Ivacaftor

Ivacaftor is used to treat certain types of cystic fibrosis (an inborn disease that causes problems with breathing, digestion, and reproduction) in adults and children 1month of age and older. Ivacaftor should be used only in people with a certain genetic make-up. Your doctor may order a blood test to help decide if this medication is right for you. Ivacaftor is in a class of medications called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) potentiators. It works by improving the function of a protein in the body to decrease the build-up of thick mucus in the lungs and improving other symptoms of cystic fibrosis.

🔔 How should this medicine be used?

Ivacaftor comes as a tablet and as granules to take by mouth. It is usually taken with fatty foods twice a day, 12 hours apart. Take ivacaftor at around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take ivacaftor exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

Swallow the tablets whole; do not split, chew, or crush them.

To prepare a dose of ivacaftor granules, mix the entire packet of granules in 1 teaspoon (5 mL) of cold or room temperature soft food or liquid such as yogurt, applesauce, water, milk, baby formula, breast milk, or juice. Take the mixture within 1 hour of mixing the granules with food or a liquid.

Take each dose of ivacaftor with a fatty food such as eggs, butter, peanut butter, cheese pizza, whole-milk dairy products (such as whole milk, cheese, and yogurt), baby formula, and breast milk. Talk to your doctor about other fatty foods to eat with ivacaftor.

Ivacaftor controls cystic fibrosis but does not cure it. Continue to take ivacaftor even if you feel well. Do not stop taking ivacaftor without talking to your doctor.

Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer’s information for the patient.