Corticotropin 400units/5ml gel for injection vials
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Corticotropin (ACTH or adrenocorticotropic hormone) is a polypeptide hormone produced and secreted by the pituitary gland.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Corticotropin
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
25 unit
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via the NHS dm+d supplementary BNF/ATC mapping files (NHSBSA). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(1)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 38 · 1977–2018
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Rasa Kazlauskaite, Arthur T. Evans, Carmen V. Villabona, et al.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2008
- Adrenal Gland Diseases
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
- Cosyntropin
Jan M. Deussing, Alon Chen
Physiological Reviews, 2018
- Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
- Stress, Physiological
- Signal Transduction
M. Henckens, J. Deussing, Alon Chen
Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2016
Lotta Arborelius, Owens Mj, P M Plotsky, et al.
Journal of Endocrinology, 1999
- Anxiety Disorders
- Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
- Depression
Adrian J. Dunn, Craig W. Berridge
Brain Research Reviews, 1990
- Anxiety
- Digestive System Physiological Phenomena
- Behavior, Animal
Michael J. Owens, Charles B. Nemeroff
Pharmacological Reviews, 1991
- Alzheimer Disease
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Behavior, Animal
F. Antoni
Endocrine reviews, 1986
- Adrenal Glands
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
- Angiotensin II
A. Slominski, J. Wortsman, T. Luger, et al.
Physiological reviews, 2000
- Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
- Pro-Opiomelanocortin
- Skin
Steven F. Maier, Linda R. Watkins
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2005
- Helplessness, Learned
- Anxiety
- Behavior, Animal
F Holsboer
Journal of Psychiatric Research, 1999
- Antidepressive Agents
- Anxiety Disorders
- Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
15 minutes
Mechanism
As a diagnostic aid (adrenocortical function), corticotropin combines with a spe…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
2 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
8 to 16 hours
Half-life
15 minutes
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Purified corticotropin for injection is indicated for a variety of allergic and autoimmune conditions.
[L39150]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1129 interactions
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:36588120
Upon corticotropin (ACTH) binding, facilitates the release of adrenal glucocorticoids, including cortisol and corticosterone. In addition, MC2R is required for fetal and neonatal adrenal gland development (By similarity). Mechanistically, activates adenylate cyclase (cAMP), the MAPK cascade as well as the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway leading to steroidogenic factor 1/NR5A1-mediated transcriptional activation (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
ATC H01AA01
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Corticotropin
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7527
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6930
GenAtlas
MC2R
GeneCards
MC2R
GenBank Gene Database
X65633
GenBank Protein Database
28344
Guide to Pharmacology
283
UniProt Accession
ACTHR_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2355
GenAtlas
CRH
GeneCards
CRH
GenBank Gene Database
V00571
GenBank Protein Database
35356
UniProt Accession
CRF_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:5218
GenAtlas
HSD3B2
GeneCards
HSD3B2
GenBank Gene Database
M67466
GenBank Protein Database
184401
UniProt Accession
3BHS2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2606
GenAtlas
CYP27B1
GeneCards
CYP27B1
GenBank Gene Database
AF027152
GenBank Protein Database
2612976
Guide to Pharmacology
1370
UniProt Accession
CP27B_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2602
GenAtlas
CYP24A1
GeneCards
CYP24A1
GenBank Gene Database
L13286
GenBank Protein Database
306704
Guide to Pharmacology
1365
UniProt Accession
CP24A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications:
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q185690), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication.