Vismodegib: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Vismodegib is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for skin neoplasms. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Skin Neoplasms
- Available as
- Capsule
- Sold as
- Erivedge
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How vismodegib is dosed
From the FDA label for Erivedge (application NDA203388). Other vismodegib products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
The recommended dosage is 150 mg orally once daily. ( 2 ) 2.1 Important Safety Information Verify pregnancy status of females of reproductive potential within 7 days prior to initiating ERIVEDGE [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.3) ] . 2.2 Recommended Dosage The recommended dosage of ERIVEDGE is 150 mg taken orally once daily, with or without food, until disease progression or until unacceptable toxicity . Swallow capsules whole. Do not open or crush capsules . If a dose of ERIVEDGE is missed, resume dosing with the next scheduled dose. 2.3 Dosage Modifications for Adverse Reactions Withhold ERIVEDGE for up to 8 weeks for intolerable adverse reactions until improvement or resolution. Treatment durations shorter than 8 weeks prior to interruptions have not been studied. Permanently discontinue ERIVEDGE if patients experience severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), or drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] . Interrupt ERIVEDGE for severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions. Permanently discontinue ERIVEDGE for recurrent, severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] .
Vismodegib side effects
The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling: Embryo-Fetal Toxicity [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Musculoskeletal Adverse Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Premature Fusion of the Epiphyses [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] The most common adverse reactions (incidence of ≥ 10%) are muscle spasms, alopecia, dysgeusia, weight loss, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, decreased appetite, constipation, arthralgias, vomiting, and ageusia. To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Genentech, Inc. 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 clinical practice. The safety data described below reflect exposure to ERIVEDGE in 138 patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who received ERIVEDGE at doses ≥ 150 mg orally daily in four open-label, uncontrolled, dose-ranging or fixed single dose clinical trials [Study SHH3925g, SHH4437g, SHH4476g and SHH4610g]. The median age of these patients was 61 years (range 21 to 101 years), 100%…
Who shouldn’t take vismodegib
None. None.
Every vismodegib 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: Erivedge.
What vismodegib 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VISMO;150;mg | 150 mg | gray, pink | capsule | — |
Vismodegib and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for vismodegib: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadNo information is available on the clinical use of vismodegib during breastfeeding. Because vismodegib is more than 99% bound to plasma proteins, the amount in milk is likely to be low. However, its half-life is 4 days and it might accumulate in the infant. The manufacturer recommends that breastfeeding be discontinued during vismodegib therapy and for 24 months after the final dose.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised August 16, 2021. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about vismodegib
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 897 reports naming vismodegib, and the FDA flagged 90% 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:
- muscle spasms110 reports
- alopecia86 reports
- dysgeusia77 reports
- fatigue65 reports
- anaemia61 reports
- nausea58 reports
- neutrophil count decreased55 reports
- weight decreased55 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean vismodegib 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is vismodegib?
Erivedge (Vismodegib) is a medication used to treat Skin Neoplasms.
Can you take vismodegib 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 vismodegib 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 vismodegib come in?
Across the brands we track, vismodegib is currently marketed as capsule, 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 vismodegib?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled vismodegib 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). Vismodegib: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/vismodegib
- MLA
- “Vismodegib: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/vismodegib.
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 vismodegib on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.