This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY • When pregnancy is detected, discontinue candesartan cilexetil tablets as soon as possible [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. • Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1)]. WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. • When pregnancy is detected, discontinue candesartan cilexetil tablets as soon as possible. (5.1) • Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus. (5.1)
Candesartan cilexetil tablets are an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) indicated for: · Treatment of hypertension in adults and children 1 to <17 years of age, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions (1.1). · Treatment of heart failure (NYHA class II-IV); candesartan cilexetil tablets reduces cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalization (1.2). 1.1 Hypertension Candesartan cilexetil tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension in adults and in children 1 to <17 years of age, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions. These benefits have been seen in controlled trials of antihypertensive drugs from a wide variety of pharmacologic classes including the class to which this drug principally belongs. Control of high blood pressure should be part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management, including, as appropriate, lipid control, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, smoking cessation, exercise, and limited sodium intake. M...
Candesartan cilexetil tablets are contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to candesartan. Do not co-administer aliskiren with candesartan cilexetil tablets in patients with diabetes [see Drug Interactions (7.4)]. Known hypersensitivity to product components (4). Do not co-administer aliskiren with candesartan cilexetil tablets in patients with diabetes (4).
· Observe for signs and symptoms of hypotension (5.3). · Monitor renal function (5.4) and potassium levels (5.5). 5.1 Fetal Toxicity Pregnancy Category D Use of drugs that act on the renin-angiotensin system during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy reduces fetal renal function and increases fetal and neonatal morbidity and death. Resulting oligohydramnios can be associated with fetal lung hypoplasia and skeletal deformations. Potential neonatal adverse effects include skull hypoplasia, anuria, hypotension, renal failure and death. When pregnancy is detected, discontinue candesartan cilexetil tablets as soon as possible [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1)]. Oral doses ≥10 mg of candesartan cilexetil/kg/day administered to pregnant rats during late gestation and continued through lactation were associated with reduced survival and an increased incidence of hydronephrosis in the offspring. The 10-mg/kg/day dose in rats is approximately 2.8 times the maximum recommended daily human dose (MRHD) of 32 mg on a mg/m 2 basis (comparison assumes human body weight of 50 kg). Candesartan cilexetil given to pregnant rabbits at an oral dose of 3 mg/kg/day (approximately 1.7 times t...
· Most common adverse reactions which caused adult patients to discontinue therapy for: o Hypertension were headache (0.6%) and dizziness (0.3%) (6.1). o Heart Failure were hypotension (4.1%) (5.3), abnormal renal function (6.3%) (5.4), and hyperkalemia (2.4%) (5.5). To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Studies Experience Because clinical studies are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. Adult Hypertension Candesartan cilexetil has been evaluated for safety in more than 3600 patients/subjects, including more than 3200 patients treated for hypertension. About 600 of these patients were studied for at least 6 months and about 200 for at least 1 year. In general, treatment with candesartan cilexetil was well tolerated. The overall incidence of adverse events reported with candesartan cilexetil was similar to placebo. The rate of withdrawals due to adverse events in all trials in patients (7510 total) was 3.3% (i.e., 10...
Warnings and Precautions (5.5) 02/2016
Source: FDA SPL label for CANDESARTAN CILEXETIL (Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited), effective 20230127. Full label on DailyMed.
These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,990 | 5,286 | 4,635 | 4,466 | 4,601 | 5,160 | 5,235 | 2,546 |
25,666 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 9.3× the typical drug on this site. (12,748 reports in 2024–2026, against 496,692 Medicare fills in one year. This is the one number here that accounts for how many people take the drug.)
Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.
| Date | Class | Firm | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/2021 | Class III | Viatris | Failed Impurities/Degradation Specifications; out of specification for Related Compound |
| 03/2021 | Class III | Macleods Pharma Usa Inc | Failed Impurities/Degradation Specifications |
Class I = reasonable probability of serious harm. Class II = temporary or reversible harm. Class III = unlikely to harm. Most generic recalls are manufacturing or labeling defects for one lot, not a verdict on the molecule.
Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.
In 2024, drug companies reported $1,475 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 28 transactions (Atacand $1,475).
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Not named in any federal pharmaceutical settlement of $100M or more on record.
Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.
| Product | Fills | $/fill |
|---|---|---|
| Candesartan Cilexetil | 493,798 | $81 |
| Atacand | 2,894 | $610 |
Same ATC pharmacological class, graded ones first, best grade at the top. Being in the same class does not make them interchangeable for your condition; it makes them worth asking about.