Filgrastim: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

Filgrastim is a leukocyte growth factor sold in the U.S. under one brand, for neutropenia and chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.

By the pharmaranks editorial teamReviewed against the FDA (openFDA label, NDC Directory & Enforcement) sourcesUpdated Jul 24, 2026How we research

Key facts

Drug class: Leukocyte Growth Factor
Treats: Neutropenia and Chemotherapy-Induced Febrile Neutropenia
Available as: Injectable
Sold as: Neupogen
Prescription?: Prescription only
Generic available?: Not in our catalog

How filgrastim is dosed

From the FDA label for Neupogen (application BLA103353). Other filgrastim products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.

Patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy or induction and/or consolidation chemotherapy for AML Recommended starting dose is 5 mcg/kg/day subcutaneous injection, short intravenous infusion (15 to 30 minutes), or continuous intravenous infusion. See Full Prescribing Information for recommended dosage adjustments and timing of administration ( 2.1 ) Patients with cancer undergoing bone marrow transplantation 10 mcg/kg/day given as an intravenous infusion no longer than 24 hours. See Full Prescribing Information for recommended dosage adjustments and timing of administration ( 2.2 ) Patients undergoing autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell collection and therapy 10 mcg/kg/day subcutaneous injection ( 2.3 ) Administer for at least 4 days before first leukapheresis procedure and continue until last leukapheresis ( 2.3 ) Patients with congenital neutropenia Recommended starting dose is 6 mcg/kg subcutaneous injection twice daily ( 2.4 ) Patients with cyclic or idiopathic neutropenia Recommended starting dose is 5 mcg/kg subcutaneous injection daily ( 2.4 ) Patients acutely exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation 10 mcg/kg/day subcutaneous injection ( 2.5 ) 2.1 Dosage in Patients with Cancer Receiving Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy or Induction and/or Consolidation Chemotherapy for AML The recommended starting dosage of NEUPOGEN is 5 mcg/kg/day,…

Filgrastim side effects

The following serious adverse reactions are discussed in greater detail in other sections of the labeling: Splenic Rupture [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Serious Allergic Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Sickle Cell Disorders [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Glomerulonephritis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] Alveolar Hemorrhage and Hemoptysis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] Capillary Leak Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] Myelodysplastic Syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] Acute Myeloid Leukemia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] Thrombocytopenia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9) ] Leukocytosis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10) ] Cutaneous Vasculitis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11) ] Large and Medium Vessel Arteritis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.15) ] Most common adverse reactions in patients: With nonmyeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs (≥ 5% difference in incidence compared to placebo) are pyrexia, pain, rash, cough, and dyspnea. ( 6.1 ) With AML (≥ 2% difference in incidence) are pain, epistaxis and rash. ( 6.1 ) With nonmyeloid malignancies undergoing myeloablative chemotherapy followed by BMT (≥ 5% difference in incidence) is rash. ( 6.1 ) Undergoing peripheral blood progenitor cell…

Who shouldn’t take filgrastim

NEUPOGEN is contraindicated in patients with a history of serious allergic reactions to human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim or pegfilgrastim [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] . Patients with a history of serious allergic reactions to human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim or pegfilgrastim. ( 4 )

Every filgrastim 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: Neupogen.

Filgrastim recalls

From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.

How long filgrastim keeps

The date on a sealed pack is not the only one: some filgrastim labels start a second clock once the product is opened or mixed, as short as 24 hours.

Does filgrastim expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labels

Filgrastim and breastfeeding

From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.

Filgrastim in the pharmaceutical name for granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Pegfilgrastim is the long-acting form of filgrastim. Eflapegrastim and efbemalenograstim alfa are closely related G-CSF analogues. The excretion of exogenous G-CSF into breastmilk or its effects on breastfed infants have not been well studied. Limited data indicate that filgrastim and a similar G-CSF product, lenograstim, are poorly excreted into breastmilk and are undetectable by 3 days after an injection. Some authors recommend withholding breastfeeding for this period of time. However, filgrastim has been safely given orally to neonates and is not orally absorbed by neonates, so any filgrastim that is excreted into milk is unlikely to adversely affect the breastfed infant.

Full LactMed record for filgrastim: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider instead

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised July 15, 2026. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.

What people report to the FDA about filgrastim

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 23,930 reports naming filgrastim, 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:

febrile neutropenia3,692 reports
neutropenia2,582 reports
pyrexia2,005 reports
diarrhoea1,603 reports
thrombocytopenia1,497 reports
pneumonia1,349 reports
nausea1,332 reports
anaemia1,260 reports

Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean filgrastim 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

How long it stays in your system →

Frequently asked questions

What is filgrastim?

Neupogen (Filgrastim) is a leukocyte growth factor used to treat Neutropenia, Chemotherapy-Induced Febrile Neutropenia.

What kind of drug is filgrastim?

The FDA classifies filgrastim as a leukocyte growth factor. 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 filgrastim 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 filgrastim 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 filgrastim come in?

Across the brands we track, filgrastim 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 filgrastim?

We do not currently list a generic-labelled filgrastim 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.

Has filgrastim been recalled?

The FDA's Enforcement database lists 2 recall records whose product description mentions filgrastim. The most recent: Neupogen (filgrastim) For Injection (Feb 27, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.

Cite this page

APA: pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Filgrastim: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/filgrastim
MLA: “Filgrastim: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/filgrastim.

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 filgrastim on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.