Reported Reactions

Drugs › Iron chelator

Generic name

Deferasirox: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,810 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2007–2026. Class: Iron chelator. Also reported as Deferasirox 500mg Tab, Deferasirox 250mg Tab, Deferasirox 500mg.

1,810
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 94 a year
157
reports, 12 months to June 2026
257 in the 12 months before
87.5%
marked serious by the reporter
85.9% across the class
12.4%
record death among outcomes, as reported
225 reports · not verified by FDA

Between April 2007 and June 2026, 1,810 adverse event reports received by FDA list deferasirox, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (1,089) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 157 reports listed it, down 39% from 257 in the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Over its reporting history that is about 94 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 6.9% of the reports for the iron chelator class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

Reporters most often recorded sickle cell anaemia with crisis (9.8%), death (6.9%) and diarrhoea (5.6%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 434 different terms appear across these reports. Sickle cell anaemia with crisis is recorded in 9.8% of these reports, a larger share than in the median iron chelator drug (6.7%).

87.5% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (85.9% across the class); 12.4% record death among the outcomes and 48% record hospitalisation, as reported. 54.1% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (17.6%). FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

02243Jul 2021: 8Aug 2021: 12Sep 2021: 12Oct 2021: 18Nov 2021: 20Dec 2021: 242022Jan 2022: 23Feb 2022: 35Mar 2022: 33Apr 2022: 34May 2022: 38Jun 2022: 29Jul 2022: 24Aug 2022: 22Sep 2022: 31Oct 2022: 26Nov 2022: 28Dec 2022: 302023Jan 2023: 25Feb 2023: 23Mar 2023: 23Apr 2023: 14May 2023: 27Jun 2023: 24Jul 2023: 13Aug 2023: 35Sep 2023: 16Oct 2023: 24Nov 2023: 17Dec 2023: 152024Jan 2024: 17Feb 2024: 14Mar 2024: 23Apr 2024: 28May 2024: 11Jun 2024: 24Jul 2024: 27Aug 2024: 11Sep 2024: 32Oct 2024: 16Nov 2024: 17Dec 2024: 432025Jan 2025: 38Feb 2025: 16Mar 2025: 16Apr 2025: 11May 2025: 8Jun 2025: 22Jul 2025: 16Aug 2025: 12Sep 2025: 16Oct 2025: 11Nov 2025: 14Dec 2025: 142026Jan 2026: 8Feb 2026: 13Mar 2026: 8Apr 2026: 24May 2026: 7Jun 2026: 14

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

01773532007: 320072008: 112009: 720092010: 172011: 1620112012: 442013: 2220132014: 162015: 2420152016: 202017: 3020172018: 522019: 8520192020: 1582021: 16520212022: 3532023: 25620232024: 2632025: 19420252026: 74

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Deferasirox reports recording the termmedian drug in iron chelator

  1. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term6.9%125
  2. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools5.6%101
  3. Pyrexiafever5.2%94
  4. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected5.1%92
  5. Hospitalisationadmission to hospital4.5%82
  6. Vomitingbeing sick4.4%80
  7. Abdominal painstomach or belly pain4.4%79
  8. Nauseafeeling sick3.6%65
  9. Nephrolithiasiskidney stones3.4%62
  10. Haemoglobin decreasedlow haemoglobin3.3%59
  11. Hyperammonaemia2.9%52
  12. Fatiguetiredness2.5%45
  13. Metabolic acidosistoo much acid in the body fluids2.4%44
  14. Acute kidney injurysudden loss of kidney function2.3%42
  15. Anaemialow red blood cells2.3%42
  16. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label2.3%42
  17. Dyspnoeashortness of breath2%36
  18. Thrombocytopenialow platelets1.9%35
  19. Blood creatinine increasedraised creatinine, a kidney test1.8%32
  20. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances1.7%31
  21. Pneumonialung infection1.7%30
  22. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy1.5%28
  23. Painpain, site not specified1.5%27
  24. Headachehead pain1.3%24
  25. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines1.3%23
  26. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label1.2%21
  27. Proteinuriaprotein in the urine1.2%21

Top 30 of 434 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the median share across the 5 drugs in the iron chelator class; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Death12.4%225
Life-threatening4.3%78
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)48%868
Disability0.3%6
Congenital anomaly0.1%2
Other serious40.8%738
Not serious12.5%227

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 26,165 reports in the class. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Patient age

Under 20.2%3
2 to 116.2%113
12 to 175.8%105
18 to 4417.6%319
45 to 6413.1%238
65 to 747.6%137
75 and over10.6%191
Age not given38.9%704

Patient sex

Female44.1%799
Male42.5%770
Not given13.3%241

Who reported

Physician13.5%245
Pharmacist4.9%88
Other health professional54.1%979
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional14.1%255
Not given13.4%243

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 55.4% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Iron overload26114.4%
Sickle cell disease1588.7%
Haemochromatosis1287.1%
Thalassaemia beta1166.4%
Thalassaemia975.4%
Myelodysplastic syndrome673.7%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,810 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Deferasirox reports
Folic acid1126.2%
Aspirin472.6%
Oxbryta402.2%
Cholecalciferol392.2%
Ergocalciferol372%
Pantoprazole362%
Hydroxyurea341.9%
Exjade321.8%
Ondansetron281.5%
Mesalamine271.5%

Other products listed in reports where Deferasirox is a suspect product, whatever their own role. Co-listing means the two were recorded together; it says nothing about either product's part in the event. Only the 2,500 most-reported names are counted here.

In context

MeasureDeferasiroxIron chelatorAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,81026,16520,646,523
Share of that pool—6.9%0%
Reports, latest 12 months157—1,332,454
Marked serious87.5%85.9%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports12428491
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports480369213
Consumer-filed share14.1%32.1%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsSickle cell anaemia with crisis 9.8%median 6.7%0.1%

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Other drugs in the iron chelator class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Exjadebrand18,3093091.9%
Jadenubrand2,8481661.3%
Ferriproxbrand2,35129665%
Desferalbrand8471393.2%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Questions about Deferasirox reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Deferasirox?

1,810 reports list Deferasirox as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 157 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 1,089 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Deferasirox reports?

sickle cell anaemia with crisis (9.8%), death (6.9%), diarrhoea (5.6%), therapy interrupted (5.6%) and pyrexia (5.2%). These are MedDRA preferred terms coded from what the reporter described; a report can list several, and a term's presence is not a finding that Deferasirox was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

87.5% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 12.4% of reports include death and 48% include hospitalisation. FDA has not verified these outcomes and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence" of the events.

Who files these reports?

other health professional (54.1%), consumer or non-health professional (14.1%) and physician (13.5%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Deferasirox rising?

157 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 39% from 257 in the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Counts also move with how many people take a product, its time on the market and publicity.

Do these reports show that Deferasirox was responsible for these reactions?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event." The reaction may relate to the condition being treated, to other medicines, or to something else.

Is this a list of the side effects of Deferasirox?

No. It is a count of what was reported to FDA. The adverse reactions observed in clinical studies are printed on the FDA-approved label, which a pharmacist or clinician can go through with you.

How do I report an adverse event?

Consumers and health professionals can report to FDA through MedWatch (Form FDA 3500 online, or 1-800-FDA-1088), or to the manufacturer, which must pass reports on. See the guide on how to report.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Deferasirox as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (1,089) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.