Daptomycin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Daptomycin is a lipopeptide antibacterial sold in the U.S. under 4 brand and generic names, for bacteremia and bacterial skin diseases. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Lipopeptide Antibacterial
- Treats (across its forms)
- Bacteremia and Bacterial Skin Diseases
- Available as
- Powder · Injectable
- Sold as
- 4 products — Cubicin, Cubicin Rf and Daptomycin, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $623 for a 30-count supply — not your price
How Dapzura Rt is dosed
From the FDA label for Dapzura Rt (application NDA213645). Other daptomycin products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
If a dose of Daptomycin in Sodium Chloride Injection is required that does not equal 350 mg, 500 mg, 700 mg or 1,000 mg, this product is not recommended for use and an alternative formulation of daptomycin should be considered. ( 2.1 ) Adult Patients • Administer to adult patients intravenously by infusion over a 30-minute period. ( 2.1 , 2.7 ) • Recommended dosage regimen for adult patients ( 2.2 , 2.4 , 2.6 ): Creatinine Clearance (CL CR ) Dosage Regimen cSSSI For 7 to 14 days S. aureus Bacteremia For 2 to 6 weeks ≥30 mL/min 4 mg/kg once every 24 hours 6 mg/kg once every 24 hours <30 mL/min, including hemodialysis and CAPD 4 mg/kg once every 48 hours* 6 mg/kg once every 48 hours* *Administered following hemodialysis on hemodialysis days. Pediatric Patients • Administer to pediatric patients intravenously by infusion over a 30- or 60-minute period, based on age. ( 2.1 , 2.7 ) • Recommended dosage regimen for pediatric patients (1 to 17 years of age) with cSSSI, based on age ( 2.3 ): Age group Dosage* Duration of therapy 12 to 17 years 5 mg/kg once every 24 hours infused over 30 minutes Up to 14 days 7 to 11 years 7 mg/kg once every 24 hours infused over 30 minutes 2 to 6 years 9 mg/kg once every 24 hours infused over 60 minutes 1 to less than 2 years 10 mg/kg once every 24 hours infused over 60 minutes *Recommended dosage is for pediatric patients (1 to 17 years of age) with…
Everything below is the FDA label for Dapzura Rt (injectable). Daptomycin is also sold as powder, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Dapzura Rt side effects
The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling: • Anaphylaxis/Hypersensitivity Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Myopathy and Rhabdomyolysis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • Eosinophilic Pneumonia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] • Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] • Tubulointerstitial Nephritis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] • Peripheral Neuropathy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] • Increased International Normalized Ratio (INR)/Prolonged Prothrombin Time [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11) and Drug Interactions (7.2) ] • Adult cSSSI Patients: The most common adverse reactions that occurred in ≥2% of adult cSSSI patients receiving daptomycin for injection 4 mg/kg were diarrhea, headache, dizziness, rash, abnormal liver function tests, elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK), urinary tract infections, hypotension, and dyspnea. (6.1) • Pediatric cSSSI Patients: The most common adverse reactions that occurred in ≥2% of pediatric patients receiving daptomycin for injection were diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, pruritus, pyrexia, elevated CPK, and headache. (6.1) • Adult S. aureus bacteremia/endocarditis Patients: The most common adverse reactions that occurred in ≥5% of S. aureus bacteremia/endocarditis patients receiving daptomycin…
Who shouldn’t take Dapzura Rt
Daptomycin in Sodium Chloride Injection is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to daptomycin [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. • Known hypersensitivity to daptomycin (4)
Dapzura Rt drug interactions
7.1 HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors In healthy adult subjects, concomitant administration of daptomycin for injection and simvastatin had no effect on plasma trough concentrations of simvastatin, and there were no reports of skeletal myopathy [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. However, inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase may cause myopathy, which is manifested as muscle pain or weakness associated with elevated levels of creatine phosphokinase (CPK). In the adult Phase 3 S. aureus bacteremia/endocarditis trial, some patients who received prior or concomitant treatment with an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor developed elevated CPK [see Adverse Reactions (6.1) ]. Experience with the coadministration of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and daptomycin for injection in patients is limited; therefore, consideration should be given to suspending use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors temporarily in patients receiving Daptomycin in Sodium Chloride Injection. 7.2 Drug-Laboratory Test Interactions Clinically relevant plasma concentrations of daptomycin have been observed to cause a significant concentration-dependent false prolongation of prothrombin time (PT) and elevation of International Normalized Ratio (INR) when certain recombinant thromboplastin reagents are utilized for the assay. The possibility of an erroneously elevated PT/INR result due to interaction with a recombinant thromboplastin reagent may be minimized by drawing specimens for PT or INR testing near the time of trough plasma concentrations of daptomycin. However, sufficient daptomycin concentrations may be present at trough to cause interaction. If confronted with an abnormally high PT/INR result in a patient being treated with Daptomycin in Sodium Chloride Injection, it is recommended that clinicians: 1. Repeat the assessment of PT/INR, requesting that the specimen be drawn just prior to the next Daptomycin in Sodium Chloride Injection dose (i.e., at trough concentration). If the PT/INR value obtained at trough remains substantially elevated above what would otherwise be expected, consider evaluating PT/INR utilizing an alternative method. 2. Evaluate for other causes of abnormally elevated PT/INR results.
Every daptomycin product we track (4)
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 | 72/100 | Prescription | Powder | Generic | $623 | View → | |
| 2 | 72/100 | Prescription | Powder | Generic | $623 | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | Generic | $623 | View → | |
| 4 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | Generic | $623 | View → |
How long daptomycin keeps
No daptomycin label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Does daptomycin expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsDaptomycin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for daptomycin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadLimited and somewhat inconsistent information indicates that daptomycin produces very low levels in milk and it would not be expected to cause any adverse effects in breastfed infants. No special precautions are required.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised April 19, 2021. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about daptomycin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 9,267 reports naming daptomycin, and the FDA flagged 92% 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:
- acute kidney injury576 reports
- pyrexia503 reports
- eosinophilic pneumonia478 reports
- blood creatine phosphokinase increased380 reports
- rhabdomyolysis371 reports
- eosinophilia364 reports
- drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms331 reports
- chills300 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean daptomycin 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 Dapzura Rt?
Dapzura Rt (Daptomycin) is a lipopeptide antibacterial used to treat Bacteremia, Bacterial Skin Diseases.
What kind of drug is daptomycin?
The FDA classifies daptomycin as a lipopeptide antibacterial. 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 daptomycin 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 daptomycin 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 daptomycin sold under?
We track 4 daptomycin-containing products in the U.S.: Cubicin, Cubicin Rf, Daptomycin and Dapzura Rt. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does daptomycin come in?
Across the brands we track, daptomycin is currently marketed as powder and 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 daptomycin?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic daptomycin product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Daptomycin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/daptomycin
- MLA
- “Daptomycin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/daptomycin.
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 daptomycin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.