Cobimetinib
Cobimetinib (Cotellic) is a targeted cancer medicine used to treat certain melanomas and rare blood cell tumors called histiocytic neoplasms.
🧬 Where this information comes from Click to expand
The clinical label records used on this page are FDA-filed Structured Product Labeling (SPL) retrieved through openFDA. We identified 1 clinical label set within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, strengths, and NDC product-record counts are built separately from matching FDA National Drug Code Directory records. The linked DailyMed document is a representative official source for verification, not the page’s only clinical source. View the linked label on DailyMed →
📖 Cobimetinib: Patient Information Guide
A plain-language walkthrough of Cobimetinib — what it treats, how it works, how it’s taken, side effects, warnings and interactions. Tap any section to expand it.
🎯What It Treats▾
Cobimetinib is used along with vemurafenib (Zelboraf) to treat certain types of melanoma (a type of skin cancer) that cannot be treated with surgery or that has spread to other parts of the body. Cobimetinib is also used to treat histiocytic neoplasms (conditions that cause an overproduction and accumulation of a type of white blood cell in parts of the body). Cobimetinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of an abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply. This helps slow or stop the spread of cancer cells.
💊How to Take It▾
Cobimetinib comes as a tablet to take by mouth with or without food. It is usually taken once daily for the first 21 days of a 28-day cycle. Take cobimetinib at around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take cobimetinib exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
If you vomit after taking cobimetinib do not take another dose. Continue your regular dosing schedule.
Your doctor may decrease your dose of cobimetinib or permanently or temporarily stop your treatment. This depends on how well the medication works for you and the side effects you experience. Be sure to tell your doctor how you are feeling during your treatment with cobimetinib.
Ask your pharmacist or doctor for a copy of the manufacturer's information for the patient.
⏰If You Miss a Dose▾
Skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.
🍽️Food, Alcohol & Dietary Advice▾
Do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking this medication.
⚠️Warnings & Precautions▾
Before taking cobimetinib,
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tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to cobimetinib, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in cobimetinib tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
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tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, and nutritional supplements you are taking or plan to take. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
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tell your doctor what herbal products you are taking, especially St. John's Wort. Do not take St. John's Wort while you are taking cobimetinib.
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tell your doctor if you have or have ever had have skin conditions other than melanoma; bleeding problems; vision problems; any condition that affects your muscles; or heart or liver disease.
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you should know that cobimetinib may decrease fertility in men and women. However, you should not assume that you or your partner cannot become pregnant. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Use a reliable method of birth control to prevent pregnancy during your treatment and for 2 weeks after you stop taking cobimetinib. Talk to your doctor about birth control methods that will work for you. If you become pregnant while taking cobimetinib, call your doctor immediately. Cobimetinib may harm the fetus.
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tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding. You should not breastfeed while taking cobimetinib and for 2 weeks after your last dose.
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plan to avoid unnecessary or prolonged exposure to sunlight and to wear protective clothing, sunglasses, lip balm and sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher). Cobimetinib may make your skin sensitive to sunlight. Tell your doctor right away if you get a sunburn.
🤒Side Effects in Detail▾
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Cobimetinib may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
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mouth ulcers
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hair loss
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diarrhea
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nausea
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vomiting
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heartburn or indigestion
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dry mouth
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mouth pain
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fever, chills, sore throat, frequent or painful urination, or other signs of infection
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falling
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Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms or those in the SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS section, call your doctor immediately or get emergency medical treatment:
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rash that covers a large area of your body, blisters, or peeling skin
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changes in skin appearance
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new wart
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skin sore or red bump that bleeds or does not heal
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change in size or color of a mole
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unusual bleeding or bruising tarry or black stools, blood in urine, unusual vaginal bleeding, stomach pain, headache or dizziness
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coughing or wheezing; rapid, irregular, or pounding heartbeat; shortness of breath; tiredness; or swelling of the face, arms, legs, ankles, or feet
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muscle spasms, pain, or weakness
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changes in vision, including seeing halos (blurred outline around objects), blurred vision, or loss of vision
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yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark-colored (tea-colored) urine, pain in upper right part of the stomach, nausea, vomiting, or loss of appetite
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Cobimetinib may increase the risk that you will develop new skin cancers. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.
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Cobimetinib may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.
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If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch) or by phone (1-800-332-1088).
🚑If You Take Too Much▾
In case of overdose, call the poison control helpline at 1-800-222-1222. Information is also available online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. If the victim has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing, or can't be awakened, immediately call emergency services at 911.
📦Storage & Disposal▾
Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom).
Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDA's Safe Disposal of Medicines website (http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p) for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.
It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location – one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach. http://www.upandaway.org
➕Other Uses▾
This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
ℹ️Good to Know▾
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor will order certain lab tests to check your body's response during and after therapy. Your doctor will check your skin for any changes before, every 2 months during your treatment, and for up to 6 months after treatment.
It is important for you to keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines you are taking, as well as any products such as vitamins, minerals, or other dietary supplements. You should bring this list with you each time you visit a doctor or if you are admitted to a hospital. It is also important information to carry with you in case of emergencies.
📄 Written from Cobimetinib’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Every point is grounded in that labeling — nothing is invented. How we use AI →
Supplements & herbs that interact with Cobimetinib
138 supplements and herbal products have documented interactions with Cobimetinib in the licensed clinical database we use. Most are manageable — but your pharmacist should know about everything you take, including vitamins and herbals.
- Major · 3
- Moderate · 94
- Minor · 41
Educational information from a licensed clinical database (Natural Medicines) — see our data sources & update cadence. Not medical advice: an interaction being documented does not mean it will happen to you; do not start or stop medications or supplements without professional guidance.
❓ Cobimetinib: frequently asked questions
Common questions about Cobimetinib, answered from its official FDA-filed labeling.
What is Cobimetinib used for? ▾
How is Cobimetinib taken? ▾
What are the side effects of Cobimetinib? ▾
What should I know before taking Cobimetinib? ▾
Can I take Cobimetinib while pregnant? ▾
How should I store Cobimetinib? ▾
Is Cobimetinib available over the counter? ▾
When was Cobimetinib first available? ▾
💬 Answers drafted from Cobimetinib’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Grounded in that labeling — nothing is made up. How we use AI →
🧰 Keep exploring
💊 How Cobimetinib comes
Cobimetinib is available in 1 form. Different forms and brands can have different approved uses, doses, schedules, and directions. Follow the instructions for your exact product, and do not switch forms without guidance from your prescriber or pharmacist.
Tablet
📊 Cobimetinib across the U.S. market
How Cobimetinib appears in the FDA’s National Drug Code Directory — including its dosage forms, strengths, brand names, manufacturers, and FDA-listed product records. These are directory records, not sales or prescription volume.
📈 How widely Cobimetinib is used
A general measure of how commonly Cobimetinib is prescribed, based on Medicaid — one of the largest public drug programs. The figure below is prescriptions filled in Q1–Q4 2025, summed across every form and brand of the drug.
Think of this as a proxy for how widely Cobimetinib is used, drawn from freely available public data. Medicaid is just one program — these numbers don’t include Medicare, other government coverage, or commercial and cash-pay prescriptions, so real-world use is higher than what’s shown here.
How commonly is Cobimetinib prescribed? Of the 1,596 medications we measure, Cobimetinib ranks #1,463 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 8% of them.
Utilization by Cobimetinib product
Pick a product to see its own Medicaid numbers. Each chip is one clinical product — a specific strength & dosage form as defined by RxNorm — with brand-name and generic versions combined.
cobimetinib 20 MG Oral Tablet
Summed across the 1 of 2 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 1722370
Shares are of the Medicaid prescriptions shown here. Product grouping follows RxNorm (the National Library of Medicine’s drug terminology), so “one product” means one strength & dosage form regardless of manufacturer. Dollar figures are gross Medicaid reimbursement before mandatory rebates — rebates (often large, especially for brand-name drugs) are confidential, so actual net cost to Medicaid is lower than shown.
Source: Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data (CMS), aggregated by generic ingredient — summed across every NDC (all brands, strengths, salt forms and dosage forms) of Cobimetinib, and across all states and both fee-for-service and managed-care claims. A general popularity signal; it excludes Medicare, commercial insurance and cash prescriptions, so it is not total U.S. use. Based on the 1 of 2 listed Cobimetinib NDCs with Medicaid activity.
🔍 Compare Cobimetinib products
A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Cobimetinib — across manufacturers, strengths, and dosage forms, grouped by form with each product’s manufacturer and how the FDA approved it. The same medicine may be made and packaged by different companies, so a single drug can have many directory entries. (It’s also why a refill can look different — a new shape, color, or box — even though it contains the same medication.)
| Strength | Route | Manufacturer / Labeler | Category ⓘ | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💊Tablet | ||||
| 20 mg | Oral | Genentech, Inc. × 4 listings | NDA | View NDC → |
Showing 4 of 4 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 4 Cobimetinib NDCs →
📈 What people report — real-world data (FDA FAERS)
After a medicine reaches the market, patients, doctors and drugmakers can send the FDA reports of problems they think may be linked to it. Here’s what’s been reported for Cobimetinib — a signal of what to watch for, not proof the drug caused it.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). These are voluntary reports — they don’t prove the drug caused the effect, and counts reflect how often something was reported, not how often it actually happens. Reports also often name the very problem the medicine is taken for — a common reason to file one is that the drug didn’t help — so for a pain reliever you may see “pain” high on the list; that points to why the report was filed, not to the drug causing the symptom. This counts every report that lists Cobimetinib in any role, so the total runs higher than the FDA’s official dashboard, which counts only cases where the drug is the suspect. For the authoritative figures, see the FDA FAERS Public Dashboard. Always talk to your pharmacist or doctor.
🏛️ The road to your pharmacy
How Cobimetinib went from FDA review to the pharmacy shelf — the key milestones in its regulatory journey.
Source: Drugs@FDA.
🚨 Recall history
A recall is when a specific batch of a medicine is pulled from the market — usually a manufacturing issue, not a problem with the drug itself. Class I is most serious, Class III least.
Source: openFDA drug enforcement (recall) reports.
RxNorm Concept Web — From Ingredient to Every Form and Strength
This page starts with one ingredient concept (IN). The branches below show its dose-form concepts (SCDF), then the available clinical drug and strength concepts (SCD). Combination products remain separate concepts with their own pages.
RxCUI 1722365 1 dose form · 1 strength
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Dose form (SCDF) Oral Tablet RxCUI 1722369In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 20 MGRxCUI 1722370
Look up RxCUI 1722365 in the RxCUI Atlas →
RxNorm is the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s normalized drug vocabulary. Its concept hierarchy can include forms that are not currently marketed; the status on each branch compares that concept with current FDA listings. RxCUIs identify vocabulary concepts, not individual packages or manufacturers.
📦 Supply & shortage status
Whether Cobimetinib is in short supply in the U.S. right now, plus any shortage history the FDA has on record. A shortage usually reflects a manufacturing or demand issue — not a safety problem with the drug.
Source: openFDA, from the FDA Drug Shortages database.
🏷️ Sold under these brand names
🏭 Manufacturers & labelers
RxNorm drug class
Cobimetinib belongs to the Kinase Inhibitor class.
Classified by RxNorm RxClass — the U.S. National Library of Medicine's standardized drug-classification service (Established Pharmacologic Class from the FDA, the ATC drug family from the WHO, and mechanism of action). Reference only, not medical advice.
🔬 Where this comes from
Core label, product, RxNorm, safety, and utilization data on this page come from the sources identified below. AI-written, editorial, and licensed sections are labeled separately.
How we combine label and product data
HelloPharmacist combines public FDA and NLM records; we don’t author the underlying clinical facts. We identified 1 FDA-filed SPL label set within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. The representative label is the starting point for the displayed reference monograph; the 12 largest stored in-scope SPL records, which may include that representative, are compared section by section, and the longest available version of each section is retained. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, product-listed strengths, and product-record counts are aggregated separately from ingredient-matched FDA NDC Directory records; package records listed above are associated with the linked SPL; and the normalized concept hierarchy comes from NLM RxNorm.
For canonical ingredient pages, bounded product-attributed indication and administration excerpts may be added to the AI evidence, and the generator is instructed to preserve available product, brand, route, and form qualifiers instead of treating one label as universal. Where a section is identified as AI-written, its plain-language text is generated from bounded label evidence. New draft drug pages remain in the admin review queue before first publication. Genentech, Inc. is the representative DailyMed label linked for verification and dates; it is not the sole source used for the page.
This is general education, not medical advice — always consult your doctor or pharmacist about your medications and any medical condition. For the exact wording of the linked representative label, view that label on DailyMed; some displayed composite sections may come from other in-scope SPL labels. Learn how we use AI and our data sources & update cadence.