Prescription medication · Lipopeptide Antibiotic
daptomycin
Also sold as Cubicin. Daptomycin treats complicated skin infections in adults and children ages 1-17.
- 8,426
- FDA reportsLightly reported
- 3
- InteractionsFew interactions
- 1
- Recall record
What the data shows
daptomycin (Cubicin) is a prescription Lipopeptide Antibiotic, reported less often than most tracked drugs (8,426 FDA reports), with 3 documented drug interactions.
Reporting volume reflects how widely a drug is used and studied, not how dangerous it is, a FAERS report documents a temporal association, never proof of cause.
daptomycin (Cubicin) is a prescription Lipopeptide Antibiotic. Daptomycin treats complicated skin infections in adults and children ages 1-17.
Daptomycin is an antibiotic medicine. It fights certain bacterial infections in your body.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$17.94/unit
Generic Available
Yes (21 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
What it does
Daptomycin treats complicated skin infections in adults and children ages 1-17.
Common side effects
Diarrhea, Headache, Dizziness
Key warnings
Daptomycin can cause serious side effects.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from daptomycin's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Daptomycin works by attaching to the cell membrane of bacteria. This causes the bacterial cell membrane to become unstable. The instability stops the bacteria from growing, eventually killing it.
How to Take It
Daptomycin is given into your vein through an IV. For adults, it can be given over 2 minutes or 30 minutes. For children, it is given over 30-60 minutes. The dose and how long you take it depends on the infection and your kidney function.
This is a plain-language summary of daptomycin's FDA labeling, not individualized dosing advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber before changing how you take this medication.
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. There is limited information about daptomycin use during pregnancy. Daptomycin does pass into breast milk in small amounts, but the effects on the baby are unknown.
This is a plain-language summary of daptomycin's FDA labeling, not individualized advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber about pregnancy or breastfeeding on this medication.
Missed Dose
If you miss a dose, call your doctor right away. They will tell you when to take your next dose.
This is a plain-language summary of daptomycin's FDA labeling, not individualized advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber what to do about your specific missed dose.
Storage
Store daptomycin in the refrigerator between 36°F and 46°F; avoid excessive heat.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 8,426 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for daptomycin, by number of reports
- Acute Kidney Injury
Acute Kidney Injury
527 reports
- Pyrexia
Pyrexia
459 reports
- Eosinophilic Pneumonia
Eosinophilic Pneumonia
418 reports
- Rhabdomyolysis
Rhabdomyolysis
336 reports
- Eosinophilia
Eosinophilia
328 reports
- Blood Creatine Phosphokinase Increased
Blood Creatine Phosphokinase Increased
327 reports
- Drug Reaction With Eosinophilia And Systemic Symptoms
Drug Reaction With Eosinophilia And Systemic Symptoms
322 reports
- Neutropenia
Neutropenia
270 reports
- Rash
Rash
255 reports
- Thrombocytopenia
Thrombocytopenia
250 reports
What this shows Bars show how often each reaction was reported, not how likely it is to happen, a report records a temporal association, never proof that the drug caused it.
Reports over time
Adverse-event reports filed for daptomycin each year to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
Year-to-year volume tracks usage, prescribing, and scrutiny, not a change in per-patient risk. Source: FDA FAERS.
Where daptomycin sits
daptomycin has more FDA adverse-event reports than 35% of the drugs FAERS tracks. A high position reflects how widely a drug is used and watched, not how dangerous it is.
Percentile across all drugs PlainMeds tracks by FAERS report volume. The dot is daptomycin; the line is the median (50th percentile).
FDA Adverse Event Report Analysis
Detailed analysis of 8,426 reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports span 2004–2025.
Total Reports
8,426
Reports Mentioning Death
1,184
14.1% of reports — not proof of cause
Hospitalization Reports
4,822
Top Indication
Product Used For Unknown Indication
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Most Reported Adverse Reactions (FAERS)
| # | Reaction | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY | 527 |
| 4 | PYREXIA | 459 |
| 5 | EOSINOPHILIC PNEUMONIA | 418 |
| 6 | RHABDOMYOLYSIS | 336 |
| 7 | EOSINOPHILIA | 328 |
| 8 | BLOOD CREATINE PHOSPHOKINASE INCREASED | 327 |
| 9 | DRUG REACTION WITH EOSINOPHILIA AND SYSTEMIC SYMPTOMS | 322 |
| 10 | NEUTROPENIA | 270 |
| 11 | RASH | 255 |
| 13 | THROMBOCYTOPENIA | 250 |
| 14 | INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE | 231 |
| 15 | PNEUMONITIS | 224 |
| 16 | DRUG INTERACTION | 217 |
| 17 | DYSPNOEA | 214 |
| 18 | CHILLS | 207 |
Reactions in Death Reports
Reactions in Hospitalization Reports
Source: FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) Reports are voluntary and do not establish causation
Serious Warnings
Daptomycin can cause serious side effects. It can cause allergic reactions, muscle problems (myopathy and rhabdomyolysis), and a type of pneumonia (eosinophilic pneumonia). It can also cause severe skin reactions, kidney problems, nerve damage, and diarrhea from C. difficile. Tell your doctor right away if you have any of these side effects.
Known Drug Interactions
Daptomycin Clinical Impact: Cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported with simvastatin administered with daptomycin. Both ezetimibe and simvastatin and daptomycin can cause myopathy and rhabdomyolysis when given alone and the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis may be increased by coadministration. Intervention: If treatment with daptomycin is required, consider temporarily suspending ezetimibe and simvastatin during the course of daptomycin treatment.
Mechanism: Both of these medicines can cause muscle damage as a side effect. Taking them together makes this risk even higher and can lead to a serious condition where muscle tissue breaks down.
What to do: Your doctor may suggest that you stop taking ezetimibe while you are being treated with daptomycin. Watch for any unusual muscle pain or weakness and report it immediately.
Daptomycin Clinical Impact: Cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported with simvastatin administered with daptomycin. Both VYTORIN and daptomycin can cause myopathy and rhabdomyolysis when given alone and the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis may be increased by coadministration. Intervention: If treatment with daptomycin is required, consider temporarily suspending VYTORIN during the course of daptomycin treatment.
Mechanism: Both drugs can cause muscle damage on their own, so taking them together increases the risk of serious muscle breakdown.
What to do: Your doctor may temporarily stop your ezetimibe simvastatin treatment while you are receiving daptomycin.
Daptomycin Clinical Impact: Cases of rhabdomyolysis have been reported with simvastatin administered with daptomycin. Both ezetimibe and simvastatin and daptomycin can cause myopathy and rhabdomyolysis when given alone and the risk of myopathy and rhabdomyolysis may be increased by coadministration. Intervention: If treatment with daptomycin is required, consider temporarily suspending ezetimibe and simvastatin during the course of daptomycin treatment.
Mechanism: Both drugs can cause muscle damage on their own, so taking them together increases the risk of severe muscle breakdown.
What to do: Your doctor may have you stop taking simvastatin while you are using daptomycin to prevent muscle damage.
This is a plain-language summary of interactions documented in FDA labeling, not individualized advice. Ask a pharmacist or prescriber before combining medications.
Common Questions
What if I am allergic to daptomycin?
Can daptomycin affect my muscles?
What is CPK?
Can daptomycin cause diarrhea?
Does daptomycin interact with other medicines?
Can daptomycin affect my kidneys?
How long will I need to take daptomycin?
Can daptomycin cause nerve problems?
What should I do if I get a rash while taking daptomycin?
Can daptomycin affect blood tests?
What are the common side effects of daptomycin?
Does daptomycin interact with other medications?
What drug class is daptomycin?
Is daptomycin safe during pregnancy?
Has daptomycin been recalled?
Active Recalls
Lack of Assurance of Sterility; All lots of sterile products compounded by the pharmacy within expiry are subject to this recall. This recall is initiated due to concerns associated with quality control procedures observed during a recent FDA inspection.
Franck's Lab Inc dba Trinity Care Solutions
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amoxicillin/clavulanate
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What the FDA Data Shows for daptomycin
The FDA label for daptomycin (sold under brand names such as Cubicin) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Lipopeptide Antibiotic class. Daptomycin treats complicated skin infections in adults and children ages 1-17. Official labeling lists 20 commonly reported side effects, including Diarrhea, Headache, Dizziness.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 8,426 voluntary reports. The database also lists 3 documented drug interactions derived from FDA labeling, with the top-flagged interaction rated moderate severity. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $17.94.
Report counts do not establish causation, a FAERS entry documents a temporal association, not proof that the drug produced the outcome. Widely prescribed medications naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies, so raw totals must be interpreted alongside total exposure. Shortage status, recall history (currently 1 recall record on file), and patent information further shape supply and switching decisions. This page summarizes public FDA data for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, always consult a licensed healthcare provider before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.
Data Sources
Drug labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL/DailyMed). Adverse events: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Pricing: CMS National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC).
FAERS reports are voluntary and do not establish causation. Drug interactions are derived from FDA labeling and clinical references. Always consult a healthcare professional before making medication decisions.
Last updated: April 19, 2023
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled and last refreshed May 2026. See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FDA Orange Book - approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence. accessdata.fda.gov/cder/ob
- FDA DailyMed - NIH-hosted drug labeling for FDA-approved meds. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - post-marketing safety surveillance. fda.gov/drugs/faers
- NLM RxNorm - standardized clinical drug nomenclature. nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm
- CMS Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price Files - federal drug pricing data. cms.gov/medicare/part-b-drugs/asp
- FDA Drug Shortages Database - current and resolved drug shortage tracking. accessdata.fda.gov/drugshortages