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.
Warnings the FDA chose to announce publicly after approval, as opposed to quiet label edits. Class-wide items name the drug's class, not this drug specifically.
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.
Sumatriptan tablets are indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. Limitations of Use: • Use only if a clear diagnosis of migraine headache has been established. If a patient has no response to the first migraine attack treated with sumatriptan tablets, reconsider the diagnosis of migraine before sumatriptan tablets are administered to treat any subsequent attacks. • Sumatriptan tablets are not indicated for the prevention of migraine attacks. • Safety and effectiveness of sumatriptan tablets have not been established for cluster headache. Sumatriptan tablets are a serotonin (5-HT 1B/1D ) receptor agonist (triptan) indicated for acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. ( 1 ) Limitations of Use: • Use only if a clear diagnosis of migraine headache has been established. ( 1 ) • Not indicated for the prophylactic therapy of migraine attacks. ( 1 ) • Not indicated for the treatment of cluster headache. ( 1 )
Sumatriptan tablets are contraindicated in patients with: • Ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD) (angina pectoris, history of myocardial infarction, or documented silent ischemia) or coronary artery vasospasm, including Prinzmetal’s angina [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome or arrhythmias associated with other cardiac accessory conduction pathway disorders [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • History of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) or history of hemiplegic or basilar migraine because these patients are at a higher risk of stroke [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] • Peripheral vascular disease [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] • Ischemic bowel disease [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] • Uncontrolled hypertension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] • Recent use (i.e., within 24 hours) of ergotamine-containing medication, ergot-type medication (such as dihydroergotamine or methysergide), or another 5-hydroxytryptamine 1 (5-HT 1 ) agonist [see Drug Interactions (7.1 , 7.3) ] • Concurrent administration of a monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A inhibitor or recent (within 2 weeks) use of an MAO-A inhibitor [ see Drug Interactions (...
• Myocardial ischemia/infarction and Prinzmetal’s angina: Perform cardiac evaluation in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. ( 5.1 ) • Arrhythmias: Discontinue sumatriptan if occurs. ( 5.2 ) • Chest/throat/neck/jaw pain, tightness, pressure, or heaviness: Generally not associated with myocardial ischemia; evaluate for coronary artery disease in patients at high risk. ( 5.3 ) • Cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and stroke: Discontinue sumatriptan if occurs. ( 5.4 ) • Gastrointestinal ischemic reactions and peripheral vasospastic reactions: Discontinue sumatriptan if occurs. ( 5.5 ) • Medication overuse headache: Detoxification may be necessary. ( 5.6 ) • Serotonin syndrome: Discontinue sumatriptan if occurs. ( 5.7 ) • Seizures: Use with caution in patients with epilepsy or a lowered seizure threshold. ( 5.10 ) 5.1 Myocardial Ischemia, Myocardial Infarction, and Prinzmetal’s Angina The use of sumatriptan tablets is contraindicated in patients with ischemic or vasospastic CAD. There have been rare reports of serious cardiac adverse reactions, including acute myocardial infarction, occurring within a few hours following administration of sumatriptan tablets. ...
The following adverse reactions are discussed in more detail in other sections of the prescribing information: • Myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, and Prinzmetal’s angina [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Arrhythmias [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • Chest, throat, neck, and/or jaw pain/tightness/pressure [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] • Cerebrovascular events [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] • Other vasospasm reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] • Medication overuse headache [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] • Serotonin syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.7) ] • Increase in blood pressure [see Warnings and Precautions (5.8) ] • Hypersensitivity reactions [see Contraindications (4) , Warnings and Precautions (5.9) ] • Seizures [see Warnings and Precautions (5.10) ] Most common adverse reactions (≥ 2% and > placebo) were paresthesia, warm/cold sensation, chest pain/tightness/pressure and/or heaviness, neck/throat/jaw pain/tightness/pressure, other sensations of pain/pressure/tightness/heaviness, vertigo, and malaise/fatigue. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Viatris at 1-877-446-3679 (1-877-4-INFO-RX) or FDA...
Source: FDA SPL label for Sumatriptan Succinate (Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.), effective 20260826. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,144 | 3,666 | 3,010 | 2,705 | 2,821 | 2,379 | 2,450 | 1,413 |
3,227 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 1.2× the typical drug on this site. (6,209 reports in 2024–2026, against 1,923,887 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04/2022 | Class II | Mckesson Medical-Surgical Inc. Corporate Office | cGMP deviations: Temperature abuse |
| 12/2019 | Class II | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. | Failed Impurities/Degradation Specifications; out-of-specification results obtained for related substance. |
| 11/2013 | Class II | GlaxoSmithKline, LLC. | Lack of Assurance of Sterility: A small number of pre-filled syringes may contain needles which protrude through the needle shield. |
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 (Imitrex) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sumatriptan Succinate | 1,870,066 | $20 |
| Sumatriptan | 48,243 | $177 |
| Imitrex | 3,210 | $1,600 |
| Zembrace Symtouch | 1,408 | $1,785 |
| Tosymra | 473 | $807 |
| Onzetra Xsail | 451 | $1,015 |
| Imitrex | 36 | $790 |
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.