Two medicines, side by side
Acetaminophen vs amiodarone
Acetaminophen is labeled for fever, cough and cold and pain; amiodarone has no indication this site maps. Their labels share no use, so they are not alternatives to each other. Drugs@FDA records approvals of acetaminophen since 1968 and of amiodarone since 1985. Pharmacies paid $0.0339 per unit (Acetaminophen 500 mg caplet) and $0.122 per amiodarone HCl 200 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like.
Check it at the source: the acetaminophen FDA label on DailyMed (effective November 13, 2024); the amiodarone FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 9, 2025).
Highlights of the acetaminophen record
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) · label of November 13, 2024
Used for
From the label: indicationstemporarily relieves minor aches and pains due to: minor pain of arthritis muscular aches backache premenstrual and menstrual cramps the common cold headache toothache temporarily reduces fever
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- November 7, 1968
- Generic labelers
- 89 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.0339 per unit
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 19
Highlights of the amiodarone record
Amiodarone (Pacerone) · label of December 9, 2025
PULMONARY, HEPATIC AND CARDIAC TOXICITY Amiodarone hydrochloride is intended for use only in patients with the indicated life-threatening arrhythmias because its use is accompanied by substantial toxicity [see Indications and Usage (1) ]. Amiodarone hydrochloride can cause pulmonary toxicity (hypersensitivity pneumonitis or interstitial/alveolar pneumonitis) that has resulted in clinically manifest disease at rates as high as 17% in some series of patients.
Used for
From the label: indicationsAmiodarone hydrochloride is indicated for the treatment of documented, life-threatening recurrent ventricular fibrillation and life-threatening recurrent hemodynamically unstable tachycardia in adults who have not responded to adequate doses of other available antiarrhythmics or when alternative agents cannot be tolerated. Amiodarone hydrochloride is an antiarrhythmic indicated for: Recurrent ventricular fibrillation. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- December 24, 1985
- Generic labelers
- 32 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.122 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 7
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Acetaminophen label of November 13, 2024, Amiodarone label of December 9, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do acetaminophen and amiodarone differ on the record?
Both labels carry a boxed warning; the records quote them.
Generics: acetaminophen since 1986; amiodarone since 1998 (Drugs@FDA).
| Acetaminophen | Amiodarone | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Fever, Cough and cold, Pain | n/a |
| Pharmacologic class | n/a | Antiarrhythmic |
| How it works (label) | n/a | Amiodarone is considered a class III antiarrhythmic drug, but it possesses electrophysiologic characteristics of all four Vaughan Williams classes. |
| Half-life (label) | n/a | Elimination Following single dose administration in 12 healthy subjects, amiodarone exhibited multi- compartmental pharmacokinetics with a mean apparent plasma terminal elimination half-life of 58 days (range 15 to 142 … |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | November 7, 1968 | December 24, 1985 |
| First generic approved | December 1, 1986 | April 30, 1998 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 89 labelers | 32 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.0339 per unit (Acetaminophen 500 mg caplet) | $0.122 per tablet (Amiodarone HCl 200 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | +5% | +4% |
| Boxed warning | Yes | Yes |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 19 | 7 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 445,075 | 11,139 |
| DEA schedule | none | none |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Alternatives to acetaminophen
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions