Starting Iqirvo (elafibranor)Your first 90 days with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC): the steps, the dates and who to call

How you take it

One tablet once a day, with or without food. Your liver doctor decides whether you take it with ursodiol or on its own.

Before your first dose

• A check for muscle pain or muscle disease, and blood tests of your liver.
• If you could become pregnant, your doctor confirms that you are not pregnant before you start.
• A talk about birth control. The label says to avoid birth control that contains ethinyl estradiol during treatment and for 3 weeks after.
• A full medicine check. Bring a list of every medicine, vitamin and herbal product you take, including birth control.
• If you take a bile acid binding resin, the label says to take Iqirvo at least 4 hours before or after it.
• Your insurance approves the medicine. Plans such as Cigna want to see that ursodiol did not work well enough or that you could not take it.
• A specialty pharmacy fills the prescription. IPSEN CARES, the drugmaker's program, helps with insurance and cost questions at (866) 435-5677.

The first 90 days

1. Before day 1Muscle check and liver blood tests before your first dose
2. Before day 1Pregnancy check before your first dose, if it applies to you
3. Days beforeInsurance check, then the specialty pharmacy
4. Day 1First dose, 80mg once a day
5. Week 4Four weeks in
6. Day 31, then every 30 daysRefill, then about every 30 days
7. Day 90Three months in
8. Month 5Your insurance approval may need renewing around month 6