Inflectra (Infliximab-Dyyb) for Psoriasis

What Members SayTop TipsSide EffectsCopay HelpFAQs

Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) is a prescription medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat adults with chronic severe plaque psoriasis.

What Members Say

MHT logo These insights are based on 52 comments about Inflectra from MyPsoriasisTeam members. These are the experiences of a small number of individuals and are not meant to be medical advice.

Benefits:

Skin clearing can begin during the loading phase and continue over early infusions.
Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling often improve alongside skin symptoms.
Inflectra can help after other psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis treatments do not.

Considerations:

Benefits can wear off before the next infusion or fade over time.
Infusions require clinic visits and can take at least two hours.
Infections are a key safety concern during treatment.

How Inflectra Works and How It’s Taken

Inflectra is a type of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker that works by blocking TNF-alpha, a protein that helps drive inflammation in the body. In plaque psoriasis, this helps reduce inflammation and calm the overactive immune response that leads to severe skin symptoms.

Doctors prescribe Inflectra for adults with chronic severe plaque psoriasis that is widespread or disabling when they are candidates for systemic therapy and other systemic therapies are medically less appropriate. Systemic therapy works throughout the body, while phototherapy uses light to treat psoriasis.

Inflectra is a biosimilar of Remicade. This means it is made from living cells and is designed to work like the original medicine. The FDA requires biosimilars to have no meaningful differences in safety or how well they work.

Inflectra is given as an intravenous (IV) infusion. Each infusion is given over at least two hours by a healthcare professional.

Typical Dosing for Plaque Psoriasis

The recommended dose of Inflectra for plaque psoriasis is 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Your doctor will calculate the dose based on your weight.

The dosing schedule is:

Week 0 — First dose
Week 2 — Second dose
Week 6 — Third dose
Every eight weeks after that — Maintenance treatment

This information is based on the prescribing information, but your healthcare provider may tailor your treatment plan. Always follow their guidance.

Top Advice From Members on Inflectra

MHT logo These insights are based on 52 comments about Inflectra from MyPsoriasisTeam members.

Members who use Inflectra often say it helps to plan ahead for infusion days, keep track of how well each dose is working, and stay in close touch with their doctors if benefits seem to wear off or side effects show up. Several members also mentioned practical issues like lab monitoring, transportation, and cost when sharing what made treatment easier to manage.

1

Prepare for long infusion appointments.
“I’m finding hydrating beforehand, like really hydrating — I like Liquid IV for two days before, helps them stick me. Cheese and crackers and fruit chews help with nausea, and comfy clothes help with the long appointment.”
2

Be patient with the loading doses and early treatments.
“I’m finally getting some relief after the worst flare! My third dose of Inflectra is really working. I am so much better. Skin is clear and joint pain is almost gone.”
3

Talk to your doctor if Inflectra seems to wear off.
“I have been receiving Inflectra and toward the end of my eight-week cycle it is tending to wane. Seeing my rheumatologist tomorrow.”

Connect with others who understand life with psoriasis. Join MyPsoriasisTeam for free.

Inflectra Side Effects

In clinical trials with infliximab products, the most common side effects occurred in more than 10 percent of people. These included:

Infections, such as upper respiratory infections, sinus infections, and sore throat
Infusion-related reactions
Headache
Abdominal pain

Serious Side Effects and Warnings

Inflectra can cause serious side effects that may require immediate medical attention. These include:

Serious infections — These include tuberculosis, invasive fungal infections, and other infections that can spread through the body.
Lymphoma and other cancers — The risk of these cancers is higher.
Rare hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma — This has been reported mostly in adolescents and young adults with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis who were treated with TNF blockers.
Hepatitis B virus reactivation — The virus can become active again in people who carry it.
Liver injury — This includes hepatitis, jaundice, cholestasis, and, rarely, liver failure.
Heart failure — New or worsening heart failure can occur.
Serious blood problems — These include low white blood cell levels, low platelets, or pancytopenia, which can raise infection and bleeding risk.
Severe allergic reactions — Anaphylaxis can cause swelling and trouble breathing.
Serious infusion-related heart or brain events — These include heart attack, stroke, abnormal heart rhythms, or major blood pressure changes during or within 24 hours after an infusion.
Nervous system problems — These include demyelinating disorders that affect the protective covering of nerves, such as optic neuritis or Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Lupus-like syndrome — This immune reaction can cause symptoms similar to lupus.
New or worsening psoriasis — Psoriasis can start or flare during treatment.

Get medical help right away if you think you are having a serious reaction.

How To Save on Inflectra

Pfizer, the manufacturer of Inflectra, offers the Pfizer enCompass Co-Pay Assistance Program. Eligible people with commercial insurance may pay as little as $0 per Inflectra treatment.

Federal and state healthcare program beneficiaries are not eligible. This assistance applies to people with private insurance only.

The Pfizer enCompass Co-Pay Assistance Program also offers support from Access Counselors, who can help with insurance coverage, reimbursement questions, and navigating the treatment process.

To learn more, visit the Inflectra reimbursement and support page or call 844-722-6672.

What To Know Before Taking Inflectra

Before starting Inflectra, your doctor will test you for active tuberculosis (TB), latent (inactive) TB, and hepatitis B infection.

Before starting Inflectra, make sure your vaccines are up to date. You should not receive live vaccines while taking Inflectra.

Tell your doctor if you have any allergies to infliximab-dyyb or any ingredients in Inflectra. Do not take Inflectra if you have had a severe allergic reaction to infliximab products, any inactive ingredients in Inflectra, or any murine (mouse) proteins.

Tell your doctor about all medicines you take, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Also tell your doctor if you:

Think you have an infection
Are being treated for an infection
Have signs of an infection, such as fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms
Have any open cuts or sores on your body
Get a lot of infections or have infections that keep coming back
Have diabetes or an immune system problem
Have liver problems
Have TB or have been in close contact with someone with TB
Live, have lived, or have traveled in areas where certain fungal infections are common, such as the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys
Have or have had hepatitis B
Have or have had any type of cancer
Have had phototherapy for psoriasis
Have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a specific type of lung disease
Have or have had a nervous system condition, such as multiple sclerosis or Guillain-Barré syndrome
Have numbness or tingling
Have had a seizure
Have recently received or are scheduled to receive a vaccine
Use other biologic medicines that treat the same condition as Inflectra, including abatacept (Orencia), anakinra (Kineret), tocilizumab (Actemra), or similar medicines

Tell your doctor if you have moderate or severe heart failure. People with moderate or severe heart failure should not receive Inflectra at doses higher than 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.

Inflectra is also FDA-approved to treat Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis.

If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding while taking Inflectra, talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits.

If you received Inflectra during pregnancy, tell your baby’s doctor before your baby receives any vaccines. Inflectra may increase your baby’s risk of infection.

Your baby should not receive live vaccines for at least six months after birth. Live vaccines include BCG, rotavirus, and other live vaccines, some of which can cause serious infections that may lead to death.

Community FAQs

These answers are fact-checked by our editorial staff.

How effective is Inflectra for plaque psoriasis?

In three studies of adults with chronic, stable plaque psoriasis, people received infliximab 5 milligrams per kilogram or placebo (an inactive treatment). At week 10, 75 percent to 88 percent of people who received infliximab 5 milligrams per kilogram reached PASI 75. This means their psoriasis severity improved by at least 75 percent.

By comparison, 2 percent to 6 percent of people who received placebo reached PASI 75. These results show that many people had major skin improvement by 10 weeks, but not everyone did.

How effective is Inflectra for psoriatic arthritis?

In a study of 200 adults with active psoriatic arthritis, people received infliximab 5 milligrams per kilogram or placebo. At week 14, 58 percent of people who received infliximab reached ACR 20, compared with 11 percent of people who received placebo.

At six months, people who received infliximab had better results than those who received placebo:

ACR 20 — 54 percent with infliximab versus 16 percent with placebo
ACR 50 — 41 percent with infliximab versus 4 percent with placebo
ACR 70 — 27 percent with infliximab versus 2 percent with placebo

ACR 20, ACR 50, and ACR 70 mean that arthritis signs and symptoms improved by at least 20 percent, 50 percent, or 70 percent, respectively.

Among people who also had psoriasis affecting at least 3 percent of their body, 64 percent of those who received infliximab reached PASI 75 at week 14, compared with 2 percent of those who received placebo. PASI 75 means psoriasis severity improved by at least 75 percent.

The study also showed that infliximab helped slow joint damage and improve physical function in adults with psoriatic arthritis.

Should I take Inflectra for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis if I have an infection?

Inflectra should not be started if you have an active infection, including an infection in one area of the body that is medically important.

Inflectra can raise the risk of serious infections. These include tuberculosis, fungal infections, bacterial infections, viral infections, and other infections that may occur when the immune system is weakened.

Your doctor should watch you for signs of infection during and after treatment with Inflectra. If you develop a serious infection or sepsis, Inflectra should be stopped. Sepsis is a severe reaction to infection that can be life-threatening.