Fenoprofen
Fenoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to relieve mild to moderate pain and to treat the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
🧬 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 7 clinical label sets 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 →
⚠️ FDA Boxed Warning — the FDA’s strongest safety alert ▾
Fenoprofen carries an FDA boxed warning — the most serious type of drug warning — for two major risks.
Heart and blood vessel events: NSAIDs like fenoprofen increase the risk of serious — and sometimes fatal — cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke. This risk can begin early in treatment and may increase the longer you take it. People with existing heart disease or heart risk factors are at even greater risk. Fenoprofen must not be used around the time of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) heart surgery.
Stomach and intestinal bleeding: Fenoprofen can cause serious bleeding, ulcers, or holes (perforation) in the stomach or intestines at any time — even without any prior warning symptoms. These events can be fatal. Older adults and people with a history of ulcers or stomach bleeding are most at risk. Watch for signs like stomach pain, dark or tarry stools, or vomiting blood, and seek medical help immediately if they occur.
📖 Fenoprofen: Patient Information Guide
A plain-language walkthrough of Fenoprofen — what it treats, how it works, how it’s taken, side effects, warnings and interactions. Tap any section to expand it.
🎯What it's used for▾
Fenoprofen is an oral NSAID approved for use in adults across multiple products — including Fenoprofen Calcium capsules, Fenopron capsules, and Nalfon capsules and tablets.
- Relief of mild to moderate pain in adults
- Relief of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
- Relief of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis
⚙️How it works▾
Fenoprofen blocks two enzymes — COX-1 and COX-2 (cyclooxygenase) — that the body uses to produce prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are chemicals that sensitize pain receptors and drive inflammation. By cutting back prostaglandin production in the tissues, fenoprofen reduces pain and swelling. It also has fever-reducing (antipyretic) properties through this same pathway.
💊How it's taken▾
Fenoprofen is taken by mouth, and can be swallowed with food or milk to help protect the stomach — though this may slightly delay the peak effect. For pain, it is generally taken every 4 to 6 hours as needed. For arthritis, it is taken multiple times throughout the day on a regular schedule; it may take 2 to 3 weeks of consistent use to experience the full benefit.
- Always use the lowest dose that controls your symptoms.
- Do not exceed the maximum daily amount your prescriber or label specifies.
- Follow your prescriber's instructions exactly — do not adjust your dose on your own.
🤒Side effects — in detail▾
The most common side effects of fenoprofen involve the stomach and nervous system. These include:
- Upset stomach or indigestion (dyspepsia)
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Headache
- Drowsiness or sleepiness
- Dizziness
- Nervousness
- Weakness or fatigue (asthenia)
- Swelling in the legs or feet
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
- Increased sweating or skin rash
Serious reactions — including stomach bleeding, liver damage, severe skin reactions, kidney problems, and heart events — can occur and require immediate medical attention. See the warnings section for details.
⚠️Warnings & precautions▾
- Heart attack and stroke risk: Fenoprofen, like all NSAIDs, raises the risk of serious cardiovascular events including heart attack and stroke. This risk can start early and grows with higher doses or longer use. It is especially significant in people with existing heart disease.
- Stomach and intestinal bleeding: Fenoprofen can cause bleeding, ulcers, or perforation in the GI tract at any time — often without warning. Older adults and those with a history of ulcers or GI bleeding are at the greatest risk.
- Kidney problems: Long-term use or use in people with kidney disease, heart failure, or dehydration can reduce kidney function — sometimes severely. Monitor kidney function if you are at risk.
- Liver damage: Rare but serious liver injury has been reported. Stop taking fenoprofen and contact your doctor if you develop nausea, fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes), or upper right belly pain.
- High blood pressure and heart failure: Fenoprofen can raise blood pressure and worsen fluid retention. It should be avoided in severe heart failure unless clearly necessary.
- Serious skin reactions: Conditions like Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) — rare but life-threatening — have been reported. Stop fenoprofen at the first sign of a skin rash.
- Pregnancy: Avoid fenoprofen from about 30 weeks of pregnancy onward. Between 20 and 30 weeks, use only if clearly needed at the lowest possible dose.
🔀What it interacts with▾
Fenoprofen can interact with a number of commonly used medicines. Tell your prescriber and pharmacist about everything you take.
- Warfarin and blood thinners: Combined use significantly raises the risk of serious bleeding.
- Aspirin (at analgesic doses): Does not add benefit but does increase the risk of stomach bleeding — not generally recommended together.
- SSRIs and SNRIs (antidepressants): Increase bleeding risk when combined with fenoprofen.
- ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and beta-blockers: Fenoprofen may reduce how well these blood pressure medicines work, and in vulnerable patients can impair kidney function.
- Diuretics (water pills): Fenoprofen can blunt the effectiveness of loop diuretics (like furosemide) and thiazide diuretics and worsen kidney function.
- Digoxin: Fenoprofen raises digoxin blood levels — monitoring is needed to prevent toxicity.
- Lithium: Fenoprofen increases lithium levels, raising the risk of lithium toxicity.
- Methotrexate: Risk of serious methotrexate toxicity (including low blood counts and kidney problems) is increased.
- Cyclosporine: May increase kidney-damaging effects of cyclosporine.
- Phenobarbital: Long-term use of phenobarbital may reduce how long fenoprofen stays active in the body — dose adjustment may be needed.
- Hydantoins, sulfonamides, sulfonylureas: Fenoprofen may displace these drugs from blood proteins, potentially increasing their effects and risk of side effects.
This is not a complete list of interactions. Always talk with your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
📋Before taking it▾
- Do not take fenoprofen if you have ever had a serious allergic reaction — such as hives, asthma attack, or anaphylaxis — to aspirin or any other NSAID.
- Do not take fenoprofen if you are allergic to fenoprofen itself or any ingredient in the product.
- Do not take fenoprofen if you are undergoing or have recently had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.
- Tell your doctor if you have heart disease, high blood pressure, or have had a heart attack or stroke — your risk of further cardiovascular events is elevated.
- Tell your doctor if you have a history of stomach ulcers, GI bleeding, or inflammatory bowel disease.
- Tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, liver disease, or heart failure.
- Older adults face greater risk for heart, stomach, and kidney side effects — careful monitoring and the lowest effective dose are especially important.
- Fenoprofen has not been shown to be safe or effective in patients under 18 years old.
- If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding, discuss the risks and benefits carefully with your doctor. Fenoprofen should be avoided from about 30 weeks of pregnancy onward.
- Women having difficulty conceiving should talk to their doctor — fenoprofen may temporarily affect ovulation.
🚑If you take too much▾
Taking too much fenoprofen most often causes symptoms like drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain — which typically improve with supportive care. In rare cases, serious problems such as stomach bleeding, high blood pressure, kidney failure, or respiratory depression have been reported.
There is no specific antidote. If an overdose is suspected, contact a Poison Control Center immediately at 1-800-222-1222 or seek emergency medical care.
📡Pharmacodynamics — effects in the body▾
Fenoprofen has three main measurable effects: it relieves pain (analgesic), reduces inflammation (anti-inflammatory), and lowers fever (antipyretic). These effects stem from its ability to inhibit prostaglandin synthesis in peripheral tissues — prostaglandins are key drivers of pain signaling and inflammation. By reducing their levels, fenoprofen lowers pain sensitivity and dampens the inflammatory response in affected joints and tissues.
🔬Pharmacokinetics — how your body processes it▾
Fenoprofen is rapidly absorbed after oral dosing, reaching peak blood levels within about 2 hours when taken on an empty stomach. Taking it with food or milk delays and slightly reduces peak levels but does not change the total amount absorbed. It binds very tightly to albumin (a blood protein) — about 99% — and has a plasma half-life of roughly 3 hours, meaning the body processes it relatively quickly. About 90% of a dose is cleared through the urine within 24 hours, primarily as metabolites. In older adults, blood levels are similar to those in younger people, though clearance is somewhat slower due to a smaller distribution volume in the body.
📦How to store it▾
Store at room temperature 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F); excursions permitted between 15°C to 30°C (59°F to 86°F) .
📄 Written from Fenoprofen’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 Fenoprofen
32 supplements and herbal products have documented interactions with Fenoprofen in the licensed clinical database we use. Most are manageable — but your pharmacist should know about everything you take, including vitamins and herbals.
- Major · 5
- Moderate · 16
- Minor · 11
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.
🩺 Pharmacist Counseling Corner
Quick, plain-English answers to the questions patients ask most about Fenoprofen — the kind of thing our pharmacy team would talk through with you at the counter.
What exactly is fenoprofen used for? ▾
Should I take fenoprofen with food? ▾
How long will it take to feel better? ▾
What side effects should I actually watch out for? ▾
Are there medicines I shouldn't take at the same time? ▾
Is it safe to take fenoprofen during pregnancy? ▾
Is Fenoprofen available over the counter? ▾
When was Fenoprofen first available? ▾
Who makes Fenoprofen? ▾
💬 Answers drafted from Fenoprofen’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 Fenoprofen comes
Fenoprofen is available in 2 forms. 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.
Capsule
How this form is used
- Fenoprofen Calcium capsules are indicated for relief of mild to moderate pain in adults.
- Fenoprofen Calcium capsules are indicated for relief of signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Fenoprofen Calcium capsules are indicated for relief of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.
- Fenopron capsules are indicated for relief of mild to moderate pain, and signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in adults.
- Fenoprofen Calcium and Fenopron capsules may be taken with meals or with milk to help reduce stomach upset.
- For pain relief, these capsules are taken by mouth every 4 to 6 hours as needed — follow your prescriber's directions.
- For arthritis, these capsules are taken multiple times daily; improvement may take 2 to 3 weeks to fully develop.
- Always use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration that controls your symptoms.
Tablet
How this form is used
- Nalfon tablets are used for relief of mild to moderate pain in adults.
- Nalfon tablets are used for relief of signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
- Nalfon tablets are used for relief of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis.
- Nalfon tablets are taken by mouth; they may be taken with food or milk to reduce stomach upset.
- For arthritis, Nalfon tablets are taken multiple times a day — follow your prescriber's specific schedule.
- Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration consistent with your treatment goals.
- Full benefit for arthritis symptoms may take 2 to 3 weeks — continue as directed even if improvement seems slow at first.
📊 Fenoprofen across the U.S. market
How Fenoprofen 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.
FDA-listed product records by dose form (tablet variants merged) — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
Also listed with the FDA, not a patient dose form: Powder (4) — bulk drug substance sold to compounders/manufacturers and multi-item kits. These aren’t counted in the dose-form total above.
Share of FDA-listed product records by manufacturer — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.
📈 How widely Fenoprofen is used
A general measure of how commonly Fenoprofen is prescribed, based on Medicaid — one of the largest public drug programs. The figure below is prescriptions filled in Q2–Q4 2025, summed across every form and brand of the drug.
Think of this as a proxy for how widely Fenoprofen 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 Fenoprofen prescribed? Of the 1,596 medications we measure, Fenoprofen ranks #1,196 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 25% of them.
Utilization by Fenoprofen 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.
fenoprofen 300 MG Oral Capsule Most dispensed
Summed across the 1 of 3 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 197695
fenoprofen 400 MG Oral Capsule
Summed across the 2 of 36 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 858116
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 Fenoprofen, 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 3 of 39 listed Fenoprofen NDCs with Medicaid activity.
🔍 Compare Fenoprofen products
A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Fenoprofen — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💊Capsule | ||||
| 400 mg | Oral | A-S Medication Solutions | NDA AUTHORIZED GENERIC | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
| 200 mg | Oral | Atland Pharmaceuticals, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Atland Pharmaceuticals, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Bryant Ranch Prepack × 4 listings | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Bryant Ranch Prepack × 2 listings | NDA AUTHORIZED GENERIC | View NDC → |
| 300 mg | Oral | Coral Way Pharma, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 300 mg | Oral | Galt Pharmaceuticals, LLC | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Gentex Pharma × 2 listings | NDA AUTHORIZED GENERIC | View NDC → |
| 200 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. × 3 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 200 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. × 2 listings | NDA | View NDC → |
| 300 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. × 3 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 300 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. × 3 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Misemer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Proficient Rx LP | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Proficient Rx LP | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Quality Care Products, LLC | NDA | Find on DailyMed ↗ |
| 200 mg | Oral | Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 300 mg | Oral | Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc. | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc. × 3 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 200 mg | Oral | Xspire Pharma × 2 listings | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Xspire Pharma × 2 listings | NDA | View NDC → |
| 400 mg | Oral | Xspire Pharma | NDA AUTHORIZED GENERIC | View NDC → |
| 💊Tablet | ||||
| 600 mg | Oral | Xspire Pharma, Llc × 4 listings | ANDA | View NDC → |
| 💊Bulk drug substance | ||||
| 25 kg/25 kg | — | Biophore India Pharmaceuticals Private Limited | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
| 1 kg/kg | — | Cohance Lifescienes Limited | BULK INGREDIENT FOR HUMAN PRESCRIPTION COMPOUNDING | View NDC → |
| 1 kg/kg | — | SMS Pharmaceuticals Limited | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
| 1 kg/kg | — | W. R. Grace & Co.-conn. | BULK INGREDIENT | View NDC → |
Showing 47 of 47 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 47 Fenoprofen 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 Fenoprofen — 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 Fenoprofen 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 Fenoprofen 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 4331 2 dose forms · 5 strengths
-
Dose form (SCDF) Oral Capsule RxCUI 372153In current FDA listings -
Dose form (SCDF) Oral Tablet RxCUI 372154In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 300 MGRxCUI 250469600 MGRxCUI 310291
Look up RxCUI 4331 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 Fenoprofen 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
Fenoprofen belongs to the Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug 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 7 FDA-filed SPL label sets 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. Misemer Pharmaceuticals, 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.