Acyclovir
Brand names: Acyclovir, Zovirax
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 1,250,695
- Medicare drug cost
- $21.2M
- Average cost per prescription
- $16.97
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 48,953
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
ZOVIRAX Cream is a herpes simplex virus (HSV) deoxynucleoside analogue DNA polymerase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of recurrent herpes labialis (cold sores) in immunocompetent adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated January 2021). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Family Medicine 22.0%
- Internal Medicine 18.3%
- Hematology & Oncology 17.9%
- Nurse Practitioners 16.8%
- Physician Assistants 5.5%
- Medical Oncology 4.9%
- Ophthalmology 3.7%
- Hematology 2.3%
- OB-GYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology) 1.3%
- General Practice 1.1%
- Dermatology 1.0%
- Infectious Disease 1.0%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 8% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Minnesota +35%
- Utah +25%
- Wisconsin +24%
- Maine +24%
- Maryland +21%
- Georgia (smallest change) −2%
- New Mexico (smallest change) −1%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 3 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
A-S Medication Solutions
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 800 mg | white oval tablet, 19 mm | CTI 113 |
Bryant Ranch Prepack
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 400 mg | white round tablet, 12 mm | HP 227 |
Nucare Pharmaceuticals,inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 400 mg | pink hexagon (6 sided) tablet, 12 mm | J 49 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
2 recalls since 2020
- Apr 2021 · Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc · Class III
Labeling: Incorrect or Missing Lot and/or Exp Date - Feb 2021 · Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc · Class I
Crystallization: customer complaints for crystallization in finished product.
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.