Package Leaflet: Information for the Patient
Roltisa 0.5 mg prolonged-release hard capsules EFG
Roltisa 1 mg prolonged-release hard capsules EFG
Roltisa 3 mg prolonged-release hard capsules EFG
Roltisa 5 mg prolonged-release hard capsules EFG
tacrolimus
Read all of this leaflet carefully before you start taking this medicine because it contains important information for you.
Contents of the pack and other information
5 Storage of Roltisa
Roltisa contains the active substance tacrolimus. It is an immunosuppressant. After your organ transplant (liver, kidney), your body's immune system will try to reject the new organ. Roltisa is used to control your body's immune response, allowing it to accept the transplanted organ.
You may also receive Roltisa to treat rejection that is occurring in your liver, kidney, heart, or other transplanted organ when any previous treatment you were following does not control this immune response after your transplant.
Roltisa is used in adults.
Do not take Roltisa
Warnings and precautions
Tacrolimus immediate-release capsules and Roltisa both contain the active substance tacrolimus. However, Roltisa is taken once a day, while tacrolimus immediate-release capsules are taken twice a day. This is because Roltisa capsules allow for prolonged release (slower release over a longer period of time) of tacrolimus.
Roltisa and tacrolimus immediate-release capsules are notinterchangeable.
Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting Roltisa
Please avoid taking any herbal preparations, e.g. St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) or any other herbal products, as this may affect the effectiveness and dose of Roltisa you need to receive.
If you are in doubt, please consult your doctor before taking any herbal products or preparations.
Your doctor may need to adjust your dose of Roltisa.
You should stay in regular contact with your doctor. From time to time, to establish the correct dose of Roltisa, your doctor may need to perform blood and urine tests, heart tests, eye tests.
You should limit your exposure to sunlight and UV (ultraviolet) while taking Roltisa. This is because immunosuppressants can increase the risk of skin cancer. Wear protective clothing and use a sunscreen with a high sun protection factor.
Handling precautions:
During preparation, avoid contact with any part of the body, such as skin or eyes, as well as breathing near the solutions for injection, powder, or granules contained in the tacrolimus products. If such contact occurs, wash the skin and eyes.
Children and adolescents
Roltisa is not recommended for use in children and adolescents under 18 years of age.
Other medicines and Roltisa
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking, have recently taken, or might take any other medicines, including those obtained without a prescription and herbal medicines.
Roltisa should not be used with cyclosporin (another medicine used to prevent organ transplant rejection).
If you need to visit a different doctor from your transplant specialist, tell the doctor that you are taking tacrolimus. Your doctor may need to consult your transplant specialist if you need to use another medicine that could increase or decrease your blood level of tacrolimus.
Roltisa blood levels may be changed due to other medicines you are taking, and blood levels of other medicines may be changed by the administration of Roltisa, which may require interruption, increase, or decrease of the dose of Roltisa.
Some patients have experienced increases in tacrolimus blood levels while taking other medicines. This could cause serious side effects, such as kidney problems, nervous system problems, and heart rhythm disorders (see section 4).
The effect on Roltisa blood levels can occur soon after starting to use another medicine, so it may be necessary to monitor the blood level of Roltisa frequently and continuously during the first days of use of another medicine and frequently while continuing its use. Some other medicines may cause tacrolimus blood levels to decrease, which may increase the risk of transplant rejection. In particular, you should inform your doctor if you are taking or have recently taken medicines such as:
Tell your doctor if you are receiving treatment for hepatitis C. The pharmacological treatment for hepatitis C may change your liver function and may affect your tacrolimus blood levels. Tacrolimus blood levels may decrease or increase depending on the medicines prescribed for hepatitis C. Your doctor may need to closely monitor your tacrolimus blood levels and make necessary adjustments to your Roltisa dose after starting treatment for hepatitis C.
Tell your doctor if you are taking or need to take ibuprofen (used to treat fever, inflammation, and pain), antibiotics (cotrimoxazole, vancomycin, or aminoglycoside antibiotics such as gentamicin), amphotericin B (used to treat fungal infections), or antivirals (used to treat viral infections, e.g. acyclovir, ganciclovir, cidofovir, foscarnet). These medicines may worsen kidney or nervous system problems when taken with Roltisa.
Your doctor also needs to know if you are taking potassium supplements or certain diuretics used for heart failure, high blood pressure, and nephropathy (e.g. amiloride, triamterene, or spironolactone), or the antibiotics trimethoprim and cotrimoxazole, which can increase potassium levels in your blood, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs, e.g. ibuprofen) used for fever, inflammation, and pain, anticoagulants (which prevent blood clotting), or oral medicines for the treatment of diabetes, while taking Roltisa.
If you are planning to get vaccinated, consult your doctor.
Taking Roltisa with food and drinks
Avoid grapefruit (also in juice) while being treated with Roltisa, as it may affect your blood levels.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, think you may be pregnant, or are planning to have a baby, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before taking this medicine.
Roltisa passes into breast milk. Therefore, you should not breast-feed while taking this medicine.
Driving and using machines
Do not drive and do not use tools or machines if you feel dizzy, drowsy, or have problems seeing clearly after taking this medicine. These effects are more frequent if you also drink alcohol.
Roltisa contains lactose
If your doctor has told you that you have an intolerance to some sugars, consult them before taking this medicine.
Roltisa contains red allura lake aluminum (E129)
It may cause allergic reactions.
Follow exactly the administration instructions of this medicine given by your doctor. In case of doubt, consult your doctor or pharmacist again. This medicine should only be prescribed by a doctor with experience in the treatment of transplant patients.
Make sure you receive the same medicine with tacrolimus each time you pick up your prescription, unless your transplant specialist has agreed to change to a different tacrolimus medicine. This medicine should be taken once a day. If the appearance of this medicine is not the same as usual, or if the dosing instructions have changed, consult your doctor or pharmacist as soon as possible to ensure you have the correct medicine.
The initial dose to prevent rejection of your transplanted organ will be determined by your doctor based on your body weight. The initial daily doses just after transplantation will generally be within the range of
0.10 – 0.30 mg per kg body weight and per day
depending on the transplanted organ. To treat rejection, these same doses may be used.
Your dose depends on your general condition and any other immunosuppressive medication you may be taking.
After starting treatment with Roltisa, your doctor will perform frequent blood tests to determine the correct dose. Afterward, your doctor will need to perform blood tests regularly to determine the correct dose and to adjust the dose from time to time. Your doctor will usually decrease your dose of Roltisa once your condition has stabilized. Your doctor will tell you exactly how many capsules to take.
You will need to take Roltisa every day until you continue to need immunosuppression to prevent rejection of your transplanted organ. You should stay in regular contact with your doctor.
Roltisa is taken orally once a day, in the morning. Take Roltisa on an empty stomach or 2 to 3 hours after a meal. Wait at least one hour until the next meal.
Take the capsules immediately after removing them from the blister pack. The capsules should be swallowed wholewith a glass of water. Do not swallow the desiccant contained in the aluminum bag.
If you take more Roltisa than you should
If you accidentally take more Roltisa than you should, contact your doctor or go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital immediately.
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 ingested.
If you forget to take Roltisa
If you have forgotten to take your Roltisa capsules in the morning, take them as soon as you remember the same day. Do not take a double dose the next morning to make up for the forgotten doses.
If you stop taking Roltisa
Stopping your treatment with Roltisa may increase the risk of rejection of your transplanted organ. Do not stop treatment unless your doctor tells you to.
If you have any further questions on the use of this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Like all medicines, this medicine can cause adverse effects, although not all people suffer from them.
Roltisa reduces the body's defense mechanisms (immune system), which will not work as well when fighting infections. Therefore, if you are taking Roltisa, you will be more prone to suffering from infections.
Some infections can be serious or fatal and may include infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or other infections.
Inform your doctor immediately if you have symptoms of an infection, including:
Severe effects can occur, including allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. Benign and malignant tumors have been reported after treatment with tacrolimus.
Inform your doctor immediately if you suspect you are suffering from any of the following serious adverse effects:
Common serious adverse effects (may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
Uncommon serious adverse effects (may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
Rare serious adverse effects (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
Very rare serious adverse effects (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):
Adverse effects of unknown frequency (frequency cannot be estimated from available data):
After receiving Roltisa, the following adverse effects may also occur and may be severe:
Very common adverse effects(may affect more than 1 in 10 people):
Common adverse effects(may affect up to 1 in 10 people):
Uncommon adverse effects(may affect up to 1 in 100 people):
Rare adverse effects(may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people):
Very rare adverse effects(may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people):
Reporting of adverse effects
If you experience any type of adverse effect, consult your doctor or pharmacist, even if it is a possible adverse effect that does not appear in this leaflet. You can also report them directly through the Spanish Pharmacovigilance System for Human Use Medicines: https://www.notificaram.es. By reporting adverse effects, you can contribute to providing more information on the safety of this medicine.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
Do not use this medicine after the expiration date that appears on the packaging after "EXP". The expiration date is the last day of the month indicated. Use all hard prolonged-release capsules within 12 months of opening the aluminum bag.
Store below 30°C.
Medicines should not be thrown away via wastewater or household waste. Deposit the packaging and medicines you no longer need at the pharmacy's SIGRE point. If in doubt, ask your pharmacist how to dispose of the packaging and medicines you no longer need. This will help protect the environment.
Roltisa composition
Each 0.5 mg Roltisa capsule contains 0.5 mg of tacrolimus (as monohydrate).
Each 1 mg Roltisa capsule contains 1 mg of tacrolimus (as monohydrate).
Each 3 mg Roltisa capsule contains 3 mg of tacrolimus (as monohydrate).
Each 5 mg Roltisa capsule contains 5 mg of tacrolimus (as monohydrate).
Capsule content: ethylcellulose, butylhydroxytoluene, hypromellose, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate.
Capsule shell: gelatin, titanium dioxide (E 171), red iron oxide (E 172), yellow iron oxide (E 172).
Printing ink: Shellac, red Allura aluminum lacquer (E129), propylene glycol (E1520), titanium dioxide (E171)
Product appearance and package contents
Roltisa 0.5 mg hard prolonged-release capsules EFG are hard gelatin capsules, size 5, with an opaque yellow cap and an opaque orange body, with a length of 11.2 ± 0.5 mm, with "0.5 mg" printed on the cap in red ink.
Roltisa 0.5 mg is presented in transparent PVC/PE/PVDC-Aluminum blister packs or in unit-dose precut blisters inside an aluminum wrapper that includes an incorporated desiccant in the film layer. It is available in packages of 30, 50, and 100 hard prolonged-release capsules in blisters or in unit-dose precut blisters of 30x1, 50x1, and 100x1 hard prolonged-release capsules.
Roltisa 1 mg hard prolonged-release capsules EFG are hard gelatin capsules, size 4, with an opaque white cap and an opaque orange body, with a length of 14.1 ± 0.5 mm, with "1 mg" printed on the cap in red ink.
Roltisa 1 mg is presented in transparent PVC/PE/PVDC-Aluminum blister packs or in unit-dose precut blisters inside an aluminum wrapper that includes an incorporated desiccant in the film layer. It is available in packages of 30, 50, 60, and 100 hard prolonged-release capsules in blisters or in unit-dose precut blisters of 30x1, 50x1, 60x1, and 100x1 hard prolonged-release capsules.
Roltisa 3 mg hard prolonged-release capsules EFG are hard gelatin capsules, size 1, with an opaque orange cap and an opaque orange body, with a length of 19.1 ± 0.5 mm, with "3 mg" printed on the cap in red ink.
Roltisa 3 mg is presented in transparent PVC/PE/PVDC-Aluminum blister packs or in unit-dose precut blisters inside an aluminum wrapper that includes an incorporated desiccant in the film layer. It is available in packages of 30, 50, and 100 hard prolonged-release capsules in blisters or in unit-dose precut blisters of 30x1, 50x1, and 100x1 hard prolonged-release capsules.
Roltisa 5 mg hard prolonged-release capsules EFG are hard gelatin capsules, size 0, with an opaque gray-red cap and an opaque orange body, with a length of 21.4 ± 0.5 mm, with "5 mg" printed on the cap in red ink.
Roltisa 5 mg is presented in transparent PVC/PE/PVDC-Aluminum blister packs or in unit-dose precut blisters inside an aluminum wrapper that includes an incorporated desiccant in the film layer. It is available in packages of 30, 50, and 100 hard prolonged-release capsules in blisters or in unit-dose precut blisters of 30x1, 50x1, and 100x1 hard prolonged-release capsules.
Not all pack sizes may be marketed
Marketing authorization holder and manufacturer
Marketing authorization holder
Pharmathen S.A.
6 Dervenakion str.,
Pallini, 15351 Attiki
Greece
Manufacturer
Pharmathen S.A.
Dervenakion 6
Pallini 15351
Attiki,
Greece
Or
Pharmathen International S.A.
Industrial Park Sapes,
Rodopi Prefecture,
Block No 5,
Rodopi 69300,
Greece
This medicine is authorized in the Member States of the European Economic Area under the following names:
Denmark: Roltisa
Germany: Roltisa 0.5mg, 1mg, 3mg & 5mg prolonged release hard capsules
Spain: Roltisa 0.5mg, 1mg, 3mg and 5mg hard prolonged-release capsules EFG
Greece: Roltisa
Date of last revision of this leaflet:April 2025
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/