Corticotropin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Corticotropin is an adrenocorticotropic hormone sold in the U.S. under 5 brand and generic names, for collagen diseases, erythema multiforme and multiple sclerosis. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
- Treats
- Collagen Diseases, Erythema Multiforme and Multiple Sclerosis
- Available as
- Injectable
- Sold as
- 5 products — Acthar, Purified Cortrophin Gel and Acth, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How corticotropin is dosed
From the FDA label for Purified Cortrophin Gel (application NDA008975). Other corticotropin products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Standard tests for verification of adrenal responsiveness to corticotropin may utilize as much as 80 units as a single injection or one or more injections of a lesser dosage. Verification tests should be performed prior to treatment with corticotropins. The test should utilize the route(s) of administration proposed for treatment. Following verification dosage should be individualized according to the disease under treatment and the general medical condition of each patient. Frequency and dose of the drug should be determined by considering severity of the disease, plasma and urine corticosteroid levels and the initial response of the patient. Only gradual change in dosage schedules should be attempted, after full drug effects have become apparent. This product may be administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly with the vial and subcutaneously with the prefilled syringe. In the treatment of acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis daily subcutaneous or intramuscular doses of 80-120 units for 2-3 weeks. The chronic administration of more than 40 units daily may be associated with uncontrollable adverse effects. When reduction in dosage is indicated this should be accomplished gradually by either reducing the amount of each injection, or administering injections at longer intervals, or by a combination of both of the above. During reduction of dosage, careful consideration…
Corticotropin side effects
Fluid and Electrolyte Disturbances Sodium retention. Hypokalemic alkalosis. Fluid retention. Calcium loss. Potassium loss. Musculoskeletal Muscle weakness. Loss of muscle mass. Steroid myopathy. Osteoporosis. Vertebral compression fractures. Aseptic necrosis of femoral and humeral heads. Pathologic fracture of long bones. Gastrointestinal Peptic ulcer with possible perforation and hemorrhage. Abdominal distention. Ulcerative esophagitis. Pancreatitis. Dermatologic Injection site reactions. Impaired wound healing. Increased sweating. Thin fragile skin. Suppression of skin test reactions. Petechiae and ecchymoses. Acne. Hyperpigmentation. Facial erythema. Cardiovascular Hypertension. Congestive heart failure. Necrotizing angiitis. Neurological Convulsions. Increased intracranial pressure with papilledema (pseudo-tumor cerebri), usually after treatment. Headache. Vertigo. Endocrine Menstrual irregularities. Development of Cushingoid state. Suppression of growth in children. Secondary adrenocortical and pituitary insufficiency, particularly in times of stress, as in trauma, surgery or illness. Decreased carbohydrate tolerance. Manifestations of latent diabetes mellitus. Increased requirements for insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents in diabetics. Hirsutism. Ophthalmic Posterior subcapsular cataracts. Increased intraocular pressure. Glaucoma with possible damage to optic nerve.…
Who shouldn’t take corticotropin
Purified Cortrophin Gel is contraindicated for intravenous administration. Purified Cortrophin Gel is contraindicated in patients with scleroderma, osteoporosis, systemic fungal infections, ocular herpes simplex, recent surgery, history of or the presence of a peptic ulcer, congestive heart failure, hypertension, or sensitivity to proteins derived from porcine sources. Purified Cortrophin Gel is contraindicated in patients with primary adrenocortical insufficiency or adrenocortical hyperfunction.
Corticotropin drug interactions
Aspirin should be used cautiously in conjunction with corticotropin in hypoprothrombinemia.
Every corticotropin product we track (5)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | 70/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 5 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → |
Corticotropin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for corticotropin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadNo information is available on the clinical use of corticotropin during breastfeeding. Because it is a relatively large molecule with a molecular weight of 4541 Da, it is unlikely to appear in breastmilk. Absorption by the infant is unlikely because it would probably be destroyed in the infant's gastrointestinal tract and poorly absorbed orally. It also has a half-life of only 10 to 15 minutes. Based on animal data, an increase in breastmilk cortisol levels might be expected after administration of corticotropin to a nursing mother.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised December 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about corticotropin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 13,302 reports naming corticotropin, and the FDA flagged 45% 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:
- fatigue1,224 reports
- injection site bruising1,065 reports
- insomnia918 reports
- injection site pain831 reports
- weight increased792 reports
- headache782 reports
- peripheral swelling611 reports
- blood glucose increased606 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean corticotropin 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 corticotropin?
Purified Cortrophin Gel is a porcine derived purified corticotropin (ACTH) in a sterile solution of gelatin. It is made up of a complex mixture of ACTH, ACTH related peptides and other porcine pituitary derived peptides.
What kind of drug is corticotropin?
The FDA classifies corticotropin as an adrenocorticotropic hormone. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take corticotropin 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 corticotropin against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is corticotropin sold under?
We track 5 corticotropin-containing products in the U.S.: Acthar, Purified Cortrophin Gel, Acth, Acthar Gel and Acthar Gel (Autoinjector). They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does corticotropin come in?
Across the brands we track, corticotropin is currently marketed as injectable, 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 corticotropin?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled corticotropin 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). Corticotropin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/corticotropin
- MLA
- “Corticotropin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/corticotropin.
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 corticotropin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.