Pirfenidone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Pirfenidone is a pyridone sold in the U.S. under one brand, for pulmonary fibrosis. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Pyridone
- Treats
- Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Available as
- Tablet
- Sold as
- Esbriet
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $45 for a 30-count supply — not your price
How pirfenidone is dosed
From the FDA label for Esbriet (application NDA208780). Other pirfenidone products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Take with food. Recommended dosage: 801 mg three times daily (2403 mg/day). ( 2 ) Upon initiation of treatment, titrate to the full dosage of 2403 mg/day over a 14-day period as follows: Treatment days Dosage Days 1 through 7 267 mg three times daily (801 mg/day) Days 8 through 14 534 mg three times daily (1602 mg/day) Days 15 onward 801 mg three times daily (2403 mg/day) Consider temporary dosage reduction, treatment interruption, or discontinuation for management of adverse reactions. ( 2.3 , 5.1 , 5.2 , 5.3 , 5.4 ) Prior to treatment, conduct liver function tests. ( 2.1 ) 2.1 Testing Prior to ESBRIET Administration Conduct liver function tests prior to initiating treatment with ESBRIET [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. 2.2 Recommended Dosage The recommended daily maintenance dosage of ESBRIET is 801 mg three times daily for a total of 2403 mg/day. Doses should be taken with food at the same time each day. Upon initiation of treatment, titrate to the full dosage of 2403 mg/day over a 14-day period as follows: Table 1. Dosage Titration for ESBRIET in Patients with IPF Treatment days Dosage Days 1 through 7 267 mg three times daily (801 mg/day) Days 8 through 14 534 mg three times daily (1602 mg/day) Days 15 onward 801 mg three times daily (2403 mg/day) Dosages above 2403 mg/day are not recommended for any patient. Patients should not take 2 doses at the same time to make…
Pirfenidone side effects
The following adverse reactions are discussed in greater detail in other sections of the labeling: Liver Enzyme Elevations and Drug-Induced Liver Injury [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Photosensitivity Reaction or Rash [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Gastrointestinal Disorders [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] The most common adverse reactions (≥10%) are nausea, rash, abdominal pain, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, decreased appetite, dyspepsia, dizziness, vomiting, gastro-esophageal reflux disease, sinusitis, insomnia, weight decreased, and arthralgia. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Genentech at 1-888-835-2555 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. The safety of pirfenidone has been evaluated in more than 1400 subjects with over 170 subjects exposed to pirfenidone for more than 5 years in clinical trials. ESBRIET was studied in 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (Studies 1, 2, and 3) in which a total of 623…
Who shouldn’t take pirfenidone
None. None
Pirfenidone drug interactions
Moderate (e.g., ciprofloxacin) and strong inhibitors of CYP1A2 (e.g., fluvoxamine) increase systemic exposure of ESBRIET and may alter the adverse reaction profile of ESBRIET. Discontinue fluvoxamine prior to administration of ESBRIET or reduce to 267 mg three times a day . Consider dosage reduction with use of ciprofloxacin. ( 7.1 ) 7.1 CYP1A2 Inhibitors Pirfenidone is metabolized primarily (70 to 80%) via CYP1A2 with minor contributions from other CYP isoenzymes including CYP2C9, 2C19, 2D6 and 2E1. Strong CYP1A2 Inhibitors The concomitant administration of ESBRIET and fluvoxamine or other strong CYP1A2 inhibitors (e.g., enoxacin) is not recommended because it significantly increases exposure to ESBRIET [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ]. Use of fluvoxamine or other strong CYP1A2 inhibitors should be discontinued prior to administration of ESBRIET and avoided during ESBRIET treatment. In the event that fluvoxamine or other strong CYP1A2 inhibitors are the only drug of choice, dosage reductions are recommended. Monitor for adverse reactions and consider discontinuation of ESBRIET as needed [ see Dosage and Administration (2.4) ] . Moderate CYP1A2 Inhibitors Concomitant administration of ESBRIET and ciprofloxacin (a moderate inhibitor of CYP1A2) moderately increases exposure to ESBRIET [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] . If ciprofloxacin at the dosage of 750 mg twice daily cannot be avoided, dosage reductions are recommended [see Dosage and Administration (2.4) ]. Monitor patients closely when ciprofloxacin is used at a dosage of 250 mg or 500 mg once daily. Concomitant CYP1A2 and other CYP Inhibitors Agents or combinations of agents that are moderate or strong inhibitors of both CYP1A2 and one or more other CYP isoenzymes involved in the metabolism of ESBRIET (i.e., CYP2C9, 2C19, 2D6, and 2E1) should be discontinued prior to and avoided during ESBRIET treatment. 7.2 CYP1A2 Inducers The concomitant use of ESBRIET and a CYP1A2 inducer may decrease the exposure of ESBRIET and this may lead to loss of efficacy. Therefore, discontinue use of strong CYP1A2 inducers prior to ESBRIET treatment and avoid the concomitant use of ESBRIET and a strong CYP1A2 inducer [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] .
Every pirfenidone 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: Esbriet.
What pirfenidone pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
| Imprint | Strength | Colour | Shape | Maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P267 | 267 mg | white | capsule | — |
| AMNEAL;1642 | 267 mg | white | capsule | — |
| AC69 | 267 mg | yellow | oval | — |
| AC70 | 801 mg | brown | oval | — |
| D2 | 801 mg | brown | oval | — |
| D1 | 267 mg | yellow | oval | — |
| PFD;267;mg | 267 mg | white | capsule | — |
| PFD | 267 mg | yellow | oval | — |
| PFD | 801 mg | brown | oval | — |
What people report to the FDA about pirfenidone
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 4,059 reports naming pirfenidone, and the FDA flagged 83% 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:
- dyspnoea377 reports
- nausea321 reports
- cough277 reports
- diarrhoea252 reports
- fatigue245 reports
- pneumonia230 reports
- decreased appetite221 reports
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis194 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean pirfenidone 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 27, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is pirfenidone?
ESBRIET belongs to the chemical class of pyridone. ESBRIET is available as a white to off-white hard gelatin capsule containing 267 mg of pirfenidone for oral administration, or, as film-coated tablets containing 267 mg (yellow) and 801 mg (brown) pirfenidone.
What kind of drug is pirfenidone?
The FDA classifies pirfenidone as a pyridone. 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 pirfenidone 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 pirfenidone 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 pirfenidone come in?
Across the brands we track, pirfenidone is currently marketed as tablet, 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 pirfenidone?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled pirfenidone 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). Pirfenidone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/pirfenidone
- MLA
- “Pirfenidone: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/pirfenidone.
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 pirfenidone on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.