ortikos
Ortikos (Budesonide) is a corticosteroid used to treat Perennial Allergic Rhinitis, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.
Budesonide · by Sun Pharm Inds Inc
Key facts
- Active ingredient
- Budesonide
- Drug class
- Corticosteroid
- Form
- Capsule, delayed release
- Strength
- Budesonide 6MG · Budesonide 9MG
- Type
- Prescription (Rx)
- Brand or generic
- Brand-name
- Manufacturer
- Sun Pharm Inds Inc
- Half-life
- about 2 to 3.6 hours (terminal elimination half-life, measured after intravenous dosing) (how long it stays in your system)
- What the pharmacy pays
- ~$0.74 per ml — not your price
- FDA application
- NDA211929
- Availability
- Discontinued (per FDA)
How long does Budesonide stay in your body?
The elimination half-life of budesonide is about 2 to 3.6 hours (terminal elimination half-life, measured after intravenous dosing) — the time it takes the body to clear about half of it. As a rule of thumb, a medicine is mostly gone after roughly 4 to 5 half-lives, though this varies from person to person with age and kidney or liver function. The label reports the true (terminal) plasma elimination half-life from IV dosing as 2 to 3.6 hours, the same in healthy adults and Crohn's disease patients. The APPARENT half-life after ORAL dosing is longer — mean 6.3 ± 1.6 hours (range 2 to 8 hours) after a single 9 mg dose in healthy fasted subjects — because absorption is slower than elimination (flip-flop kinetics), not because the drug lingers; use the ~2–3.6 h IV figure as the elimination half-life. Budesonide is NOT a prodrug and has NO longer-lasting active metabolite: its two major CYP3A4 metabolites (6β-hydroxy budesonide and 16α-hydroxy prednisolone) have negligible corticosteroid activity (<1/100 of the parent). Liver impairment: budesonide is a high-hepatic-clearance drug, so systemic exposure rises with impaired liver function — patients with moderate impairment (Child-Pugh B) had a 3.5-fold higher AUC than those with normal liver function, and the label says to avoid use in severe impairment (Child-Pugh C). Kidney impairment: the label gives no PK half-life change (budesonide is cleared hepatically, not renally). Older adults: the label states studies did not include enough patients aged 65+ to characterize any difference. This is an elimination half-life, not a drug-test detection window and not dosing guidance.
This is general information, not medical advice. It doesn’t tell you when a drug test would read negative (tests detect substances for different, often longer, windows) or when it’s safe to take another dose — ask your pharmacist or prescriber. Source: Budesonide (oral) FDA label, §12.3 Pharmacokinetics — DailyMed.
Drug class
How this class works, per Corticosteroids - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf.
May treat (source: NIH RxClass)
See how Ortikos ranks — best-rated corticosteroid for:
Dosage forms
Capsule, delayed release
The forms currently marketed in the U.S., per the FDA National Drug Code Directory.
Ways to save
Ask for the generic
Same active ingredient, far cheaper. Is there a generic? →
Request a 90-day supply
Bulk fills usually lower the per-dose price vs monthly refills.
Use copay cards
Manufacturer copay cards & patient-assistance programs — especially for brand drugs.
Compare alternatives
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Ortikos treat?
- Ortikos (Budesonide) may be used to treat perennial allergic rhinitis, inflammatory bowel diseases, based on NIH RxClass drug-classification data (conditions a drug may treat — not a verbatim copy of the FDA-approved label). This is general reference, not medical advice.
- How does Ortikos work?
- Ortikos is a corticosteroid. Corticosteroids mimic the body's natural stress hormone cortisol: they enter cells and bind a glucocorticoid receptor that switches off genes for inflammatory chemicals, calming swelling, redness, and an overactive immune response.
- How much does Ortikos cost?
- Nobody can tell you what you will pay — your price is set by your insurer's formulary, your deductible and the pharmacy's markup, and none of those are published. What IS published is what the pharmacy paid to acquire it: about $0.74 per ml, per the CMS NADAC survey. Treat that as the floor, not the quote — ask the pharmacist for the cash price as well as your copay, because for cheap generics the cash price often wins.
- Is there a coupon or discount for Ortikos?
- pharmaranks is an independent ratings site, not a pharmacy — we don't issue coupons or sell Ortikos. To pay less, ask your prescriber or pharmacist whether a generic equivalent exists, check the manufacturer's copay/savings card and patient-assistance program, and compare a pharmacy discount card against your insurance copay. Prices vary by pharmacy, insurance, and location, so always confirm at the counter. This is general reference, not medical or financial advice.
- Who makes Ortikos?
- Ortikos is marketed by Sun Pharm Inds Inc. You can see Sun Pharm Inds Inc's full profile, rating, and other products on pharmaranks.
- Is Ortikos a brand-name or generic drug?
- Ortikos is a brand-name product with the active ingredient Budesonide.
- Is Ortikos available over the counter?
- No. Ortikos is a prescription (Rx) medication in the US — you need a prescription from a licensed clinician (in person or via telehealth); it isn't sold over the counter. For some conditions there are OTC alternatives — ask your pharmacist.
- What forms does Ortikos come in?
- Ortikos is currently marketed as capsule, delayed release, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory.
- What class of drug is Ortikos?
- Ortikos is classified as corticosteroid, per the FDA's Established Pharmacologic Class.
- Is Ortikos FDA-registered?
- Ortikos is on record with the U.S. FDA under application number NDA211929. You can verify this on its official FDA label.
Information is sourced from public FDA regulatory data. Provided for general reference only — not medical advice. Always consult a licensed professional and the current prescribing information.
What people report to the FDA about BUDESONIDE
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 61,488 reports naming BUDESONIDE — the active ingredient in Ortikos, and the FDA flagged 80% 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:
- dyspnoea9,153 reports
- asthma7,816 reports
- wheezing4,746 reports
- cough4,396 reports
- therapeutic product effect incomplete3,755 reports
- fatigue3,665 reports
- pneumonia3,573 reports
- headache3,338 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean BUDESONIDE 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 September 25, 2026.
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