What the FDA labels say about taking them together
Erythromycin and pimozide
Erythromycin's FDA label of August 1, 2024 names pimozide in its contraindications section, and pimozide's label names erythromycin too. The erythromycin label: “Erythromycin is contraindicated in patients taking terfenadine, astemizole, cisapride, pimozide, ergotamine, or dihydroergotamine.”
Check it at the source: the erythromycin FDA label on DailyMed (effective August 1, 2024, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.); the pimozide FDA label on DailyMed (effective August 12, 2026, Par Health USA, LLC).
What does the erythromycin label say about pimozide?
Erythromycin label, contraindicationsErythromycin is contraindicated in patients taking terfenadine, astemizole, cisapride, pimozide, ergotamine, or dihydroergotamine (see PRECAUTIONS - Drug Interactions ).
Erythromycin label, drug interactionsConcomitant administration of erythromycin with cisapride, pimozide, astemizole, or terfenadine is contraindicated (see CONTRAINDICATIONS ).
Ery-Ped label (Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Arbor Pharmaceuticals), December 16, 2023), contraindicationsErythromycin is contraindicated in patients taking terfenadine, astemizole, pimozide, or cisapride. (See PRECAUTIONS - Drug Interactions .) Do not use erythromycin concomitantly with HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) that are extensively metabolized by CYP 3A4 (lovastatin or simvastatin), due to the increased risk of myopathy, including rhabdomyolysis.
Ery-Ped label (Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Arbor Pharmaceuticals), December 16, 2023), drug interactionsConcomitant administration of erythromycin with cisapride, pimozide, astemizole, or terfenadine is contraindicated. (See CONTRAINDICATIONS .) In addition, there have been reports of interactions of erythromycin with drugs not thought to be metabolized by CYP3A, including hexobarbital, phenytoin, and valproate.
Source: FDA drug label (Erythrocin Lactobionate, NDA050609), Hospira, Inc., effective October 30, 2025 (SPL set a96c405f-bd70-4bb4-719e-ac6a79dcc213), via openFDA
Source: FDA drug label (Ery-Ped, NDA050207), Azurity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (formerly Arbor Pharmaceuticals), effective December 16, 2023 (SPL set 04775721-ab87-4b66-808c-d67a21032385), via openFDA
Source: FDA drug label (Erythromycin), Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., effective August 1, 2024 (SPL set 75a0bd5a-d09f-483b-bfd8-f8343b149eb2), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What does the pimozide label say about erythromycin?
Pimozide label, contraindicationsFor these reasons, pimozide is contraindicated in patients receiving the macrolide antibiotics clarithromycin, erythromycin, azithromycin, dirithromycin, and troleandomycin.
Source: FDA drug label (Pimozide), Par Health USA, LLC, effective August 12, 2026 (SPL set 70b079e2-a1f7-4a93-8685-d60a4d7c1280), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
These are the labels' own sentences. PlainMeds does not grade interactions; a pharmacist or prescriber can say what they mean for one person's medicines.
Both medicines on the record
| Erythromycin | Pimozide | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Bacterial infections, Acne | n/a |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC) | $1.96 per tablet 250 mg tablet | $1.23 per tablet 1 mg tablet |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
Source: FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026 and the FDA Drug Shortage Database (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Check more medicines together
- up to five at once