Vismodegib
Vismodegib is a once-daily oral cancer medicine (a hedgehog pathway inhibitor) used for adults with advanced basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.
🧬 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 →
Vismodegib (Erivedge), on the market since about 2012, is a specialist oral cancer medicine for adults with basal cell carcinoma, a skin cancer, that has spread or is beyond surgery and radiation; it works by blocking the Hedgehog signaling pathway at a protein called Smoothened. Side effects are common and can be wearing, especially muscle spasms, taste changes, hair loss and weight loss. Its boxed warning is for fetal death and severe birth defects, so women need a pregnancy test before starting and contraception until 24 months after the last dose, and men need condoms (even after a vasectomy) until 3 months after. Report any severe skin reaction right away.
Clinical pearls
- Do not donate blood during treatment or for 24 months after, and men should not donate semen for 3 months after.
- Swallow the capsules whole without opening them, and if you miss a dose, skip it and take the next one on schedule.
- Breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment or for 24 months after the last dose.
- Menstrual periods may stop during treatment, and it is not known whether they return, so raise it if fertility matters.
⚠️ FDA Boxed Warning — the FDA’s strongest safety alert ▾
Vismodegib can cause miscarriage or severe, permanent birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Animal studies showed serious defects, including midline defects and missing fingers or toes.
Women who can become pregnant must have a pregnancy test within 7 days before starting and use effective contraception during treatment and afterward. Men should use condoms with a pregnant partner or a partner who could become pregnant, because the drug passes into semen. Tell your doctor right away about any possible pregnancy.
Patient information guide A plain-language walkthrough of Vismodegib, written from its FDA label.
What Vismodegib is used for
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Vismodegib is used for certain advanced skin cancers in adults.
- Erivedge capsules treat metastatic basal cell carcinoma.
- Erivedge treats locally advanced basal cell carcinoma that has recurred after surgery.
- Erivedge treats locally advanced basal cell carcinoma in adults who are not candidates for surgery and not candidates for radiation.
How Vismodegib works
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Vismodegib is a hedgehog pathway inhibitor. It binds to and blocks Smoothened, a protein on the cell surface that passes along Hedgehog signals. Blocking this protein interrupts that signaling pathway.
Vismodegib dosage
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Erivedge is a capsule taken by mouth once daily. You can take it with or without food.
- Swallow capsules whole. Do not open or crush them.
- If you miss a dose, skip it and take the next one on schedule.
- Your doctor may pause treatment for up to 8 weeks for side effects you can't tolerate.
Follow your prescriber's directions and the label.
Dosing details from the FDA-approved label
From the Vismodegib prescribing information (“Dosage and Administration”). Doses are set by your prescriber for your product, condition, kidney function and age — never change a dose on your own.
- Recommended dosage (ERIVEDGE, vismodegib)
- 150 mg taken orally once daily, with or without food, until disease progression or until unacceptable toxicity
- Swallow capsules whole; do not open or crush. If a dose is missed, resume dosing with the next scheduled dose. Verify pregnancy status of females of reproductive potential within 7 days prior to initiating.
- Intolerable adverse reactions
- Withhold ERIVEDGE for up to 8 weeks until improvement or resolution
- Treatment durations shorter than 8 weeks prior to interruptions have not been studied
- Severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions
- Interrupt ERIVEDGE
- Permanently discontinue for recurrent, severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions
- Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) including SJS, TEN, or DRESS
- Permanently discontinue ERIVEDGE
Read the label’s full dosing text
2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION The recommended dosage is 150 mg orally once daily. ( 2 ) 2.1 Important Safety Information Verify pregnancy status of females of reproductive potential within 7 days prior to initiating ERIVEDGE [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1 , 8.3) ] . 2.2 Recommended Dosage The recommended dosage of ERIVEDGE is 150 mg taken orally once daily, with or without food, until disease progression or until unacceptable toxicity . Swallow capsules whole. Do not open or crush capsules . If a dose of ERIVEDGE is missed, resume dosing with the next scheduled dose. 2.3 Dosage Modifications for Adverse Reactions Withhold ERIVEDGE for up to 8 weeks for intolerable adverse reactions until improvement or resolution. Treatment durations shorter than 8 weeks prior to interruptions have not been studied. Permanently discontinue ERIVEDGE if patients experience severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), or drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] . Interrupt ERIVEDGE for severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions. Permanently discontinue ERIVEDGE for recurrent, severe or intolerable musculoskeletal adverse reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] .
Read the full Dosage and Administration section on DailyMed →
Vismodegib side effects
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The most common side effects, seen in at least 10% of people, include:
Common side effects
- Muscle spasms
- Hair loss (alopecia)
- Altered or lost sense of taste
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation
- Decreased appetite
- Joint pain (arthralgia)
- Dysgeusia (altered taste) and ageusia (loss of taste)
When to get medical help
- Call your doctor right away if you become pregnant or think you might be, or if a partner becomes pregnant while you are taking it.
- Get urgent help for a severe skin reaction (such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis or DRESS). These can be life-threatening, and the medicine must be stopped permanently.
- Tell your doctor about severe, worsening or intolerable muscle pain, cramps or weakness.
- Tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver problems, since drug-induced liver injury has been reported after approval.
- In children, bone growth can stop early (premature fusion of the growth plates). Report this to a doctor.
Some premenopausal women stopped having periods (amenorrhea). Severe skin reactions, muscle problems with raised CPK, and liver injury have been reported, so contact your doctor promptly about them.
Vismodegib warnings and precautions
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- Embryo-fetal toxicity: it can cause fetal death or severe birth defects. Pregnancy testing and contraception are required.
- Severe skin reactions: SJS, TEN and DRESS can be life-threatening. Treatment is stopped permanently.
- Muscle problems: treatment may need to be paused or stopped, and CPK and creatinine may be checked.
- Growth plates in children: premature fusion of the epiphyses (growth plates) has been reported, and in some cases continued after stopping.
- Donation: do not donate blood for 24 months after the last dose. Men should not donate semen for 3 months after.
Vismodegib interactions
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Studies found few meaningful interactions.
- Fluconazole, itraconazole and rabeprazole did not significantly change vismodegib levels.
- Vismodegib did not significantly change levels of rosiglitazone or of ethinyl estradiol and norethindrone (birth control pill ingredients).
- Food does not affect how much drug is absorbed at steady state.
Not a complete list. The label covers the interactions the manufacturer studied or reported, and our own interaction database does not cover every medicine either. Bring your full medication list, including vitamins and herbal products, to your pharmacist.
Before taking Vismodegib
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- Do not take it during pregnancy. Women who could become pregnant need a negative test within 7 days before starting.
- Use effective contraception during treatment and for 24 months after the last dose.
- Men should use condoms, even after a vasectomy, during treatment and for 3 months after.
- Breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment and for 24 months after.
- It is not approved for children.
- Older adults: not enough people 65 and over were studied to know if they respond differently.
- No dose change is needed for liver or kidney impairment. The effect of severe kidney impairment is unknown.
- The label lists no contraindications.
What Vismodegib does in the body
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Vismodegib blocks Hedgehog pathway signaling. At the recommended daily dosing, it did not lengthen the QT interval (a heart rhythm measure) to any clinically relevant extent.
How your body processes Vismodegib
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About 32% of a single dose is absorbed, and absorption levels off at higher doses. Steady levels are reached within 7 days, and food doesn't change them. Vismodegib is highly bound to blood proteins and has a long half-life of about 4 days with daily dosing (12 days after a single dose). It is cleared mainly through the liver, with most of the dose found in stool. A small amount passes into semen.
How to store Vismodegib
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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) . protect from moisture.
Written from the FDA-approved label with AI and reviewed by our pharmacy team. How we use AI →
Supplements & herbs that interact with Vismodegib
57 supplements and herbal products have documented interactions with Vismodegib in the licensed clinical database we use. Most are manageable — but your pharmacist should know about everything you take, including vitamins and herbals.
- Major · 2
- Moderate · 38
- Minor · 17
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.
Vismodegib: pharmacist answers to common questions
Quick, plain-English answers to the questions patients ask most about Vismodegib — the kind of thing our pharmacy team would talk through with you at the counter.
What is this medicine for?
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How do I take it?
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What side effects should I expect?
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Is it safe if I could become pregnant or have a pregnant partner?
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Can I donate blood while taking it?
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Do I need to worry about other medicines?
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Is Vismodegib available over the counter?
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When was Vismodegib first available?
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Answers drafted from the FDA-approved label with AI and reviewed by our pharmacy team. How we use AI →
More about Vismodegib on HelloPharmacist
Vismodegib forms and strengths (how it comes)
Vismodegib 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.
Need a version that does not list lactose, a gluten source, a dye or gelatin? Inactive ingredients differ by manufacturer: see Vismodegib inactive ingredients by manufacturer.
Capsule
How this form is used
- Erivedge is used for adults with metastatic basal cell carcinoma.
- Erivedge is used for locally advanced basal cell carcinoma that has recurred after surgery, or in people who can't have surgery or radiation.
- Erivedge is taken by mouth once daily, with or without food.
- Swallow Erivedge capsules whole. Do not open or crush them.
- If you miss a dose of Erivedge, skip it and take the next scheduled dose.
Vismodegib on the U.S. market: products, makers and brands
How Vismodegib 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.
1 company lists 1 Vismodegib product record with the FDA, mostly as capsule; the earliest marketing or approval year on record is 2012. Brand names on the directory include Erivedge; the rest are generics.
Also listed with the FDA, not a patient dose form: Powder (3) — bulk drug substance sold to compounders/manufacturers and multi-item kits. These aren’t counted in the dose-form total above.
How widely Vismodegib is used (Medicaid data)
A general measure of how commonly Vismodegib 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 Vismodegib 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 Vismodegib prescribed? Of the 1,601 medications we measure, Vismodegib ranks #1,267 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 21% of them.
Utilization by Vismodegib 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.
vismodegib 150 MG Oral Capsule
Summed across the 1 of 2 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 1242992
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 Vismodegib, 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 Vismodegib NDCs with Medicaid activity.
Compare Vismodegib products
A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Vismodegib — 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 | ||||
| 150 mg | Oral | Genentech, Inc. | NDA | View NDC → |
Showing 1 of 1 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 1 Vismodegib NDCs →
Vismodegib side effects reported to the 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 Vismodegib — 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 Vismodegib 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.
Vismodegib FDA approval history
How Vismodegib went from FDA review to the pharmacy shelf — the key milestones in its regulatory journey.
Source: Drugs@FDA.
Vismodegib 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.
The FDA’s enforcement reports list no Vismodegib recalls since July 2021.
✅No Vismodegib recalls on record since July 2021Source: FDA enforcement (recall) reports, via openFDA; our copy was last updated Sep 24, 2026.
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 1242987 1 dose form · 1 strength
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Dose form (SCDF) Oral Capsule RxCUI 1242991In current FDA listingsClinical drug / strength (SCD) 150 MGRxCUI 1242992
Look up RxCUI 1242987 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.
Vismodegib supply and shortage status
Whether Vismodegib 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.
Vismodegib brand names
Vismodegib is sold under one brand name in the FDA directory — Erivedge. A brand and its generic contain the same active ingredient; the brand name belongs to one company's product.
Who makes Vismodegib: manufacturers and labelers
One company lists Vismodegib products with the FDA. By number of product records, the largest are Genentech, Inc.. Labelers include manufacturers and repackagers; the product in your bottle depends on which one your pharmacy stocks.
Vismodegib drug class (RxNorm)
Vismodegib belongs to the Hedgehog Pathway 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.
Sources for this Vismodegib page
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 this page is built
HelloPharmacist combines public FDA and NLM records and does not author the underlying clinical facts. The plain-language sections are written with AI from the FDA-approved label text and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Genentech, Inc. is the representative DailyMed label linked for verification and dates. This is general education, not medical advice: always talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own medicines. How we build and review drug pages →