Ganaxolone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Ganaxolone is a neuroactive steroid gamma-aminobutyric acid a receptor positive modulator sold in the U.S. under one brand, for seizures. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Neuroactive Steroid Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid A Receptor Positive Modulator
- Treats
- Seizures
- Available as
- Suspension
- Sold as
- Ztalmy
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How ganaxolone is dosed
From the FDA label for Ztalmy (application NDA215904). Other ganaxolone products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Administer ZTALMY orally three times daily with food. ( 2.1 ) Titrate ZTALMY gradually according to the recommended schedules. See full prescribing information. ( 2.1 ) Dosage for patients weighing 28 kg or less ( 2.1 ): the starting dosage is 2 mg/kg three times daily (6 mg/kg/day) the maximum dosage is 21 mg/kg three times daily (63 mg/kg/day). Dosage for patients weighing over 28 kg ( 2.1 ): the starting dosage is 50 mg three times daily (150 mg daily) the maximum dosage is 600 mg three times daily (1800 mg daily). Patients with severe hepatic impairment: see full prescribing information for dosage recommendation. ( 2.3 ) 2.1 Dosage Information ZTALMY is administered by mouth three times daily and must be taken with food [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] . The recommended titration schedule and maintenance dosage are based on body weight for patients weighing 28 kg or less. Dosage recommendations for patients weighing 28 kg or less are included in Table 1, and dosage recommendations for patients weighing more than 28 kg are included in Table 2. Dosage should be increased based on tolerability no more frequently than every 7 days. Titration increments should not exceed those shown in Table 1 and Table 2. Table 1 ZTALMY Recommended Titration Schedule for Patients Weighing 28 kg or Less Dosage Total Daily Dose Day 2 mg/kg three times daily 6 mg/kg/day 1 to 7 4 mg/kg three…
Ganaxolone side effects
The following important adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling: Somnolence and Sedation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Suicidal Behavior and Ideation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Withdrawal of Antiepileptic Drugs [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Most common adverse reactions (incidence of at least 5% for ZTALMY and at least twice the rate of placebo) are somnolence, pyrexia, salivary hypersecretion, and seasonal allergy. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Immedica at 1-844-627-4687 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. In controlled and uncontrolled trials in patients with seizures associated with CDD, 102 patients were treated with ZTALMY, including 83 patients treated for more than 6 months, and 50 patients treated for more than 1 year. In Study 1, 50 patients received ZTALMY [see Clinical Studies (14) ] . The duration of treatment in this trial was up to 17 weeks. Approximately 78% of these patients were female, 92% were White, and the mean age was 6.8 years (range 2 to 19 years). All patients receiving ZTALMY,…
Who shouldn’t take ganaxolone
None. None. ( 4 )
Ganaxolone drug interactions
UGT inhibitors may increase ganaxolone exposures; consider reduction of a stable ZTALMY dosage when initiating a UGT inhibitor. ( 7.1 ) Cytochrome P450 inducers will decrease ganaxolone exposure. It is recommended to avoid concomitant use with strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers; if unavoidable, consider a dosage increase of ZTALMY, but do not exceed the maximum recommended dosage. ( 7.2 ) 7.1 Effect of UGT Inhibitors on ZTALMY Concomitant use of ZTALMY and UGT inhibitors (e.g., valproic acid) may increase the exposure of ganaxolone, which may increase the risk of ZTALMY associated adverse reactions in patients who have titrated to a stable ZTALMY dosage. Consider a reduction of ZTALMY maintenance dosage when initiating a UGT inhibitor [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. 7.2 Effect of Strong or Moderate Cytochrome P450 Inducers on ZTALMY Coadministration of ZTALMY with CYP450 inducers, such as strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers, will decrease ganaxolone exposure, which can lower the efficacy of ZTALMY [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] . It is recommended to avoid concomitant use of strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers with ZTALMY. When concomitant use of strong or moderate CYP3A4 inducers is unavoidable, consider an increase in the dosage of ZTALMY; however, do not exceed the maximum daily dosage of ZTALMY [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) ] . In patients on a stable ZTALMY dosage who are initiating or increasing the dosages of enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (e.g., carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and primidone), the ZTALMY dosage may need to be increased; however, do not exceed the maximum daily dosage of ZTALMY [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) ] . 7.3 Concomitant Use of ZTALMY with CNS Depressants and Alcohol Concomitant use of ZTALMY with CNS depressants, including alcohol, may increase the risk of somnolence and sedation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] .
Every ganaxolone 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: Ztalmy.
What people report to the FDA about ganaxolone
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 177 reports naming ganaxolone, and the FDA flagged 57% 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:
- seizure63 reports
- somnolence13 reports
- pneumonia8 reports
- urinary tract infection5 reports
- viral infection5 reports
- vomiting5 reports
- tracheitis4 reports
- weight increased4 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean ganaxolone 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 ganaxolone?
ZTALMY (ganaxolone) oral suspension contains ganaxolone, a neuroactive steroid gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA A ) receptor positive modulator. Ganaxolone (1-[(3R, 5S, 8R, 9S, 10S, 13S, 14S, 17S)-3-hydroxy-3, 10, 13-trimethyl-1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17-tetradecahydrocyclopenta[a]phenanthren-17-yl]ethanone) is a methyl-substituted (at the 3β position) analog of the endogenous neurosteroid allopregnanolone, a derivative of progesterone.
What kind of drug is ganaxolone?
The FDA classifies ganaxolone as a neuroactive steroid gamma-aminobutyric acid a receptor positive modulator. 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 ganaxolone 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 ganaxolone 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 ganaxolone come in?
Across the brands we track, ganaxolone is currently marketed as suspension, 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 ganaxolone?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled ganaxolone 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). Ganaxolone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ganaxolone
- MLA
- “Ganaxolone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/ganaxolone.
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 ganaxolone on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.