Degarelix: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Degarelix is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for prostatic neoplasms. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Prostatic Neoplasms
- Available as
- Kit
- Sold as
- Firmagon
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How degarelix is dosed
From the FDA label for Firmagon (application NDA022201). Other degarelix products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
FIRMAGON is for subcutaneous use only Starting Dosage: 240 mg given as two injections of 120 mg each ( 2.1 ) Maintenance Dosage: 80 mg administered as a single injection every 28 days ( 2.1 ) 2.1 Dosing information FIRMAGON is administered as a subcutaneous injection in the abdominal region only at the dosages in Table 1 below. Table 1: FIRMAGON Recommended Dosages Starting Dosage Maintenance Dosage – Administered once every 28 days 240 mg given as two subcutaneous injections of 120 mg at a concentration of 40 mg/mL The first maintenance dose should be given 28 days after the starting dose. 80 mg given as one subcutaneous injection at a concentration of 20 mg/mL 2.2 Reconstitution and Administration Instructions FIRMAGON is to be administered by a healthcare professional only . Before administering FIRMAGON read the Instructions for reconstitution and administration carefully. As with other drugs administered by subcutaneous injection, the injection site should vary periodically. Injections should be given only in areas of the abdomen that will not be exposed to pressure, e.g., not close to waistband or belt nor close to the ribs. FIRMAGON is supplied as a powder to be reconstituted with Sterile Water for Injection, USP. Starting dose (240 mg): Two single-dose vials each delivering 120 mg of degarelix in a white to off-white lyophilized powder for reconstitution supplied with…
Degarelix side effects
Most common adverse reactions (≥10%) are injection site reactions (e.g., pain, erythema, swelling or induration), hot flashes, and increases in serum levels of transaminases and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Ferring at 1-888-FERRING (1-888-337-7464) 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. FIRMAGON was studied in a randomized, open-label trial in which patients with prostate cancer were randomized to receive FIRMAGON (subcutaneous) or leuprolide (intramuscular) monthly for 12 months [see Clinical Studies (14) ] . The most common adverse reactions (≥10%) during FIRMAGON therapy are injection site reactions (e.g., pain, erythema, swelling or induration), hot flashes, and increases in serum levels of transaminases and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). The majority of the adverse reactions were Grade 1 or 2, with Grade 3/4 adverse reaction incidences of 1% or less. Adverse reactions reported in ≥ 5% of patients treated with FIRMAGON (subcutaneous) 240 mg starting dose and then 80 mg maintenance dose once every 28 days or who…
Who shouldn’t take degarelix
FIRMAGON is contraindicated in patients with history of severe hypersensitivity to degarelix or to any of the product components [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . Patients with history of severe hypersensitivity reactions to degarelix or to any of the product components ( 4 )
Degarelix drug interactions
No drug-drug interaction studies were conducted. Degarelix is not a substrate for the human CYP450 system. Degarelix is not an inducer or inhibitor of the CYP450 system in vitro . Therefore, clinically significant CYP450 pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions are unlikely.
Every degarelix 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: Firmagon.
What people report to the FDA about degarelix
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 148 reports naming degarelix, and the FDA flagged 96% 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 injury16 reports
- rhabdomyolysis16 reports
- fatigue8 reports
- febrile neutropenia8 reports
- urticaria8 reports
- blood pressure increased7 reports
- body temperature decreased7 reports
- pyrexia7 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean degarelix 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 degarelix?
FIRMAGON is a sterile lyophilized powder for injection containing degarelix (as the acetate) and mannitol. Degarelix is a synthetic linear decapeptide amide containing seven unnatural amino acids, five of which are D-amino acids. The acetate salt of degarelix is a white to off-white amorphous powder of low density as obtained after lyophilization.
Can you take degarelix 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 degarelix 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 degarelix come in?
Across the brands we track, degarelix is currently marketed as kit, 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 degarelix?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled degarelix 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). Degarelix: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/degarelix
- MLA
- “Degarelix: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/degarelix.
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 degarelix on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.