Irbesartan
Brand names: Avapro, Irbesartan
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 1,996,763
- Medicare drug cost
- $42.9M
- Average cost per prescription
- $21.46
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 59,716
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
AVAPRO is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) indicated for: Treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions. Treatment of diabetic nephropathy in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes, an elevated serum creatinine, and proteinuria.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated August 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY When pregnancy is detected, discontinue AVAPRO as soon as possible. Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus. WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. When pregnancy is detected, discontinue AVAPRO as soon as possible. Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus.
The FDA’s strongest warning on a label. It doesn’t mean the drug is unsafe for most people; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing any medicine.
Who prescribes it
- Internal Medicine 34.8%
- Family Medicine 28.0%
- Cardiology 10.7%
- Nurse Practitioners 9.3%
- General Practice 4.1%
- Physician Assistants 3.9%
- Interventional Cardiology 2.9%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 2.6%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.1%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.9%
- Cardiac Electrophysiology 0.3%
- Hospitalist 0.2%
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 11% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Oregon +56%
- Puerto Rico +48%
- Washington +45%
- Wisconsin +44%
- Montana +40%
- West Virginia (smallest change) −15%
- New Jersey (smallest change) −5%
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 4 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.
Bryant Ranch Prepack
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 300 mg | white oval tablet, 17 mm | ML96 |
Hisun Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 75 mg | white oval tablet, 11 mm | HU 75 |
| 150 mg | white oval tablet, 14 mm | HU 150 |
| 300 mg | white oval tablet, 17 mm | HU 300 |
Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 75 mg | white oval tablet, 11 mm | ML94 |
| 150 mg | white oval tablet, 14 mm | ML95 |
| 300 mg | white oval tablet, 17 mm | ML96 |
Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 150 mg | white oval tablet, 12 mm | 2872 |
| 300 mg | white oval tablet, 16 mm | 2873 |
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 $57 in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- E.r. Squibb & Sons, L.l.c. $57
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.
3 recalls since 2020
- Jul 2022 · Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. · Class II
Failed Dissolution Specifications - Jul 2022 · Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals, Inc. · Class II
Failed dissolution specifications. - Oct 2021 · Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: impurity N-nitrosoirbesartan detected in API
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.