Collagenase: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Collagenase is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for burns and skin ulcer. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Burns and Skin Ulcer
- Available as
- Topical
- Sold as
- Santyl
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How collagenase is dosed
From the FDA label for Santyl (application BLA101995). Other collagenase products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment should be applied once daily (or more frequently if the dressing becomes soiled, as from incontinence). When clinically indicated, crosshatching thick eschar with a #10 blade allows Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment more surface contact with necrotic debris. It is also desirable to remove, with forceps and scissors, as much loosened detritus as can be done readily. Use Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment in the following manner: 1 - Prior to application the wound should be cleansed of debris and digested material by gently rubbing with a gauze pad saturated with normal saline solution, or with the desired cleansing agent compatible with Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment (See PRECAUTIONS ), followed by a normal saline solution rinse. 2 - Whenever infection is present, it is desirable to use an appropriate topical antibiotic powder. The antibiotic should be applied to the wound prior to the application of Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment. Should the infection not respond, therapy with Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment should be discontinued until remission of the infection. 3 - Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment may be applied directly to the wound or to a sterile gauze pad which is then applied to the wound and properly secured. 4 - Use of Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment should be terminated when debridement of necrotic tissue is complete and granulation tissue is well…
Collagenase side effects
No allergic sensitivity or toxic reactions have been noted in clinical use when used as directed. However, one case of systemic manifestations of hypersensitivity to collagenase in a patient treated for more than one year with a combination of collagenase and cortisone has been reported.
Who shouldn’t take collagenase
Collagenase Santyl ◊ Ointment is contraindicated in patients who have shown local or systemic hypersensitivity to collagenase.
Every collagenase 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: Santyl.
What people report to the FDA about collagenase
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 2,009 reports naming collagenase, and the FDA flagged 56% 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:
- wound complication159 reports
- application site pain110 reports
- diarrhoea80 reports
- nausea72 reports
- fatigue71 reports
- wound61 reports
- impaired healing60 reports
- acute kidney injury59 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean collagenase 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 collagenase?
Santyl (Collagenase) is a medication used to treat Burns, Skin Ulcer.
Can you take collagenase 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 collagenase 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 collagenase come in?
Across the brands we track, collagenase is currently marketed as topical, 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 collagenase?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled collagenase 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). Collagenase: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/collagenase
- MLA
- “Collagenase: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/collagenase.
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 collagenase on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.