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.
Listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: a global expert panel judged it among the medicines a health system should always have, on evidence of value, not marketing.
Mupirocin Cream USP, 2% is indicated for the treatment of secondarily infected traumatic skin lesions (up to 10 cm in length or 100 cm 2 in area) due to susceptible isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) . Mupirocin cream is an RNA synthetase inhibitor antibacterial indicated for the treatment of secondarily infected traumatic skin lesions (up to 10 cm in length or 100 cm2 in area) due to susceptible isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes . ( 1 )
Mupirocin cream is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to mupirocin or any of the excipients of mupirocin cream. Known hypersensitivity to mupirocin or any of the excipients of mupirocin cream. ( 4 )
Severe Allergic Reactions: Anaphylaxis, urticaria, angioedema, and generalized rash have been reported in patients treated with formulations of mupirocin, including mupirocin cream. ( 5.1 ) Eye Irritation: Avoid contact with eyes. ( 5.2 ) Local Irritation: Discontinue in the event of sensitization or severe local irritation. ( 5.3 ) Clostridium difficile- Associated Diarrhea (CDAD): If diarrhea occurs, evaluate patients for CDAD. ( 5.4 ) Potential for Microbial Overgrowth: Prolonged use may result in overgrowth of nonsusceptible microorganisms, including fungi. ( 5.5 ) Risk Associated with Mucosal Use: Mupirocin cream is not formulated for use on mucosal surfaces. A separate formulation, mupirocin nasal ointment, is available for intranasal use. ( 5.6 ) 5.1 Severe Allergic Reactions Systemic allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, urticaria, angioedema, and generalized rash, have been reported in patients treated with formulations of mupirocin, including mupirocin cream [see Adverse Reactions (6.2) ] . 5.2 Eye Irritation Avoid contact with the eyes. In case of accidental contact, rinse well with water. 5.3 Local Irritation In the event of a sensitization or severe local irritati...
The following adverse reactions are discussed in more detail in other sections of the labeling: Severe Allergic Reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] Eye Irritation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Local Irritation [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Clostridium difficile -Associated Diarrhea [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] The most frequent adverse reactions (at least 1%) were headache, rash, and nausea. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc., at 1-866-923-4914 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared with rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. In 2 randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trials, 339 subjects were treated with topical mupirocin cream plus oral placebo. Adverse reactions occurred in 28 (8.3%) subjects. The following adverse reactions were reported by at least 1% of subjects in connection with the use of mupirocin cream in clinical tria...
Source: FDA SPL label for Mupirocin (Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.), effective 20260410. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,446 | 1,516 | 1,457 | 1,241 | 1,381 | 1,380 | 1,491 | 646 |
879 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 0.3× the typical drug on this site. (3,503 reports in 2024–2026, against 3,983,304 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/2024 | Class II | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA | Subpotent Drug |
| 04/2022 | Class II | Mckesson Medical-Surgical Inc. Corporate Office | cGMP deviations: Temperature abuse |
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 $0 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 0 transactions.
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Settlements of $100M+ in which this drug (Bactroban) was a named product, as recorded by the Department of Justice. A settlement resolves allegations; civil settlements are not admissions and not findings of wrongdoing. They are shown because off-label promotion cases describe how the evidence many prescribers saw was shaped.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mupirocin | 3,920,145 | $8 |
| Mupirocin | 63,159 | $123 |
No same-class alternatives found in RxClass.