Reported Reactions

Drugs › Folate analog metabolic inhibitor

Brand name · Methotrexate

Otrexup: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,914 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2014–2025. Class: Folate analog metabolic inhibitor.

1,914
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 156 a year
38
reports, 12 months to June 2026
38 in the 12 months before
9.8%
marked serious by the reporter
83.5% across the class
0.9%
record death among outcomes, as reported
18 reports · not verified by FDA

1,914 adverse event reports received by FDA list the brand name Otrexup (methotrexate) as a suspect or interacting product, from April 2014 to December 2025. A further 282 reports list it only as a concomitant medication, and those are not counted in the figures on this page.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 38 reports listed it, close to the 38 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 156 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.6% of the reports for the folate analog metabolic inhibitor class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

Reporters most often recorded device issue (10.2%), drug ineffective (8.5%) and nausea (5.8%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 305 different terms appear across these reports. Device issue is recorded in 10.2% of these reports, with no counterpart in the median folate analog metabolic inhibitor drug (0%).

9.8% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (83.5% across the class); 0.9% record death among the outcomes and 4.4% record hospitalisation, as reported. 46.6% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (26.8%). 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

02957Jul 2021: 6Aug 2021: 5Sep 2021: 2Oct 2021: 4Nov 2021: 57Dec 2021: 32022Jan 2022: 6Feb 2022: 6Mar 2022: 2Apr 2022: 2May 2022: 2Jun 2022: 6Jul 2022: 3Aug 2022: 5Sep 2022: 2Oct 2022: 1Nov 2022: 2Dec 2022: 412023Jan 2023: 8Feb 2023: 1Mar 2023: 6Apr 2023: 0May 2023: 0Jun 2023: 1Jul 2023: 3Aug 2023: 2Sep 2023: 2Oct 2023: 1Nov 2023: 3Dec 2023: 372024Jan 2024: 1Feb 2024: 1Mar 2024: 2Apr 2024: 1May 2024: 2Jun 2024: 1Jul 2024: 2Aug 2024: 2Sep 2024: 2Oct 2024: 3Nov 2024: 24Dec 2024: 02025Jan 2025: 1Feb 2025: 0Mar 2025: 1Apr 2025: 1May 2025: 1Jun 2025: 1Jul 2025: 2Aug 2025: 3Sep 2025: 4Oct 2025: 2Nov 2025: 0Dec 2025: 272026Jan 2026: 0Feb 2026: 0Mar 2026: 0Apr 2026: 0May 2026: 0Jun 2026: 0

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

02545082014: 520142015: 542016: 14120162017: 3352018: 50820182019: 3312020: 20720202021: 1072022: 7820222023: 642024: 4120242025: 43

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Otrexup reports recording the termmedian drug in folate analog metabolic inhibitor

  1. Device issuea problem with the device10.2%195
  2. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected8.5%162
  3. Nauseafeeling sick5.8%111
  4. Painpain, site not specified3.7%71
  5. Product dose omission issuea dose was missed3.4%66
  6. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell3.2%61
  7. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label3.1%59
  8. Fatiguetiredness3%58
  9. Device deployment issuethe device did not deploy properly3%57
  10. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label2.9%56
  11. Arthralgiajoint pain2.7%52
  12. Product dose omissiona dose was missed2.1%41
  13. Alopeciahair loss2%39
  14. Drug dose omissiona dose was missed1.9%36
  15. Headachehead pain1.8%35
  16. Pain in extremitypain in an arm or leg1.8%35
  17. Pneumonialung infection1.8%35
  18. Device leakagethe device leaked1.7%32
  19. Sinusitissinus infection1.7%32
  20. Device malfunctionthe device did not work properly1.6%31
  21. Vomitingbeing sick1.6%31
  22. Covid-19COVID-19 infection1.5%29
  23. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools1.5%29
  24. Hospitalisationadmission to hospital1.4%26
  25. Injection site painpain where the injection was given1.3%25
  26. Peripheral swellingswelling of the arms or legs1.3%25
  27. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness1.3%24
  28. Rheumatoid arthritisrheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory joint disease1.3%24

Top 30 of 305 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 folate analog metabolic inhibitor 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

Death0.9%18
Life-threatening0.2%3
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)4.4%85
Disability0.2%3
Congenital anomaly0%0
Other serious4.9%94
Not serious90.2%1,727

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 312,274 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 20.4%7
2 to 110.6%11
12 to 171.8%34
18 to 447.4%142
45 to 6426.8%513
65 to 7410.6%203
75 and over4.8%91
Age not given47.7%913

Patient sex

Female77.1%1,476
Male14.3%273
Not given8.6%165

Who reported

Physician14.1%269
Pharmacist9.6%184
Other health professional46.6%891
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional20.6%394
Not given9.2%176

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 99.5% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Rheumatoid arthritis1,17961.6%
Psoriatic arthropathy1085.6%
Psoriasis512.7%
Systemic lupus erythematosus311.6%
Crohn's disease201%
Osteoarthritis130.7%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,914 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Otrexup reports
Enbrel1166.1%
Humira965%
Xeljanz613.2%
Folic acid412.1%
Orencia361.9%
Methotrexate351.8%
Prednisone331.7%
Cosentyx301.6%
Rasuvo251.3%
Cimzia221.1%

Other products listed in reports where Otrexup 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

MeasureOtrexupFolate analog metabolic inhibitorAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,914312,27420,646,523
Share of that pool—0.6%0%
Reports, latest 12 months38—1,332,454
Marked serious9.8%83.5%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports910591
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports44309213
Consumer-filed share20.6%16.6%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDevice issue 10.2%median 0%0.4%

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 folate analog metabolic inhibitor class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Methotrexategeneric207,25911,50390.7%
Methotrexate sodiumgeneric67,4972,45861%
Pemetrexedgeneric18,4092,78598.7%
Alimtabrand11,27443289.8%
Rasuvobrand2,9799114.1%
Pemetrexed disodiumgeneric2,94239798.9%

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 Otrexup reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Otrexup?

1,914 reports list Otrexup as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 38 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 282 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Otrexup reports?

device issue (10.2%), drug ineffective (8.5%), nausea (5.8%), therapy cessation (4%) and pain (3.7%). 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 Otrexup was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

9.8% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 0.9% of reports include death and 4.4% 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 (46.6%), consumer or non-health professional (20.6%) and physician (14.1%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Otrexup rising?

38 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 38 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 Otrexup 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 Otrexup?

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 Otrexup as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (282) 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.