Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) lowers your body's immune system. The immune system helps your body fight infections. The immune system can also fight or "reject" a transplanted organ such as a liver or kidney. This is because the immune system treats the new organ as an invader.
Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) is used to prevent your body from rejecting a kidney transplant. This medication is usually given with cyclosporine ( Sandimmune, Neoral) and a steroid medication.
Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) is derived from the fungus Penicillium stoloniferum. Mycophenolate mofetil is metabolised in the liver to the active moiety Cellcept (mycophenolic acid). It inhibits inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase, the enzyme which controls the rate of synthesis of guanine monophosphate in the de novo pathway of purine synthesis used in the proliferation of B and T lymphocytes.
Mycophenolate is potent and can be used in place of the older anti-proliferative azathioprine. It is usually used as part of triple-therapy including a calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporin or tacrolimus) and prednisolone.

SIDE EFFECTS:

Common adverse drug reactions (?1% of patients) associated with mycophenolate therapy include: diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, infections, leukopaenia, and/or anaemia. Mycophenolate sodium is also commonly associated with fatigue, headache and/or cough. Intravenous (IV) administration of mycophenolate mofetil is also commonly associated with thrombophlebitis and thrombosis. Infrequent adverse effects (0.1–1% of patients) include: esophagitis, gastritis, gastrointestinal tract haemorrhage, and/or invasive cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.

INTERACTIONS:

Antacids: Absorption of a single dose of Myfortic was decreased when administered to 12 stable renal transplant patients also taking magnesium-aluminum-containing antacids (30 mL): the mean Cmax and AUC(0-t) values for MPA were 25% and 37% lower, respectively, than when Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) was administered alone under fasting conditions. It is recommended that Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) and antacids not be administered simultaneously.
Cyclosporine: When studied in stable renal transplant patients, cyclosporine, USP (MODIFIED) pharmacokinetics were unaffected by steady-state dosing of Cellcept (mycophenolic acid).
The following recommendations are derived from drug interaction studies conducted following the administration of mycophenolate mofetil:

Acyclovir/Ganciclovir: May be taken with Cellcept (mycophenolic acid), however, during the period of treatment, physicians should monitor blood cell counts. Both acyclovir/ganciclovir and MPAG concentrations are increased in the presence of renal impairment, their coexistence may compete for tubular secretion and further increase in the concentrations of the two.
Azathioprine/Mycophenolate Mofetil: Given that azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil inhibit purine metabolism, it is recommended that Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) not be administered concomitantly with azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil.
Cholestyramine and Drugs that Bind Bile Acids: These drugs interrupt enterohepatic recirculation and reduce MPA exposure when coadministered with mycophenolate mofetil. Therefore, do not administer Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) with cholestyramine or other agents that may interfere with enterohepatic recirculation or drugs that may bind bile acids, for example bile acid sequestrates or oral activated charcoal, because of the potential to reduce the efficacy of Myfortic.
Oral Contraceptives: Given the different metabolism of Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) and oral contraceptives, no drug interaction between these two classes of drug is expected. However, in a drug-drug interaction study, mean levonorgesterol AUC was decreased by 15% when coadministered with mycophenolate mofetil. Therefore, it is recommended that oral contraceptives are coadministered with Cellcept (mycophenolic acid) with caution and additional birth control methods be considered.