How Assistance Works
Streamlining our patient’s specialty pharmacy experience with unmatched full-service convenience
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1. Check Your Coverage/Benefits Verification
Our team of expert billers finds the best avenues of coverage that minimize out-of-pocket costs.
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2. Transfer Prescription to AmeriPharma®
We process your prescription by working with your previous pharmacy or prescriber, making the transition quick and easy.
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3. Prior Authorization
Our team of specialists obtains approval from your insurance companies within 24 to 72 hours.
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4. Copay Assistance & Financial Aid
We secure financial aid and decrease copays, out-of-pocket expenses, and high deductibles. To date, AmeriPharma® Specialty Care has secured $55 million in financial assistance for our patients.
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5. Nursing Care Coordination If Needed
AmeriPharma® puts your schedule and home environment first when scheduling and coordinating one of our specialized nurses for your in-home infusions.
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6. Delivery Coordination
Medications are always delivered in strict compliance with the specific requirements for shipping. Next-day and overnight cold-chain deliveries are coordinated around your schedule.
What Is Kimyrsa?
Kimyrsa, also known by its generic name, oritavancin, is a potent, long-acting antibiotic typically prescribed for the treatment of bacterial skin infections in adults. This antibacterial medication is classified as a glycopeptide antibiotic. It is effective against gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Streptococcus pyogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis.
Kimyrsa was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 2014 for the treatment of bacterial skin infections. It is given as a single, one-hour IV infusion. This reduces the need for long hospital stays or repeated doses compared to other antibiotics, such as vancomycin.
Key Modes of Action
Bacteria have a protective layer called a cell wall, which works like a sturdy armor that protects and allows them to survive under harsh surrounding environments (i.e., stress, heat, or antibiotics).
Kimyrsa belongs to the lipoglycopeptide class of antibiotics. It has rapid bactericidal (bacterial killing) activity and works by targeting the bacteria’s cell wall. The cell wall is needed for bacterial growth and survival. Kimyrsa infusions combat bacteria through three bactericidal mechanisms of action:
1. Blocking Cell Wall Synthesis
Kimyrsa blocks the bacteria from being able to build a cell wall around itself.
2. Disturbing Bacterial Membrane Integrity
Kimyrsa disturbs bacterial membrane integrity by creating tiny holes in the cell wall, leading to depolarization, permeabilization, and rapid cell death.
3. Inhibiting Key Steps in Cell Wall Synthesis
Kimyrsa blocks key steps (i.e., transglycosylation and transpeptidation) in the cell wall synthesis process, which makes it difficult for resistant bacteria (bacteria that are difficult to treat and have limited treatment options) to survive.
Copay and Financial Assistance
AmeriPharma® Specialty Pharmacy alleviates financial burdens for patients and their families
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Advanced software locates funding sources to match you with top-dollar foundation programs
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One of our copay assistance specialists will assist with the application process
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Automatic updates will be sent to you and your physician on the status of the funding
Dosage and Administration of Kimyrsa
Kimyrsa is available in a single-dose vial containing 1,200 mg of lyophilized powder of oritavancin.
The recommended dose of Kimyrsa for adult patients is 1,200 mg, which is administered slowly in the vein (IV infusion) by a healthcare provider over 1 hour.
Preparation of Kimyrsa for Intravenous Infusion
- Before being administered, the powdered form of Kimyrsa must be reconstituted with 40 ml of sterile water.
- Further dilute the reconstituted solution by first removing 40 ml from a 250 ml IV diluent bag of dextrose 5% in water (D5W) or 0.9% sodium chloride, and then inject the 40 ml of Kimyrsa into the IV diluent bag, for a total volume of 250 ml.
- Kimyrsa shouldn’t be infused with any other medications in the same IV line.
- Infusion bags containing diluted intravenous solution should be used within 4 hours if stored at room temperature or within 12 hours if refrigerated between 2° and 8°C (36° and 46°F).
Kimyrsa Contraindications
Patients with known hypersensitivity should not take oritavancin products. Furthermore, intravenous unfractionated heparin sodium, an anticoagulant (blood thinner), should not be used for 5 days (120 hours) after taking oritavancin. This is because oritavancin can cause the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) test, which measures blood clotting, to show falsely high results for up to 5 days.
Kimyrsa Side Effects
Common Side Effects
The most common side effects reported by ≥3% of patients after undergoing Kimyrsa infusions were headaches, nausea, vomiting, limb abscesses, tachycardia (fast heart rate), subcutaneous abscesses, and diarrhea.
Serious Side Effects
The adverse reactions occurring in ≥2 patients after taking Kimyrsa were hypersensitivity (anaphylaxis), pruritus (itching), chills, severe diarrhea (watery or bloody stool), stomach pain, and pyrexia (fever).
Insurances Accepted
We accept Medicare, multi-state Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Blue Shield, and most private insurances. Call us to find out more about your coverage.
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