Chenodiol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Chenodiol is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Tablet
- Sold as
- Ctexli
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How chenodiol is dosed
From the FDA label for Ctexli (application NDA219488). Other chenodiol products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Before initiating CTEXLI, obtain baseline liver transaminase (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST]) and total bilirubin levels in all patients. ( 2.1 ) • The recommended dosage is 250 mg orally three times daily. ( 2.2 ) 2.1 Important Recommendation Prior to CTEXLI Treatment Initiation Before initiating CTEXLI, obtain baseline liver transaminase (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST]) and total bilirubin levels in all patients [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 )] . 2.2 Recommended Dosage The recommended dosage of CTEXLI is 250 mg administered orally three times daily. Administer CTEXLI with or without food. Swallow tablets whole. Missed Dose If a dose of CTEXLI is missed, advise the patient to skip the missed dose and to resume taking the prescribed dose at the next scheduled time. Patients should not take a double dose. 2.3 Administration Modification and Monitoring If liver transaminase (ALT, AST) levels are elevated > 3 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) or total bilirubin level is >2 times ULN, interrupt treatment with CTEXLI until the levels have returned to baseline values. Monitor liver transaminase and total bilirubin levels yearly and as clinically indicated [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 )].
Chenodiol side effects
The following clinically significant adverse reaction is described elsewhere in the labeling: • Hepatotoxicity [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.1 )] The most common adverse reactions (incidence > 14%) are diarrhea, headache, abdominal pain, constipation, hypertension, muscular weakness, and upper respiratory tract infection. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Mirum Pharmaceuticals at 1-855-MRM-4YOU or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. The safety of CTEXLI was evaluated in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, 2-period, 2-treatment crossover trial in 14 patients (16 to 55 years of age) with CTX (Trial 1). CTEXLI is not approved for use in pediatric patients. The dosage of CTEXLI was 250 mg orally three times a day [see Clinical Studies ( 14 )]. The mean (SD) chenodiol exposure during Trial 1 was 139.1 (26.7) days. The most common adverse reactions which occurred in two or more patients ( > 14%) during CTEXLI treatment (including the two 8-week open-label treatment periods) were diarrhea (36%), headache (21%), and abdominal pain (including…
Who shouldn’t take chenodiol
None. None. ( 4 )
Chenodiol drug interactions
Bile acid sequestering agents and aluminum-based antacids: Avoid concomitant use with CTEXLI. ( 7.1 ) • Coumarin and its derivatives: Monitor prothrombin time and adjust dosage accordingly. ( 7.2 ) 7.1 Effect of Other Drugs on CTEXLI Co-administration of bile acid sequestering agents, such as cholestyramine and colestipol, or aluminum-based antacids may decrease absorption of CTEXLI in the intestine and may result in decreased efficacy of CTEXLI. Avoid concomitant use of bile acid sequestering agents or aluminum-based antacids with CTEXLI. 7.2 Effect of CTEXLI on Other Drugs Due to potential hepatotoxicity, CTEXLI may affect the pharmacodynamics of coumarin and its derivatives, causing unexpected prolongation of the prothrombin time and hemorrhage. If concomitant use of CTEXLI with coumarin or its derivatives is unavoidable, monitor prothrombin time. Adjust the dosage of coumarin or its derivatives in accordance with its approved product labeling.
Every chenodiol product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Ctexli.
What chenodiol pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
What people report to the FDA about chenodiol
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 38 reports naming chenodiol, and the FDA flagged 50% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- dehydration5 reports
- adenovirus infection4 reports
- anaphylactic shock4 reports
- ear infection4 reports
- gastroenteritis viral4 reports
- herpes zoster disseminated4 reports
- human bocavirus infection4 reports
- lymphopenia4 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean chenodiol caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is chenodiol?
CTEXLI (chenodiol) is a bile acid. Chenodiol is a bitter-tasting, white powder consisting of crystalline and amorphous particles that are freely soluble in methanol, acetone and acetic acid, and practically insoluble in water.
Can you take chenodiol with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run chenodiol against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does chenodiol come in?
Across the brands we track, chenodiol is currently marketed as tablet, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic chenodiol?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled chenodiol product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Chenodiol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/chenodiol
- MLA
- “Chenodiol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/chenodiol.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for chenodiol on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.