Prescribing Information | For Health Care Providers | Safety Information

Support From the Pfizer Bridge Program

What is the Pfizer Bridge Program^®?
Who is my Patient Care Consultant (PCC)?
How do I get in touch with the Pfizer Bridge Program or my Patient Care Consultant (PCC)?
My doctor has prescribed GENOTROPIN^® (somatropin [rDNA origin] for injection), but I still have not received the drug. How do I know where I am in the approval process?
How does the insurance process for GENOTROPIN work?
What happens if treatment is not covered by my insurance company?
What happens if my insurance coverage changes while my child is being treated with GENOTROPIN?

What is the Pfizer Bridge Program?

Prizer Bridge Program Logo The Pfizer Bridge Program offers device and reimbursement support for you and your child throughout treatment. It helps families get information about treatment and insurance coverage. With the Pfizer Bridge Program, you will be assigned a Patient Care Consultant (PCC). This means you will always have access to the same specialist who knows you and your child's growth and treatment history.
Learn more about the Pfizer Bridge Program.

Who is my Patient Care Consultant (PCC)?

As part of the Pfizer Bridge Program, your Patient Care Consultant (PCC) can help you and your doctor complete and send the forms needed by your insurance company.

Your dedicated PCC will:

Work with your insurance company to complete and submit paperwork
Find ways to pay for GENOTROPIN if your insurance company won't, or if you don't have insurance
Provide training on how to inject your child, or teach your child how to give injections to himself or herself
Help you understand the appropriate ways to store GENOTROPIN, and how to travel with it
Make sure you always have enough GENOTROPIN

How do I get in touch with the Pfizer Bridge Program or my Patient Care Consultant (PCC)?

You can call the Pfizer Bridge Program toll-free at 1-800-645-1280. The hours are 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time. The best time to reach your PCC is before 7:00 PM.
Please note: Pfizer Bridge Program^® services are available to United States residents only. Nonresidents calling the Pfizer Bridge Program may be directed to alternative resources, if available.

My doctor has prescribed GENOTROPIN, but I still have not received the drug. How do I know where I am in the approval process?

With the Pfizer Bridge Program you will be assigned a dedicated Patient Care Consultant (PCC). He or she can help you with insurance by answering questions you may have while the insurance company is reviewing your case. To check the status of your insurance approval, you can call your PCC toll-free at 1-800-645-1280. Pfizer Bridge Program hours are 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time. The best time to reach your PCC is before 7:00 PM.

How does the insurance process for GENOTROPIN work?

When your doctor writes a prescription for GENOTROPIN, the Pfizer Bridge Program is notified, and the insurance coverage process begins. To understand the approval process, it may help to see a chart of how it works.

The insurance process for GENOTROPIN

What happens if treatment is not covered by my insurance company?

Your Patient Care Consultant (PCC) can help you and your doctor try again if your insurance company doesn't want to pay for treatment. He or she can also help you try to find other ways to get your therapy covered, if possible.

What happens if my insurance coverage changes while my child is being treated with GENOTROPIN?

Your Patient Care Consultant (PCC) will help you review your insurance plan options during open enrollment to see if GENOTROPIN is covered under your new plan.

Next: Treatment Support

Uninsured? Need help paying for medicine? Pfizer has programs that can help, no matter your age or income. You may even qualify for free Pfizer medicines. Call 1-866-706-2400. Click here for more info www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com.

Indications

GENOTROPIN^® (somatropin [rDNA origin] for injection) is a prescription product for the treatment of growth failure in:

children who do not make enough growth hormone on their own. This condition is called growth hormone deficiency (GHD).
children who were born smaller than most other babies born after the same number of weeks of pregnancy. Some of these babies may not show catch-up growth by age 2. This condition is called small for gestational age (SGA).
children with a genetic condition called Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Growth hormone is not right for all children with PWS. Check with your doctor.
girls with a genetic condition called Turner syndrome (TS). Growth hormone should be used to treat TS only in girls who are still growing.
children with idiopathic short stature (ISS), which means that they are shorter than 98.8% of other children of the same age and sex; they are growing at a rate that is not likely to allow them to reach normal adult height; and their growth plates have not closed. Other causes of short height should be ruled out. ISS has no known cause.

GENOTROPIN is a prescription product for the replacement of growth hormone in adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) that started either in childhood or as an adult. Your doctor should do tests to be sure you have GHD, as appropriate.

Important Safety Information

Growth hormone should not be used to increase height in children after the growth plates have closed.

Growth hormone should not be used in patients with diabetes who have certain types of diabetic retinopathy (eye problems).

Growth hormone should not be used in patients with cancer or who are being treated for cancer. Growth hormone deficiency can be caused by brain tumors. So, the presence of these brain tumors should be ruled out before treatment is started. Growth hormone should not be used if it is shown that a previous brain tumor has come back or is getting larger.

Growth hormone should not be used in patients who are critically ill because of surgery, trauma, or respiratory failure.

Growth hormone should not be used in children with Prader-Willi syndrome who are very overweight or have severe breathing problems.

Other Safety Information

Dosage of diabetes medicines may need to be adjusted during growth hormone treatment. Patients should be watched carefully if growth hormone is given along with glucocorticoid therapy and/or other drugs that are processed by the body in the same way.

In childhood cancer survivors, treatment with growth hormone may increase the risk of a new tumor, particularly certain benign brain tumors. This risk may be higher in patients who were treated with cranial radiation.

A small number of patients treated with growth hormone have had increased pressure in the brain. This can cause headaches and problems with vision. Treatment should be stopped and reassessed in these patients. Patients with Turner syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome may be at higher risk of developing increased pressure in the brain.

Thyroid function should be checked regularly during growth hormone therapy. Thyroid hormone replacement therapy should be started or adjusted if needed.

Patients treated with growth hormone should be checked regularly if they are receiving standard hormone replacement therapy to treat a lack of more than one hormone.

In children experiencing rapid growth, curvature of the spine may develop or worsen. This is also called scoliosis.

In children experiencing rapid growth, limping or hip or knee pain may occur.

GENOTROPIN should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed. It should be used with caution in nursing mothers because it is not known whether growth hormone is present in human milk.

A different site should be used each day for growth hormone injections. This can help to prevent skin problems such as lumpiness or soreness.

A health care provider will help you with the first injection. He or she will also train you on how to inject GENOTROPIN.

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