How Does Venofer^® (iron sucrose injection, USP) Work in the Body?

When discussing how Venofer^® (iron sucrose injection, USP) works in the body, we need to look at three standard measures of how drugs work:

• Elimination half-life: the time it takes for the amount of the drug in the body to decrease by one half
• Total clearance: how rapidly the organs of elimination (eg, urine system) clear a drug from blood plasma in the body
• Volume of distribution: the amount of a drug in the body related to its concentration in the blood

After Venofer^® is administered intravenously, its iron sucrose molecule is split into iron and sucrose by the blood generating system. The iron component has an elimination half-life of six hours and a total clearance of 1.2 liters per hour. This indicates a relatively quick clearance of Venofer^® from the blood. In patients with iron deficiency, iron clearance is expected to be faster than in healthy people, since the rate of taking iron from the blood depends on the body's need for iron¹.

Venofer^® has a volume of distribution of 7.9 liters. This is a low iron distribution in body fluids.²

The sucrose component of Venofer^® (iron sucrose injection, USP) is eliminated from the body mainly by the urine. In healthy adults, 68% of the sucrose was eliminated in four hours, and 75% was eliminated in 24 hours. Approximately five percent of the iron in Venofer^® is also eliminated through the urine.¹

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Venofer^® (iron sucrose injection, USP) is contraindicated in patients with evidence of iron overload, in patients with known hypersensitivity to Venofer^® or any of its inactive components, and in patients with anemia not caused by iron deficiency. Hypersensitivity reactions have been reported with injectable iron products. Hypotension has been reported frequently in patients receiving intravenous iron. Hypotension following administration of Venofer^® may be related to rate of administration and total dose delivered. In multidose efficacy studies (N=231), the most frequent adverse events, whether or not related to Venofer^® administration, were hypotension, cramps/leg cramps, nausea, headache, vomiting, and diarrhea. In postmarketing safety studies (N=1051), the most frequent adverse events reported (>1%) were congestive heart failure, sepsis, and taste perversion.
Please see Full Prescribing Information.