Prescription medicine
Vecuronium First approved as Norcuron
Vecuronium (Norcuron) is a prescription medicine with an FDA approval on record since 1984. FDA's NDC Directory lists it from 10 generic labelers.
- Generic listed
- Boxed warning
Check it at the source: the vecuronium FDA label on DailyMed (effective June 18, 2025, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals Inc.); the NDA 18776 record on Drugs@FDA; every vecuronium label on DailyMed.
Highlights of the record
FDA label of June 18, 2025; NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA and Orange Book, October 8, 2026
THIS DRUG SHOULD BE ADMINISTERED BY ADEQUATELY TRAINED INDIVIDUALS FAMILIAR WITH ITS ACTIONS, CHARACTERISTICS, AND HAZARDS.
Used for
From the label: indications and usageVecuronium bromide for injection is indicated as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation.
Forms and strengths
- 10 mg
- 20 mg
- 1 mg/ml
- 10 mg/10ml
- 20 mg/20ml
Injection (powder) (lyophilized) for solution; injection (powder) for solution; injection.
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- April 30, 1984 Norcuron, Organon Usa Inc; Drugs@FDA’s file, where older or withdrawn approvals can be missing
- Generic approvals
- 12 first August 31, 1995; 9 with a marketed status in Drugs@FDA
- Labelers listed (NDC)
- 10 of which 10 under generic applications, 0 under brand applications, repackagers included
Supply and safety
- Pharmacy cost (NADAC)
- Not in the survey
- Shortage (FDA)
- No current entry
- Recalls by its makers (FDA)
- 8 since 2012 3 Class I among all firms' recalls; latest July 17, 2023; 2 more by firms not listed as its makers
- FAERS reports
- 1,526 through July 30, 2026
What is vecuronium used for?
From the label: indications and usageVecuronium bromide for injection is indicated as an adjunct to general anesthesia, to facilitate endotracheal intubation and to provide skeletal muscle relaxation during surgery or mechanical ventilation.
FDA pharmacologic class: Nondepolarizing Neuromuscular Blocker.
Source: FDA drug label (Vecuronium Bromide), Meitheal Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective June 18, 2025 (SPL set 53653418-0464-4cd2-a987-3d31be36098f), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
Is there a generic for vecuronium (Norcuron)?
The FDA approved the first generic vecuronium on August 31, 1995. 12 generic applications are approved; 9 of them carry a current (not discontinued) marketing status in Drugs@FDA; that status is not evidence that the generic is on sale.
FDA's NDC Directory lists vecuronium from 10 labelers under a generic (ANDA) application. A listing means the company has registered the product for sale; it does not show that every pharmacy stocks it.
- 1984 earliest approval on file
- 1995 first generic approved
- red ticks recalls
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory and the Orange Book (openFDA bulk files, October 8, 2026)
Has vecuronium been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement Report lists 10 recalls naming vecuronium since 2012: 3 Class I (the most serious), 6 Class II, 1 Class III; 0 still ongoing. 2 of them are by firms that FDA's NDC Directory does not list as a maker of vecuronium and that hold no application for it in Drugs@FDA, such as compounding pharmacies or bulk-ingredient suppliers; the recall notice names the product recalled. A recall names products and lots, not every product of the medicine.
| Started | Class | Company | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 17, 2023 | Class II | Central Admixture Pharmacy Services Inc | Lack of assurance of sterility: Lack of validation data for sanitization cycles |
| April 13, 2022 | Class II | Mckesson Medical-Surgical Inc. Corporate Office | cGMP deviations: Temperature abuse |
| July 29, 2021 | Class II | Teva Pharmaceuticals USA | Lack of Assurance of Sterility |
| February 10, 2021 | Class II | Teva Pharmaceuticals USA | Lack of Assurance of Sterility: manufacturing areas for the recalled products exceeded acceptance levels for microbial recovery leading to a lack of sterility … |
| January 3, 2019 | Class I | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc. | Presence of Particulate Matter: Foreign matter identified as glass detected in Vecuronium Bromide for Injection. |
| January 16, 2018 | Class III | Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC not a listed maker | Failed impurities/ degradation specifications: Out-of-specification (OOS) result for USP related compound F at the 12 month stability test station. |
| April 20, 2016 | Class II | Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. not a listed maker | Lack of Assurance of Sterility |
| June 7, 2013 | Class II | Sagent Pharmaceuticals Inc | CGMP Deviations: product was not manufactured under current good manufacturing practices which contributed to Failed Impurities/Degradation Specifications as a … |
Source: FDA Enforcement Report (drug recalls) via openFDA, through October 8, 2026
What does the vecuronium label say about other medicines?
The vecuronium label names 9 other medicines in its interaction, contraindication or warning sections. The labels of 10 other medicines name vecuronium. The sentences are the labels' own; a label lists what its studies and reports found, not every interaction.
| Medicine named | Section | What the label says |
|---|---|---|
| Bacitracin | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Colistimethate | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Gentamicin | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Isoflurane | drug interactions | Inhalational Anesthetics Use of volatile inhalational anesthetics such as enflurane, isoflurane, and halothane with vecuronium will enhance neuromuscular blockade. |
| Neomycin | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Polymyxin b | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Quinidine | drug interactions | Other Experience concerning injection of quinidine during recovery from use of other muscle relaxants suggests that recurrent paralysis may occur. |
| Streptomycin | drug interactions | The following antibiotics have been associated with various degrees of paralysis: aminoglycosides (such as neomycin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, and dihydrostreptomycin); tetracyclines; bacitracin; polymyxin B; colistin; and sodium colistimethate. |
| Succinylcholine | drug interactions | Drug Interactions Prior administration of succinylcholine may enhance the neuromuscular blocking effect of vecuronium and its duration of action. |
Other labels that name vecuronium
Source: FDA drug label (Vecuronium Bromide), Meitheal Pharmaceuticals Inc., effective June 18, 2025 (SPL set 53653418-0464-4cd2-a987-3d31be36098f), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What do FAERS reports show for vecuronium?
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System holds 1,526 reports that list vecuronium among the medicines taken, through July 30, 2026, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 230 are coded as a death and 441 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is.
Reports received each year
The most reported reactions
Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026
What next?
- Other nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers
- the pharmacologic class, with prices and generics
- Vecuronium side effects
- the label's list beside FAERS reports
- Check an interaction
- what two or more labels say about each other