Drug & supplement interaction

Adrafinil + Palbociclib

Palbociclib brand name: Ibrance.

Moderate Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated September 2026
The bottom line Moderate

Palbociclib falls into 2 drug categories that Adrafinil can interact with; the most serious is rated moderate. Theoretically, drugs that inhibit CYP3A4 might increase the levels and clinical effects of adrafinil.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityModerate
LikelihoodPossible
Interactions2
EvidenceD
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Adrafinil and Palbociclib

These two interact in 2 distinct ways. Each one is explained separately below.

Why Are There 2 Interactions?

Adrafinil interacts with whole categories of medication. Palbociclib falls into 2 of those categories, so it can interact with Adrafinil in 2 different ways. We’ve listed each one below — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them (Moderate).

Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) INHIBITORS

1 of 2

Why this applies to Palbociclib

Palbociclib falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) INHIBITORS — the group Adrafinil interacts with.

Theoretically, drugs that inhibit CYP3A4 might increase the levels and clinical effects of adrafinil.
Adrafinil is a precursor to the stimulant prescription drug modafinil. Modafinil is metabolized by CYP3A4.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here the supplement is on the receiving end of this interaction. Palbociclib (Ibrance) is a mild blocker of the CYP3A4 enzyme, and that same enzyme is what turns adrafinil into its active form, modafinil, and later clears it. In theory, palbociclib could slow that breakdown and let modafinil-like effects build up a bit higher than expected. That might mean more jitteriness, trouble sleeping, a racing heart, headache, or anxiety.

Keep in mind this is a theoretical concern based on how these drugs work, not on solid human studies, so the real-world risk is uncertain. The bigger issue is that adrafinil is unregulated and hard on the liver, which already matters during cancer treatment. Please loop in your oncology team or pharmacist before combining them.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Urban AE, Cubala WJ. The role of eugeroics in the treatment of affective disorders. Psychiatr Pol. 2020;54(1):21-33. PubMed
  2. Provigil (modafinil) [package insert]. North Wales, PA: Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. Published: January 2015. Accessed on: Nov 11, 2022.
Moderate

CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES

2 of 2

Palbociclib also falls under CYTOCHROME P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) SUBSTRATES.

Theoretically, adrafanil might reduce levels and clinical effects of CYP3A4 substrates.
Adrafinil is a precursor to the stimulant prescription drug modafinil. Modafinil has been shown to weakly induce CYP3A4 activity.
Severity Moderate Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Here's the connection worth knowing. Your body turns adrafinil into modafinil, and modafinil can gently speed up a liver enzyme called CYP3A4. That same enzyme is the main one that breaks down palbociclib (Ibrance). So in theory, taking adrafinil could clear palbociclib out a little faster and leave less of it working against your breast cancer, which is the last thing you want during treatment.

I'll be honest with you: this is a theoretical concern based on how the drugs work, not on strong studies, and modafinil is only a weak inducer. Still, palbociclib is a cancer medicine where keeping levels steady really matters. Please don't start adrafinil without first checking with your oncologist or pharmacist.

Contact Dr. Brian directly if you have additional questions on this interaction
References
  1. Urban AE, Cubala WJ. The role of eugeroics in the treatment of affective disorders. Psychiatr Pol. 2020;54(1):21-33. PubMed
  2. Provigil (modafinil) [package insert]. North Wales, PA: Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. Published: January 2015. Accessed on: Nov 11, 2022.

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Adrafinil Also Interacts With Other Medications

Adrafinil has 1 major, 1,055 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Palbociclib one above is among them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Major 1 Moderate 1,055 No known interaction 1,774 (incl. Palbociclib)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Adrafinil

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Adrafinil. Pick one to open its full report.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Palbociclib

This page covers Adrafinil only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Palbociclib page lists 185 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Grapefruit (major), St. John's Wort (major), Acacia Rigidula (moderate) and Active Hexose Correlated Compound (ahcc) (moderate).

By severity: 3 major · 145 moderate · 37 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Palbociclib page

“Three of the 185 supplement interactions on file for palbociclib (Ibrance), a targeted breast cancer therapy, are rated major, and those three deserve your attention first. Grapefruit, St.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Palbociclib interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Adrafinil as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 7 real supplement products containing Adrafinil, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Adrafinil. Your product may carry other ingredients that interact with Palbociclib too, on top of Adrafinil — and those would not show on this page. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Adrafinil and Palbociclib Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Adrafinil
Top half

#549 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Palbociclib
Top 25%

#591 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Adrafinil

What is Adrafinil?

Adrafinil
  • Wakefulness and alertness
  • Fatigue
  • Focus and concentration
  • Cognitive enhancement (nootropic)
  • Daytime sleepiness

Adrafinil is a synthetic compound that the body converts into modafinil, a prescription wakefulness-promoting drug. It is sometimes sold as a nootropic supplement, but it is unregulated, carries real risks (especially to the liver), and is banned in some sports and countries. Talk with a doctor or pharmacist before using it.

Read the full Adrafinil monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Palbociclib

What Is Palbociclib Used For?

Brand name: Ibrance

Palbociclib (brand name Ibrance) is used to treat adults with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. It is always given in combination with other medicines — either an aromatase inhibitor as a first hormonal treatment, or with fulvestrant after the cancer has progressed on prior hormonal therapy. It is also used with inavolisib and fulvestrant for a specific subtype (PIK3CA-mutated, endocrine-resistant) of this cancer confirmed by an FDA-authorized test.

Ibrance is also approved in combination with trastuzumab (with or without pertuzumab) and endocrine therapy for maintenance treatment of adults with HR-positive, HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, following initial induction treatment.

See full Palbociclib drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Adrafinil

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Adrafinil — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

1Major
1,055Moderate
0Minor
1,773No known interaction
1 Major 1,055 Moderate 1,773 No interaction
Major

1 interaction

Moderate

1,055 interactions

Showing 60 of 1,055 moderate interactions — see all 1,055 on the Adrafinil page.

No interaction 1,773 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Adrafinil against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 1,773 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Adrafinil list.

See the full Adrafinil interactions page
See every supplement checked against Palbociclib, ranked by severity
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

Keep exploring
Adrafinil monograph › Uses, safety, and every drug interaction in one place Palbociclib supplement interactions › Every supplement checked against Palbociclib, ranked by severity Palbociclib drug information › The full plain-English guide to this medication Supplement interaction checker › Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z › Every drug we've checked against herbs & supplements Ask a pharmacist › Free, personal answer from our licensed team
Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Adrafinil and Palbociclib Together: Common Questions

Can you take Adrafinil with Palbociclib?
There is a moderate interaction, so it may be acceptable with monitoring or timing changes — but check with your pharmacist first. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
Why are there 2 interactions listed for Adrafinil and Palbociclib?
Palbociclib belongs to more than one drug category, and Adrafinil interacts with each of those categories a little differently. We list every one so nothing is missed — your overall risk is driven by the most serious of them.
How serious is the Adrafinil and Palbociclib interaction?
We rate it Moderate. This combination may require monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one. Consult your pharmacist before using them together.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Still Have a Question About Palbociclib and Adrafinil?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.