Epoetin zeta 40,000units/1ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a growth factor produced in the kidneys that stimulates the production of red blood cells.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Official medicine documents
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.
View Drug Analysis Profile
Browse all Drug Analysis Profiles A–Z
Browse all iDAP reports
Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
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.
View EudraVigilance report
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Epoetin zeta
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
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
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Epoetin zeta on the MHRA register
Retacrit 40,000units/1ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
1000 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 NHS dm+d BNF mapping files. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Epoetin zeta
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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 & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
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 codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). 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.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
4 hours
Mechanism
Erythropoietin or exogenous epoetin alfa binds to the erythropoietin receptor (E…
Food interactions
1 warning
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
20 to 25 hours
Half-life
4 hours
Protein binding
Volume of distribution
40–63.80 mL
Metabolism
Elimination
Clearance
1.00 mL
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
- treatment of anemia due to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in patients on dialysis and not on dialysis.
- treatment of anemia due to zidovudine in patients with HIV-infection.
- treatment of anemia due to the effects of concomitant myelosuppressive chemotherapy, and upon initiation, there is a minimum of two additional months of planned chemotherapy.
- reduction of allogeneic RBC transfusions in patients undergoing elective, noncardiac, nonvascular surgery.
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 625 interactions
Following resolution of the overdose, reintroduction of epoetin alfa therapy should be accompanied by close monitoring for evidence of rapid increases in hemoglobin concentration (>1 gm/dL per 14 days). In patients with an excessive hematopoietic response, reduce the dose in accordance with the recommendations described in the drug label [FDA Label].
Epoetin alfa serves to restore erythropoietin deficiency in pathological and other clinical conditions where normal production of erythropoietin is impaired or compromised. In anemic patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), administration with epoetin alfa stimulated erythropoiesis by increasing the reticulocyte count within 10 days, followed by increases in the red cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit, usually within 2 to 6 weeks [FDA Label]. Epoetin alfa was shown to be effective in increasing hematocrit in zidovudine-treated HIV-infected patients and anemic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy [FDA Label].
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A33080]
The bioavailability of subcutaneous injectable erythropoietin is much lower than that of the intravenously administered product and is approximately 20-40%.
[A33080]
Adult and paediatric patients with CRF: Following subcutaneous administration, the peak plasma levels are achieved within 5 to 24 hours [FDA Label].
Cancer patients receiving cyclic chemotherapy: The average time to reach peak plasma concentration was approximately 13.3 ± 12.4 hours after 150 Units/kg three times per week (TIW) subcutaneous (SC) dosing. The Cmax is expected be 3- to 7- fold higher and the Tmax is expected to be 2- to 3-fold longer in patients receiving a 40,000 Units SC weekly dosing regimen [FDA Label].
Adult and paediatric patients with CRF: The elimination half life following intravenous administration ranges from 4 to 13 hours, which is about 20% longer in CRF patients than that in healthy subjects. The half life is reported to be similar between adult patients receiving or not receiving dialysis [FDA Label].
Cancer patients receiving cyclic chemotherapy: Following subcutaneous administration, the average half life is 40 hours with range of 16 to 67 hours [FDA Label].
[A33080][A33076]
[A33080]
[A33080]
Only a small amount of unchanged epoetin alfa is found in the urine F86.
[A33076]
Cancer patients receiving cyclic chemotherapy: The average clearance was approximately 20.2 ± 15.9 mL/h/kg after 150 Units/kg three times per week (TIW) subcutaneous (SC) dosing [FDA Label]. The patients receiving a 40,000 Units SC weekly dosing regimen display a lower clearance (9.2 ± 4.7 mL/h/kg) [FDA Label].
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:10388848 PMID:2163695 PMID:2163696 PMID:8662939 PMID:9774108
Upon EPO stimulation, EPOR dimerizes triggering the JAK2/STAT5 signaling cascade (By similarity). In some cell types, can also activate STAT1 and STAT3 .
PMID:11756159
May also activate the LYN tyrosine kinase (By similarity)
ATC B03XA01
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Show
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Erythropoietin
Matched from: Epoetin zeta
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
299
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:3416
GenAtlas
EPOR
GeneCards
EPOR
GenBank Gene Database
M60459
GenBank Protein Database
182245
Guide to Pharmacology
1718
UniProt Accession
EPOR_HUMAN
International reference pricing
Reference pricing from DrugBank. Prices are indicative and may not reflect current UK costs.
Source: DrugBank. Used under CC BY-NC 4.0 academic licence for non-commercial purposes.
Patent information
All patents expired, 1 expired
Source: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0. Patent data sourced from national patent offices. Expiry dates may not reflect extensions, regulatory exclusivity periods, or legal challenges.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: