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 Tysabri?
Tysabri, also known by its generic name “natalizumab,” is a prescription medication indicated for the treatment of Crohn’s disease and relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in adults.
In 2004, the FDA authorized its use as the first monoclonal antibody for the treatment of active relapsing-remitting MS (a debilitating disease of the brain and spinal cord). Tysabri is a medication that belongs to the class of monoclonal antibodies.
Tysabri comes in liquid form and is available through a special restricted program called TOUCH. This medication can only be obtained through prescription.
What Is Tysabri Used To Treat?
Tysabri is used as monotherapy (not in combination with other disease-modifying therapies) to treat the following conditions:
Relapsing Forms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune and debilitating neurological condition where a patient’s immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath (a protective covering) of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This immune attack results in inflammation due to nerve damage, leading to movement disability, blurry vision, slurred speech, chronic pain, and fatigue.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms typically fluctuate in people with relapsing MS. MS Patients experience new lesions or flare-ups in the existing symptoms for a few days or weeks, followed by the recovery phases, where symptoms may ease or disappear temporarily.
Tysabri is generally recommended as monotherapy to treat individuals with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis in order to prevent the onset of physical impairment and lessen the frequency of clinical exacerbations. Patients who have not responded well to or cannot handle an alternative MS medication are typically advised to use Tysabri.
Tysabri is designed to help people with relapsing forms of MS experience fewer flare-ups and postpone or avoid physical disability.
Crohn’s Disease (CD)
An inflammatory disorder called Crohn’s disease causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract or any of its segments, most frequently the small or large intestine. Although the precise etiology of CD is unknown, it is thought that the condition is brought on by an autoimmune reaction, in which your body’s immune system attacks healthy cells.
The symptoms of CD are bloody stool, diarrhea, fever, fatigue, weight loss, belly cramps, and frequent bowel movements.
Tysabri is generally recommended for patients with moderate to severe CD and has shown an inadequate response to CD therapies such as tumor necrosis factor (TFN) blockers.
Tysabri is used to lessen signs and symptoms in CD patients.
Copay and Financial Assistance
AmeriPharma® Specialty Care 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
Tysabri Dosing Information
For MS and CD patients, the recommended Tysabri dosage is a 300 mg IV infusion given over an hour, once every four weeks (one dose per month).
Infusions of Tysabri should be stopped if a CD patient does not see therapeutic results during the first 12 weeks of therapy.
Tysabri Dosage Form and Strength
Tysabri comes in a sterile, concentrated liquid solution for injection in a single-use vial. Tysabri is only available in one strength: 300 mg/15 ml (20 mg/ml).
Since Tysabri comes in concentrated form, it must be diluted before use.
Tysabri dilution procedure:
- Remove the 15 ml Tysabri concentrate (300 mg) from the vial with a sterile syringe and inject it into 100 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride injection.
- Mix the injection content by gently inverting it.
- The final dosage will be 2.6 mg/ml.
- Use the Tysabri dilution within 8 hours.
Tysabri Side Effects
The common side effects of Tysabri that a patient may experience during or after IV infusion includes:
- Headaches
- Dizziness and nausea
- Fatigue
- Joint pain
- Nasopharyngitis (nose and throat inflammation)
- Mild infections such as urinary tract, vaginal, respiratory, and stomach infections
- Mild allergic reaction
- Diarrhea
Tysabri also has severe and potentially fatal side effects requiring immediate medical attention. Some of the serious side effects that are reported in patients include:
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare brain infection that causes severe disability or even death
- Herpes infection that affects the brain or eyes
- Liver damage
- Low platelets and RBC counts
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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