, with yellowing of the skin and the white parts of the eyes, muscle disorder that presents as unexplained pain and erectile dysfunction that is prolonged and/or painful.

Very rare side effects include a severe allergic reaction such as drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). DRESS is initially manifested by flu-like symptoms with a rash on the face and then a generalized rash, fever, lymph node enlargement, elevated liver enzyme levels in blood tests, and an increase in the number of a type of white blood cell (eosinophilia).

During treatment with olanzapine, elderly patients with dementia may experience stroke, pneumonia, urinary incontinence, falls, extreme fatigue, visual hallucinations, a rise in body temperature, redness of the skin, and walking problems. Some deaths have been reported in this particular group of patients.

Olanzapine Apotex may worsen symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Reporting Side Effects

If you experience any side effects, consult your doctor or nurse, even if they are not listed in this package leaflet. You can also report them directly through the national reporting system included in Annex V. By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medication.

5. Storage of Olanzapine Apotex

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

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

No special storage conditions are required.

Medications should not be disposed of through wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of the packaging and any unused medication. This will help protect the environment.

6. Package Contents and Additional Information

Composition of Olanzapine Apotex

The active ingredient is olanzapine.

• Each Olanzapine Apotex 2.5 mg film-coated tablet contains 2.5 mg of olanzapine.
• Each Olanzapine Apotex 5 mg film-coated tablet contains 5 mg of olanzapine.
• Each Olanzapine Apotex 7.5 mg film-coated tablet contains 7.5 mg of olanzapine.
• Each Olanzapine Apotex 10 mg film-coated tablet contains 10 mg of olanzapine.

The other ingredients (tablet core) are lactose monohydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, cornstarch, magnesium stearate, (tablet coating) hypromellose, hydroxypropylcellulose, macrogol 8000, titanium dioxide (E171).

Appearance of the Product and Package Contents

• Olanzapine Apotex 2.5 mg are round, white, and biconvex film-coated tablets engraved with “APO” on one side and “OLA” over “2.5” on the other.
• Olanzapine Apotex 5 mg are round, white, and biconvex film-coated tablets engraved with “APO” on one side and “OLA” over “5” on the other.
• Olanzapine Apotex 7.5 mg are round, white, and biconvex film-coated tablets engraved with “APO” on one side and “OLA” over “7.5” on the other.
• Olanzapine Apotex 10 mg are round, white, and biconvex film-coated tablets engraved with “APO” on one side and “OLA” over “10” on the other.

• Olanzapine Apotex 2.5 mg film-coated tablets are available in blister packs of 28 tablets.
• Olanzapine Apotex 7.5 mg film-coated tablets are available in blister packs of 28 and 56 tablets.
• Olanzapine Apotex 5 mg and 10 mg film-coated tablets are available in blister packs of 28, 56, and 98 tablets.

Only some pack sizes may be marketed.

Marketing Authorization Holder

Apotex Europe B.V.

Archimedesweg 2,

2333 CN, Leiden,

Netherlands

Manufacturer:

Generis Farmacêutica, S.A.

Rua João de Deus, 19

2700-48 Amadora

Portugal

You can request more information about this medication by contacting the local representative of the marketing authorization holder:

Date of the Last Revision of this Leaflet:

Detailed information on this medicinal product is available on the European Medicines Agency website: http://www.ema.europa.eu.