Is Pegcetacoplan safe while breastfeeding?
Here is what LactMed, the Drugs and Lactation Database published by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports about Pegcetacoplan. The text below is quoted from that source — it is not our own verdict.
Summary of use during breastfeeding
No information is available on the use of pegcetacoplan during breastfeeding. Since only a small dose in injected intravitreally into the eye, it is unlikely that a clinically relevant amount would reach the infant in breastmilk. Pegcetacoplan was undetectable in the milk of one mother after systemic use; however, the manufacturer recommends that breastfeeding be discontinued during treatment and for 40 days after the last dose.
Effects on the breastfed infant
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Effects on milk supply
Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
Levels in milk
Maternal Levels. A woman with hemolytic paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria became pregnant. She was treated with pegcetacoplan 1080 mg subcutaneous three times a week near term. Two milk samples obtained on days 1 and 2 postpartum contained undetectable (<20 mg/L) amounts of pegcetacoplan. The time of the previous dose was not specified, but blood samples taken on the same days contained pegcetacoplan in therapeutic concentrations of 719 and 635 mg/L.[1]
Infant Levels. Relevant published information was not found as of the revision date.
“No published information” means the studies do not exist yet — not that Pegcetacoplan is known to be harmful, and not that it is known to be safe. Your prescriber or pharmacist can weigh your baby's age and whether a better-studied alternative would do the same job. Worth asking before stopping a medicine you need.
Source: Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), via NCBI Bookshelf, record “Pegcetacoplan” (pegcetacoplan). LactMed on NCBI Bookshelf. LactMed is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Educational summary of an authoritative source — not medical advice. Never start, stop, or change a medicine while breastfeeding without confirming with your doctor.