Reported Reactions

Drugs › Peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist

Generic name

Gemfibrozil: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,807 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist. Also reported as Gemfibrozil 600mg.

1,807
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 80 a year
43
reports, 12 months to June 2026
44 in the 12 months before
79%
marked serious by the reporter
85.1% across the class
12.9%
record death among outcomes, as reported
234 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and June 2026, 1,807 adverse event reports received by FDA list gemfibrozil, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (9,645) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 43 reports listed it, close to the 44 of 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 80 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 6% of the reports for the peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The MedDRA terms listed most often are rhabdomyolysis (20.9%), drug interaction (14%) and myalgia (8.4%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 468 different terms appear across these reports. Rhabdomyolysis is recorded in 20.9% of these reports, a larger share than in the median peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist drug (3.5%).

79% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (85.1% across the class); 12.9% record death among the outcomes and 38.2% record hospitalisation, as reported. 25.8% of the reports came from physicians, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (32.5%). 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

0612Jul 2021: 8Aug 2021: 0Sep 2021: 3Oct 2021: 7Nov 2021: 3Dec 2021: 22022Jan 2022: 2Feb 2022: 1Mar 2022: 1Apr 2022: 3May 2022: 10Jun 2022: 8Jul 2022: 4Aug 2022: 3Sep 2022: 6Oct 2022: 6Nov 2022: 6Dec 2022: 12023Jan 2023: 3Feb 2023: 6Mar 2023: 6Apr 2023: 1May 2023: 3Jun 2023: 6Jul 2023: 3Aug 2023: 6Sep 2023: 3Oct 2023: 3Nov 2023: 4Dec 2023: 102024Jan 2024: 12Feb 2024: 7Mar 2024: 5Apr 2024: 5May 2024: 3Jun 2024: 5Jul 2024: 9Aug 2024: 8Sep 2024: 2Oct 2024: 6Nov 2024: 2Dec 2024: 32025Jan 2025: 5Feb 2025: 2Mar 2025: 3Apr 2025: 0May 2025: 4Jun 2025: 0Jul 2025: 3Aug 2025: 2Sep 2025: 8Oct 2025: 5Nov 2025: 1Dec 2025: 52026Jan 2026: 6Feb 2026: 5Mar 2026: 2Apr 2026: 2May 2026: 1Jun 2026: 3

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

0661312004: 10220042005: 1162006: 842007: 5220072008: 822009: 1312010: 6520102011: 962012: 1002013: 10220132014: 782015: 892016: 7520162017: 622018: 1112019: 12220192020: 572021: 542022: 5120222023: 542024: 672025: 3820252026: 19

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Gemfibrozil reports recording the termmedian drug in peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist

  1. Rhabdomyolysismuscle breakdown20.9%378
  2. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines14%253
  3. Myalgiamuscle pain8.4%152
  4. Drug hypersensitivityan allergic-type reaction to a medicine7%126
  5. Completed suicidedeath by suicide6.4%116
  6. Astheniaweakness or lack of energy5.5%99
  7. Fatiguetiredness5.3%95
  8. Nauseafeeling sick4.9%88
  9. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected4.5%82
  10. Muscular weaknessmuscle weakness3.3%59
  11. Vomitingbeing sick3.3%59
  12. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools3.2%57
  13. Acute kidney injurysudden loss of kidney function2.8%50
  14. Pain in extremitypain in an arm or leg2.8%50
  15. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell2.5%46
  16. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness2.4%44
  17. Blood cholesterol increasedraised cholesterol2.4%43
  18. Muscle spasmsmuscle cramps2.4%43
  19. Abdominal painstomach or belly pain2.3%42
  20. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances2.3%41
  21. Arthralgiajoint pain2.2%40
  22. Aspartate aminotransferase increasedraised liver enzyme (AST)2.2%40
  23. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term2.2%40
  24. Alanine aminotransferase increasedraised liver enzyme (ALT)2.2%39
  25. Blood creatinine increasedraised creatinine, a kidney test2.1%38
  26. Treatment noncompliancethe treatment was not taken as directed2%37

Top 30 of 468 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 7 drugs in the peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist 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

Death12.9%234
Life-threatening7.4%133
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)38.2%691
Disability3%55
Congenital anomaly0.2%3
Other serious40.9%739
Not serious21%380

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 29,908 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 20.3%5
2 to 110.9%17
12 to 170.3%6
18 to 4413.1%237
45 to 6432.5%588
65 to 7418.4%333
75 and over10.6%191
Age not given23.8%430

Patient sex

Female34.5%623
Male53.8%972
Not given11.7%212

Who reported

Physician25.8%467
Pharmacist24.3%439
Other health professional25.5%460
Lawyer0.2%4
Consumer or non-health professional17.3%312
Not given6.9%125

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 68.1% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Hyperlipidaemia24313.4%
Hypertriglyceridaemia1629%
Hypercholesterolaemia834.6%
Blood cholesterol increased613.4%
Blood triglycerides increased553%
Dyslipidaemia492.7%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,807 reports.

In context

MeasureGemfibrozilPeroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonistAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,80729,90820,646,523
Share of that pool—6%0%
Reports, latest 12 months43—1,332,454
Marked serious79%85.1%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports12913491
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports382265213
Consumer-filed share17.3%24%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsRhabdomyolysis 20.9%median 3.5%0.2%

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 peroxisome proliferator receptor alpha agonist class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Actosbrand15,1282991.9%
Fenofibrategeneric6,35552689.1%
Pioglitazonegeneric2,65910988.9%
Tricorbrand2,471539.3%
Pioglitazone hydrochloridegeneric7763691.8%
Lopidbrand712257.9%

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 Gemfibrozil reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Gemfibrozil?

1,807 reports list Gemfibrozil as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 43 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 9,645 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Gemfibrozil reports?

rhabdomyolysis (20.9%), drug interaction (14%), myalgia (8.4%), renal failure acute (8%) and drug hypersensitivity (7%). 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 Gemfibrozil was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

79% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 12.9% of reports include death and 38.2% 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?

physician (25.8%), other health professional (25.5%) and pharmacist (24.3%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Gemfibrozil rising?

43 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 44 of 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 Gemfibrozil 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 Gemfibrozil?

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 Gemfibrozil as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (9,645) 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.