Rotigotine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Rotigotine is a nonergot dopamine agonist sold in the U.S. under one brand, for parkinson disease and restless legs syndrome. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Nonergot Dopamine Agonist
- Treats (across its forms)
- Parkinson Disease and Restless Legs Syndrome
- Available as
- Patch, extended release · Kit
- Sold as
- Neupro
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
How rotigotine is dosed
From the FDA label for Neupro (application NDA021829). Other rotigotine products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Parkinson's disease: Initially, 2 mg/24 hours for early-stage disease or 4 mg/24 hours for advanced-stage disease. The dose may be increased as needed by 2 mg/24 hours at weekly intervals, up to 6 mg/24 hours for early-stage disease and up to 8 mg/24 hours for advanced-stage disease. ( 2.1 ) Restless Legs Syndrome: Initially, 1 mg/24 hours, increased as needed by 1 mg/24 hours at weekly intervals, up to 3 mg/24 hours. ( 2.2 ) Apply once a day to the skin; press firmly in place for 30 seconds. Do not place NEUPRO on oily, irritated, or damaged skin, or where it will be rubbed by tight clothing. Do not use the same site more than once every 14 days. The prescribed dose may be achieved using single or multiple patches. ( 2.3 ) To discontinue treatment, reduce the dose gradually until complete withdrawal of NEUPRO. ( 2.4 ) 2.1 Dosage in Parkinson's Disease Early-Stage Parkinson's Disease In patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease, the recommended starting dose for NEUPRO is 2 mg/24 hours. Based upon individual patient clinical response and tolerability, NEUPRO dosage may be increased weekly by 2 mg/24 hours if additional therapeutic effect is needed. The lowest effective dose is 4 mg/24 hours. The maximum recommended dose for early-stage Parkinson's disease is 6 mg/24 hours. Advanced-Stage Parkinson's Disease In patients with advanced-stage Parkinson's disease, the…
Rotigotine side effects
The following serious adverse reactions are discussed below and elsewhere in the labeling: Sulfite Sensitivity [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Falling Asleep During Activities of Daily Living and Somnolence [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Hallucinations/Psychosis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Symptomatic Hypotension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Syncope [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] Impulse Control/Compulsive Behaviors [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] Elevation of Blood Pressure and Heart Rate [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] Weight Gain and Fluid Retention [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] Dyskinesia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.9) ] Application Site Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10) ] Augmentation and Rebound in RLS [see Warnings and Precautions (5.11) ] Hyperpyrexia and Confusion [see Warnings and Precautions (5.14) ] Withdrawal Symptoms [see Warnings and Precautions (5.15) ] Fibrotic Complications [see Warnings and Precautions (5.16) ] Parkinson's disease: Most common adverse reactions (at least 5% greater than placebo) were nausea, vomiting, somnolence, application site reactions, dizziness, anorexia, disturbances in initiating and maintaining sleep, hyperhidrosis, visual disturbance, peripheral edema, and dyskinesia. ( 6.1 ) Restless Legs Syndrome: Most common adverse reactions (at least 5% greater than…
Who shouldn’t take rotigotine
NEUPRO is contraindicated in patients who have demonstrated hypersensitivity to rotigotine or the components of the transdermal system. History of hypersensitivity to rotigotine or components of the transdermal patch. ( 4 )
Rotigotine drug interactions
7.1 Dopamine Antagonists Dopamine antagonists, such as antipsychotics or metoclopramide, may diminish the effectiveness of NEUPRO [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ] .
Every rotigotine 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: Neupro.
Rotigotine and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for rotigotine: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadNo information is available on the use of rotigotine during breastfeeding, but it suppresses serum prolactin and may interfere with breastfeeding. An alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised October 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about rotigotine
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 4,486 reports naming rotigotine, and the FDA flagged 93% 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:
- fall427 reports
- parkinson^s disease352 reports
- tremor243 reports
- dyskinesia239 reports
- hallucination221 reports
- product adhesion issue217 reports
- pneumonia192 reports
- anxiety173 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean rotigotine 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 26, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is rotigotine?
NEUPRO is a transdermal system that provides continuous delivery of rotigotine, a non-ergoline dopamine agonist, for 24 hours following application to intact skin. NEUPRO is available in six strengths as shown in Table 4.
What kind of drug is rotigotine?
The FDA classifies rotigotine as a nonergot dopamine agonist. 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 rotigotine 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 rotigotine 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 rotigotine come in?
Across the brands we track, rotigotine is currently marketed as patch, extended release and 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 rotigotine?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled rotigotine 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). Rotigotine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/rotigotine
- MLA
- “Rotigotine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/rotigotine.
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 rotigotine on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.