Saxagliptin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Saxagliptin is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Tablet
- Sold as
- 2 products — Saxagliptin and Onglyza
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $36 for a 30-count supply — not your price
Every saxagliptin product we track (2)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $36 | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | Generic | $36 | View → |
What saxagliptin pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
Combination products containing saxagliptin
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
Saxagliptin recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
Can you crush or split saxagliptin?
At least one saxagliptinproduct is labelled to be swallowed whole — crushing an extended-release tablet releases the whole day’s dose at once. Which applies depends on the form you were given.
What each saxagliptin label says about crushing, splitting and chewingHow long saxagliptin keeps
No saxagliptin label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Saxagliptin and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for saxagliptin: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadNo information is available on the clinical use of saxagliptin during breastfeeding. Saxagliptin has a shorter half-life than the other dipeptidyl-peptidase IV inhibitors, so it might be a better choice among drugs in this class for nursing mothers. Monitoring of the breastfed infant's blood glucose is advisable during maternal therapy with saxagliptin. However, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised May 15, 2026. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about saxagliptin
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 2,205 reports naming saxagliptin, and the FDA flagged 91% 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:
- nausea188 reports
- fatigue132 reports
- diarrhoea123 reports
- vomiting112 reports
- dizziness110 reports
- asthenia100 reports
- acute kidney injury91 reports
- blood glucose increased89 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean saxagliptin 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.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 26, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take saxagliptin 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 saxagliptin against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is saxagliptin sold under?
We track 2 saxagliptin-containing products in the U.S.: Saxagliptin and Onglyza. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does saxagliptin come in?
Across the brands we track, saxagliptin 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 saxagliptin?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic saxagliptin product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Has saxagliptin been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 2 recall records whose product description mentions saxagliptin. The most recent: Saxagliptin Tablets 5mg (Mar 13, 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). Saxagliptin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/saxagliptin
- MLA
- “Saxagliptin: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/saxagliptin.
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 saxagliptin on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.