Prescription medication · Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI)
rabeprazole
Also sold as Aciphex. This medicine can treat several conditions caused by too much stomach acid.
Data updated 2026-05-15
- 21,352
- FDA reportsModerately reported
- 7
- InteractionsFew interactions
- $0.20
- Generic price (NADAC)
What the data shows
rabeprazole (Aciphex) is a prescription Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), reported at a middle-of-the-pack volume (21,352 FDA reports), with 7 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.
rabeprazole (Aciphex) is a prescription Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI). This medicine can treat several conditions caused by too much stomach acid.
Rabeprazole (Aciphex) is a medicine that reduces the amount of acid your stomach makes. It belongs to a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs).
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$0.20/unit
Generic Available
Yes (6 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
NADAC price trail: RABEPRAZOLE SOD DR 20 MG TAB
Same CMS presentation as the headline generic unit price above (2 effective dates). Adjacent % compares consecutive NADAC releases for this description only, not a patient out-of-pocket quote. Latest step: -21% vs prior release.
| Effective | NADAC / unit | vs prior | NDCs |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 17, 2024 | $0.2507/EA | - | 2 |
| December 18, 2024 | $0.1980/EA | -21% | 13 |
What it does
This medicine can treat several conditions caused by too much stomach acid.
Common side effects
Pain, Sore throat, Gas
Key warnings
Taking PPIs like rabeprazole may hide signs of stomach cancer, so tell your doctor if your symptoms don't improve.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from rabeprazole's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Rabeprazole works by blocking the enzyme in your stomach that produces acid. This helps to lower the amount of acid in your stomach. Lowering stomach acid helps to heal damage and relieve symptoms.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 21,352 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for rabeprazole, by number of reports
- Nausea
Nausea
1,541 reports
- Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea
1,319 reports
- Pain
Pain
1,314 reports
- Headache
Headache
1,284 reports
- Dyspnoea
Dyspnoea
1,276 reports
- Arthralgia
Arthralgia
1,266 reports
- Fatigue
Fatigue
1,210 reports
- Malaise
Malaise
1,149 reports
- Pneumonia
Pneumonia
1,096 reports
- Fall
Fall
952 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 rabeprazole 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 rabeprazole sits
rabeprazole has more FDA adverse-event reports than 57% 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 rabeprazole; the line is the median (50th percentile).
FDA Adverse Event Report Analysis
Detailed analysis of 21,352 reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports span 2004–2025.
Total Reports
21,352
Reports Mentioning Death
2,472
11.6% of reports — not proof of cause
Hospitalization Reports
9,750
Top Indication
Product Used For Unknown Indication
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Most Reported Adverse Reactions (FAERS)
| # | Reaction | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | NAUSEA | 1,541 |
| 4 | DIARRHOEA | 1,319 |
| 5 | PAIN | 1,314 |
| 6 | HEADACHE | 1,284 |
| 7 | DYSPNOEA | 1,276 |
| 8 | ARTHRALGIA | 1,266 |
| 9 | FATIGUE | 1,210 |
| 10 | MALAISE | 1,149 |
| 11 | PNEUMONIA | 1,096 |
| 12 | FALL | 952 |
| 13 | COUGH | 922 |
| 14 | DIZZINESS | 869 |
| 15 | PYREXIA | 822 |
| 16 | RASH | 803 |
| 17 | WEIGHT DECREASED | 798 |
Reactions in Death Reports
Reactions in Hospitalization Reports
Source: FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) Reports are voluntary and do not establish causation
Serious Warnings
Taking PPIs like rabeprazole may hide signs of stomach cancer, so tell your doctor if your symptoms don't improve. This medicine may also increase your risk of bone fractures, especially if you take it for a long time or at high doses. Long-term use may also cause low vitamin B12 or magnesium levels. Contact your doctor right away if you experience signs of hypersensitivity.
Known Drug Interactions
Combination Therapy with Clarithromycin and Amoxicillin Clinical Impact: Concomitant administration of clarithromycin with other drugs can lead to serious adverse reactions, including potentially fatal arrhythmias, and are contraindicated. Amoxicillin also has drug interactions. See Drug Interactions in prescribing information for amoxicillin.
Mechanism: Rabeprazole changes the acid levels in your stomach, which can affect how the antibiotic amoxicillin is absorbed and used by your body.
Combination Therapy with Clarithromycin and Amoxicillin Clinical Impact: Concomitant administration of clarithromycin with other drugs can lead to serious adverse reactions, including potentially fatal arrhythmias, and are contraindicated. Intervention: See Contraindications and Warnings and Precautions in prescribing information for clarithromycin.
Mechanism: Taking these drugs together can change how they are processed, potentially leading to serious and life-threatening heart rhythm issues.
Warfarin Clinical Impact: Increased INR and prothrombin time in patients receiving PPIs, including rabeprazole, and warfarin concomitantly. Dose adjustment of warfarin may be needed to maintain target INR range. See prescribing information for warfarin.
Mechanism: Rabeprazole can cause warfarin to stay in your system longer, which increases the risk of bleeding.
Methotrexate Clinical Impact: Concomitant use of rabeprazole with methotrexate (primarily at high dose) may elevate and prolong serum levels of methotrexate and/or its metabolite hydroxymethotrexate, possibly leading to methotrexate toxicities. No formal drug interaction studies of methotrexate with PPIs have been conducted [see Warnings and Precautions ( 5.9 )]. Intervention: A temporary withdrawal of rabeprazole sodium delayed-release tablets may be considered in some patients receiving high dose methotrexate administration.
Mechanism: Rabeprazole can keep methotrexate in your body longer than usual, which might lead to dangerous levels of the drug in your blood.
Drugs Dependent on Gastric pH for Absorption (e.g., iron salts, erlotinib, dasatinib, nilotinib, mycophenolate mofetil, ketoconazole, itraconazole) Clinical Impact: Rabeprazole can reduce the absorption of other drugs due to its effect on reducing intragastric acidity.
Mechanism: Ketoconazole needs stomach acid to be absorbed into your body, but rabeprazole reduces the amount of acid in your stomach.
This is a plain-language summary of FDA-label interaction records and does not provide individual medication-combination directions.
Common Questions
Can I crush or chew the rabeprazole tablet?
Can I take rabeprazole with food?
How long does it take for rabeprazole to work?
What should I do if I still have heartburn while taking rabeprazole?
Can I take rabeprazole long-term?
Are there any foods I should avoid while taking rabeprazole?
Can I take other medications with rabeprazole?
What if I accidentally take too much rabeprazole?
Can rabeprazole cause any serious side effects?
Is it safe to drive or operate machinery while taking rabeprazole?
What are the common side effects of rabeprazole?
Does rabeprazole interact with other medications?
What drug class is rabeprazole?
What pregnancy or breastfeeding source fields are listed for rabeprazole?
Related Medications in Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI)
Other drugs grouped near rabeprazole - same-class peers and common alternatives.
alosetron
Lotronex
Alosetron (Lotronex) is a medicine for women with severe diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Compare with rabeprazole →
aprepitant
Emend
Aprepitant (Emend) is a medicine that helps prevent nausea and vomiting.
Compare with rabeprazole →
bisacodyl
Dulcolax
Bisacodyl is a medicine that helps you have a bowel movement.
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bismuth subsalicylate
Pepto-Bismol
Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) is a medicine that can treat diarrhea and upset stomach.
Compare with rabeprazole →
cimetidine
Tagamet
Cimetidine (Tagamet) reduces stomach acid.
Compare with rabeprazole →
Compare beyond drug class
Nationwide peers by FAERS volume & death-report share
Two PlainMeds-derived comparison paths for rabeprazole: nearest FDA FAERS report volume and nearest death-report share among drugs with at least 1,000 logged reports, excluding same-class neighbors listed above. Counts reflect reporting volume, not proven individual harm.
Similar FAERS report volume
Nearest drugs by total FAERS reports. This record: 21,352.
Similar death-report share
Nearest drugs by FAERS death-report share. This record: 11.58%.
- indomethacin Δ 0.01 pts · 12,919 reports · Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) 11.57%death share
- degarelix Δ 0.01 pts · 4,979 reports · GnRH Antagonist 11.57%death share
- prazosin Δ 0.03 pts · 5,825 reports · Alpha-1 Blocker 11.61%death share
- tafluprost Δ 0.12 pts · 2,845 reports · Prostaglandin Analog (Ophthalmic) 11.46%death share
Medication Guides
Understanding Drug Interactions
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Generic vs Brand Name Drugs
FDA requirements, cost savings, and when the difference matters
Narrow Therapeutic Index Drugs
FDA bioequivalence and label-record context for narrow therapeutic index medicines
Common Drug Interactions
Dangerous medication combinations and how to protect yourself
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What the FDA Data Shows for rabeprazole
The FDA label for rabeprazole (sold under brand names such as Aciphex) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) class. This medicine can treat several conditions caused by too much stomach acid. Official labeling lists 10 commonly reported side effects, including Pain, Sore throat, Gas.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 21,352 voluntary reports. The database also lists 7 documented drug interactions derived from FDA labeling, with the top-flagged interaction rated major severity. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $0.20.
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, and patent information are separate source-record fields. This page is a public FDA/CMS registry and does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions.
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. This registry does not provide medication decisions.
Last updated: January 7, 2025
PlainMeds is rendered directly from FDA openFDA/FAERS extracts, DailyMed labels, and CMS drug-pricing files, no number is typed in by an editor. FAERS counts, recalls, shortages, and price figures on this page are queried live from those federal extracts. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-15. Primary sources: openFDA / FAERS, DailyMed and CMS Part B ASP.
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 from the source snapshot dated . See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a data issue.
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