Colchicine
Brand names: Colchicine, Lodoco, Mitigare, Colcrys
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 814,061
- Medicare drug cost
- $45.6M
- Average cost per prescription
- $56.01
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 35,049
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Colchicine tablets are an alkaloid indicated for: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in adults and children 4 years or older. 1.2 Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) Colchicine tablets
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated June 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Internal Medicine 29.5%
- Family Medicine 26.8%
- Rheumatology 15.1%
- Nurse Practitioners 11.1%
- Physician Assistants 4.0%
- Cardiology 2.9%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 1.8%
- Podiatrists 1.6%
- General Practice 1.5%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.2%
- Interventional Cardiology 0.9%
- Cardiac Electrophysiology 0.9%
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 13% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Colorado +48%
- Arkansas +41%
- Nevada +37%
- Arizona +36%
- New Mexico +32%
- District of Columbia (smallest change) −11%
- Massachusetts (smallest change) −4%
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 5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 0.6 mg | purple capsule, 8 mm, scored to split in 2 | C6 |
Agepha Pharma USA, LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 mg | white round tablet, 6 mm | L1 |
Ascend Laboratories, LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 0.6 mg | purple capsule, 8 mm, scored to split in 2 | C6 |
Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 0.6 mg | blue capsule, 14 mm | WESTWARD 118 |
Northstar Rx LLC.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 0.6 mg | purple capsule, 8 mm, scored to split in 2 | 1351 |
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
Drug makers reported $117,643 in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- Agepha Pharma Fz LLC $113,743
- Scilex Pharmaceuticals Inc. $3,900
Source: CMS Open Payments, general payments (not research), program year 2025. A payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. Payments by doctor
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
1 recall since 2020
- Dec 2024 · Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc. · Class II
Failed Dissolution Specifications: Out of specification observed during the accelerated stability conditions for the 30 count bottles.
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.