Epoetin Alfa-Epbx: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Epoetin Alfa-Epbx is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for anemia. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Anemia
- Available as
- Injectable
- Sold as
- Retacrit
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How epoetin alfa-epbx is dosed
From the FDA label for Retacrit (application BLA125545). Other epoetin alfa-epbx products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Evaluate iron status before and during treatment and maintain iron repletion. Correct or exclude other causes of anemia before initiating treatment ( 2.1 ). • In pregnant women, lactating women, neonates, infants: Use only single-dose vials ( 2.1 ). • Patients with CKD: Initial dose: 50 to 100 Units/kg 3 times weekly (adults) and 50 Units/kg 3 times weekly (pediatric patients). Individualize maintenance dose. Intravenous route recommended for patients on hemodialysis ( 2.2 ). • Patients on Zidovudine due to HIV infection: 100 Units/kg 3 times weekly ( 2.3 ). • Patients with Cancer on Chemotherapy: 40,000 Units weekly or 150 Units/kg 3 times weekly (adults); 600 Units/kg intravenously weekly (pediatric patients ≥ 5 years) ( 2.4 ). • Surgery Patients: 300 Units/kg per day daily for 15 days or 600 Units/kg weekly ( 2.5 ). 2.1 Important Dosing Information Evaluation of Iron Stores and Nutritional Factors Evaluate the iron status in all patients before and during treatment. Administer supplemental iron therapy when serum ferritin is less than 100 mcg/L or when serum transferrin saturation is less than 20%. The majority of patients with CKD will require supplemental iron during the course of ESA therapy. Monitoring of Response to Therapy Correct or exclude other causes of anemia (e.g., vitamin deficiency, metabolic or chronic inflammatory conditions, bleeding, etc.) before…
Epoetin Alfa-Epbx side effects
The following serious adverse reactions are discussed in greater detail in other sections of the label: • Increased Mortality, Myocardial Infarction, Stroke, and Thromboembolism [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Increased mortality and/or increased risk of tumor progression or recurrence in Patients with Cancer [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • Hypertension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] • Seizures [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] • PRCA [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] • Serious allergic reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] • Severe Cutaneous Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] • Patients with CKD: Adverse reactions in ≥ 5% of epoetin alfa-treated patients in clinical studies were hypertension, arthralgia, muscle spasm, pyrexia, dizziness, medical device malfunction, vascular occlusion, and upper respiratory tract infection ( 6.1 ). • Patients on Zidovudine due to HIV infection: Adverse reactions in ≥ 5% of epoetin alfa-treated patients in clinical studies were pyrexia, cough, rash, and injection site irritation ( 6.1 ). • Patients with Cancer on Chemotherapy: Adverse reactions in ≥ 5% of epoetin alfa-treated patients in clinical studies were nausea, vomiting, myalgia, arthralgia, stomatitis, cough, weight decrease, leukopenia, bone pain, rash, hyperglycemia, insomnia, headache, depression, dysphagia, hypokalemia, and…
Who shouldn’t take epoetin alfa-epbx
RETACRIT is contraindicated in patients with: • Uncontrolled hypertension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ]. • Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) that begins after treatment with RETACRIT or other erythropoietin protein drugs [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] . • Serious allergic reactions to RETACRIT or other epoetin alfa products [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] . RETACRIT from multiple-dose vials contains benzyl alcohol and is contraindicated in: • Neonates, infants, pregnant women, and lactating women [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9) , Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.2 , and 8.4) ] . • Uncontrolled hypertension ( 4 ). • Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) that begins after treatment with RETACRIT or other erythropoietin protein drugs ( 4 ). • Serious allergic reactions to RETACRIT or other epoetin alfa products ( 4 ). • Use of the multiple-dose vials containing benzyl alcohol in neonates, infants, pregnant women, and lactating women ( 4 ).
Every epoetin alfa-epbx 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: Retacrit.
What people report to the FDA about epoetin alfa-epbx
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 37 reports naming epoetin alfa-epbx, and the FDA flagged 81% 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:
- diarrhoea5 reports
- headache5 reports
- acute kidney injury4 reports
- anaemia4 reports
- nausea4 reports
- pneumonia3 reports
- sickle cell anaemia with crisis3 reports
- acute respiratory failure2 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean epoetin alfa-epbx 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is epoetin alfa-epbx?
Retacrit (Epoetin Alfa-Epbx) is a medication used to treat Anemia.
Can you take epoetin alfa-epbx 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 epoetin alfa-epbx 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 epoetin alfa-epbx come in?
Across the brands we track, epoetin alfa-epbx 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 epoetin alfa-epbx?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled epoetin alfa-epbx 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). Epoetin Alfa-Epbx: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/epoetin-alfa-epbx
- MLA
- “Epoetin Alfa-Epbx: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/epoetin-alfa-epbx.
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 epoetin alfa-epbx on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.