Difference Between Filgrastim and Pegfilgrastim

The key difference between filgrastim and pegfilgrastim is that filgrastim is a medication used to treat neutropenia, which is a condition of low neutrophil count in the blood, while pegfilgrastim is a pegylated form of recombinant human colony-stimulating factor which is man-made

Filgrastim and pegfilgrastim are two types of medications. Filgrastim is a synthetic drug which is similar to the naturally produced colony-stimulating factor. It comes as an injection to treat patients having neutropenia, which is a condition of low white blood cells. Also, filgrastim stimulates the production of new white blood cells in the bone marrow, decreasing the chance of infections in patients who have cancers and undergo chemotherapy. Pegfilgrastim is an analog of filgrastim which is known as a PEGylated form of the recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. It is also used to treat low white blood counts in the blood.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Filgrastim 
3. What is Pegfilgrastim
4. Similarities Between Filgrastim and Pegfilgrastim
5. Side by Side Comparison – Filgrastim vs Pegfilgrastim in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Filgrastim?

Filgrastim is a medicine used to treat low neutrophil count. It is a type of biologic response modifier produced using recombinant DNA technology. It is a protein which has a molecular weight of 18‚800 daltons. Moreover, it is a type of a colony-stimulating factor and a hematopoietic agent. There are several trade names used to refer to this medication. They are Neupogen, Granix, Zarxio and Granulocyte – colony-stimulating factor. In fact, filgrastim is a support medication which stimulates the production of granulocytes in patients that have low white blood cell counts. Filgrastim not only helps to produce neutrophils, but it also helps to mature and activate neutrophils. Moreover, it stimulates the release of neutrophils from the bone marrow. Especially in patients receiving chemotherapy, filgrastim accelerates the recovery of neutrophils by reducing the neutropenic phase.

Filgrastim can be injected or infused into a vein. Generally, this medicine should be kept inside a fridge and should be removed from it 30 minutes prior to the injection. Most importantly, it should not be shaken and kept under sunlight. The amount of filgrastim prescribed is different among individuals based on the height, weight, general health or other health problems, type of cancer or condition being treated.

What is Pegfilgrastim?

Pegfilgrastim is a PEGylated or pegylated form of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. It is an analog of filgrastim. The trade name of pegfilgrastim is Neulasta. Similar to filgrastim, pegfilgrastim is also a man-made drug used to treat neutropenia or the condition of low while blood cells in the blood. Pegfilgrastim stimulates the production of neutrophils in patients undergoing chemotherapy. By increasing the white blood cell production, pegfilgrastim decreases the chance of infections. Most importantly, pegfilgrastim stimulates the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells to fight against infections. Similar to filgrastim, pegfilgrastim is also injected under the skin.

What are the Similarities Between Filgrastim and Pegfilgrastim?

• Filgrastim and pegfilgrastim are two medications which are proteins.
• Pegfilgrastim is an analog of filgrastim.
• In fact, it is a longer-acting form of filgrastim.
• Both drugs are used to treat neutropenia.
• Both drugs are synthetic drugs.
• They work as biologic response modifiers.
• Both drugs mainly stimulate the production of white blood cells and decrease the chance of infections in patients who are receiving chemotherapy.
• If you have allergies, you should not take filgrastim or pegfilgrastim.
• Both filgrastim and pegfilgrastim are given as injections.

What is the Difference Between Filgrastim and Pegfilgrastim?

Filgrastim is a drug used to treat a condition called neutropenia, which causes low white blood cells in the blood due to some cancers and chemotherapy. On the other hand, pegfilgrastim is a pegylated form of recombinant human colony-stimulating factor which is man-made. So, this is the key difference between filgrastim and pegfilgrastim. Neupogen, Granix, Zarxio and Granulocyte – colony-stimulating factor are trade names of filgrastim, while Neulasta is the trade name of pegfilgrastim.

Summary – Filgrastim vs Pegfilgrastim

Filgrastim and pegfilgrastim are two drugs that are proteins. They are synthetic drugs (man-made). Both types of drugs are used to stimulate white blood cell production in patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. Both drugs stimulate the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells to fight against infections. Pegfilgrastim is a pegylated form of recombinant human colony-stimulating factor. It is a type of a longer-acting form of filgrastim. Both drugs are given as injections injected mainly under the skin. So, this summarizes the difference between filgrastim and pegfilgrastim.

Reference:

1. “Filgrastim – Drug Information – Chemocare”. Chemocare.Com, 2020, Available here.
2. “Pegfilgrastim Injection: Medlineplus Drug Information”. Medlineplus.Gov, 2020, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Filgrastim” By European Bioinformatics Institute – www.ebi.ac.uk (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia