Indication and Important Safety Information | Full Prescribing Information
See how Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is injected

Watch this brief video showing how Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection should be injected, or read the illustrated text version below, if you prefer.

Daphne Adelman in Office

Hello. I'm Daphne Adelman, a nurse at Northwestern University, The Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Somatuline® Depot provides powerful long-term reductions in IGF-1 and GH levels. Therapeutic drug levels are achieved within 24 hours of the first dose. And you can feel confident your patient will receive a complete dose with each injection, with its ready-to-use, prefilled syringe. With Somatuline® Depot, you and your patients can enjoy convenience and freedom like never before.

Today, I will explain and demonstrate how Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection provides nurses, patients, and caregivers freedom with its ready-to-go delivery system.

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is designed for convenience.

Somatuline Depot 90 mg Box on Table

It is the only four-week acromegaly therapy available in a prefilled syringe-and the only long-acting somatostatin analog that does not require reconstitution.

Somatuline Depot 90 mg/60 mg/120 mg Boxes on Table

Since Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection comes in a ready-to-use syringe, all of the complex steps of reconstitution have been done for you.

A prefilled syringe allows delivery of a complete dose every time.

Daphne Adelman in Office

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is also designed to be patient friendly. It's the only 28-day acromegaly therapy that is given by a deep subcutaneous injection instead of an intramuscular injection.

The Somatuline® Depot prefilled syringe delivers a low-volume injection, just .2 to .5 milliliters of medication. Less than 10% of patients reported local side effects, which were more common at the start of treatment and less common as treatment continued.

And there was only a 1.9% treatment-related discontinuation rate after 52 weeks.

Daphne Adelman in Office

In fact, giving an injection of Somatuline® Depot is a simple, easy three-step process.

Once you've removed Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection from the refrigerator, allowing it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes, and after you've checked the packaging and expiration data on the carton or laminated pack, wash your hands with antibacterial soap and clean the injection site with rubbing alcohol.

Daphne Adelman Removing Plunger Protector and Needle Cap

Remove the transparent plunger protector, then the rubber needle cap with a twisting motion.

Daphne Adelman in Office/Picture in Picture of Injection being given/Used Syringe Being Disposed of in Sharps Container

We're now ready to inject Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection into the upper external part of the buttock, alternating between the left and right buttock each month.

Patients may sit or stand for their injection. Thin patients may want to sit on their side. When injecting thin patients, do not worry if you feel that the needle has gone intramuscularly. The effect of the drug will be the same.

Now we're ready for Step 1: Spread the skin around the injection site flat. Do not pinch the skin. With your dominant hand, hold the needle as you would a dart. You don't need to aspirate the needle. The bevel should face downward, towards the patient's feet. Insert the needle rapidly at a 90-degree angle to the skin.

Now for Step 2: Using your dominant hand, apply constant and steady pressure to the plunger. Continue to apply pressure without moving the needle. The solution is thick, so it may take up to 20 seconds to deliver all the medication. Make sure you push the plunger all the way down, past the flange, so the patient receives a full dose of medication.

Step 3 is to remove the needle. Withdraw the needle steadily and apply pressure for about 5 seconds. Do not rub or massage. You may wish to apply a bandage. Comply with your institution's policy for the proper and safe disposal of the syringe.

Daphne Adelman in Office

Once a patient receives an injection, therapeutic levels of Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection are achieved within only 24 hours, providing powerful, long-term reductions in IGF-1 and GH levels.

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is also long-lasting, requiring only one injection every 28 days.

So that's all there is to it. The advanced injection process for Somatuline® Depot is as easy as 1-2-3. It's easy for you, and it's easier on your patients.

*Please note that this coverage is not available for patients on Medicare, Medicaid, and residents of Massachusetts.

 

Safety and tolerability of Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is well-tolerated and had a 1.9% discontinuation rate in a 52-week study.1,2 Learn more about the safety and tolerability of Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection.

 
 

Powerful, long-term efficacy

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection may help your patients experience long-term reductions in GH and IGF-1 levels1 Discover the long-term efficacy of Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection.

 
 

Who should take Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is indicated for the long-term treatment of acromegaly in patients who have had an inadequate response to surgery and/or radiation. It is also for patients who cannot tolerate surgery or radiation.1 Find out more about who should take Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection.

 

Indication and Important Safety Information

Somatuline® Depot (lanreotide) Injection is a somatostatin analog indicated for the long-term treatment of patients with acromegaly who have had an inadequate response to or cannot be treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy.

Lanreotide may reduce gallbladder motility and lead to gallstone formation. Periodic monitoring may be needed. Patients treated with Somatuline Depot may experience hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Glucose level monitoring is recommended and antidiabetic treatment adjusted accordingly. Lanreotide may lead to a decrease in heart rate. Use with caution in at-risk patients.

Patients with moderate and severe renal impairment or moderate and severe hepatic impairment should begin treatment with Somatuline Depot 60 mg.

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human responses, Somatuline Depot should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies risk to the fetus.

A decision should be made whether to discontinue nursing or discontinue the drug taking into account the importance of the drug to the mother.

Somatuline Depot may decrease the bioavailability of cyclosporine. Cyclosporine dose may need to be adjusted to maintain levels.

Patients receiving beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, or other drugs that affect heart rate may need dose adjustments. Somatuline Depot may reduce the intestinal absorption of coadministered drugs. Caution should be used.

The most common adverse reactions (incidence >5%) are diarrhea (37%), cholelithiasis (20%), abdominal pain (19%), nausea (11%), injection-site reaction (9%), flatulence (7%), arthralgia (7%), and loose stools (6%).

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