Linaclotide
Brand names: Linzess
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 2,034,211
- Medicare drug cost
- $1.56B
- Average cost per prescription
- $765
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 57,148
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
LINZESS is indicated for the treatment of: • irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adults and pediatric patients 7 years of age and older • chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults • functional constipation (FC) in pediatric patients 2 years of age and older
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated May 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNING: RISK OF SERIOUS DEHYDRATION IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE LINZESS is contraindicated in patients less than 2 years of age; in nonclinical studies in neonatal mice, administration of a single, clinically relevant adult oral dose of linaclotide caused deaths due to dehydration.
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
- Family Medicine 21.9%
- Nurse Practitioners 21.8%
- Internal Medicine 21.6%
- Gastroenterology 19.4%
- Physician Assistants 8.6%
- General Practice 1.4%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.9%
- Pain Medicine 0.6%
- Cardiology 0.4%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 0.4%
- Neurology 0.2%
- 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 46% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Puerto Rico +136%
- Michigan +89%
- Utah +82%
- Minnesota +78%
- Louisiana +65%
- Nebraska (smallest change) +20%
- Ohio (smallest change) +28%
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 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 145 ug | white capsule, 16 mm | FL 145 |
Allergan, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 72 ug | white capsule, 16 mm | FL 72 |
| 145 ug | white capsule, 16 mm | FL 145 |
| 290 ug | white capsule, 18 mm | FL 290 |
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 $2.0M in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- AbbVie Inc. $2.0M
- Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc $26,012
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.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
Industry-funded trials
- A Study to Assess Adverse Events and Change in Symptoms With Linaclotide Versus Placebo in Pediatric Subjects, Ages 2 to 5 Years, With Functional Constipation Completed · AbbVie Inc.
- A Study to Assess Adverse Events and Change in Disease Activity in Pediatric Participants (Age 6 Months to <2 Years) With Functional Constipation Who Are Treated With Linaclotide Completed · AbbVie Inc.
- Long-term Safety of Linaclotide in Pediatric Participants With FC or IBS-C Completed · AbbVie Inc.
- Linaclotide Safety and Efficacy in Pediatric Participants, 6 to 17 Years of Age, With Irritable Bowel Syndrome With Constipation (IBS-C) or Functional Constipation (FC) Completed · AbbVie Inc.
- A Study to Assess the Adverse Events, Change in Disease Activity, and How Oral ABBV-711 Tablets Move Through the Body as a Monotherapy and in Combination With Intravenously Infused Budigalimab (ABBV-181), in Adults With Advanced Squamous Tumors Recruiting · AbbVie Inc.
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.