Megestrol Acetate
Brand names: Megestrol Acetate
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 265,968
- Medicare drug cost
- $15.1M
- Average cost per prescription
- $56.82
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 11,440
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Megestrol acetate oral suspension, USP is indicated for the treatment of anorexia, cachexia, or an unexplained, significant weight loss in patients with a diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated July 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Internal Medicine 26.9%
- Family Medicine 24.2%
- Nurse Practitioners 18.4%
- Hematology & Oncology 6.2%
- Physician Assistants 3.6%
- General Practice 3.0%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 2.5%
- Urology 2.2%
- Medical Oncology 1.9%
- Gynecologic Oncology 1.8%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.4%
- Cardiology 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 5% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- North Carolina +21%
- Alabama +20%
- Florida +19%
- Georgia +17%
- Texas +16%
- Puerto Rico (smallest change) −31%
- California (smallest change) −12%
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.
Atlantic Biologicals Corp.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 40 mg | white suspension | |
Pai Holdings, LLC dba PAi Pharma
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 400 mg | white suspension | |
Preferred Pharmaceuticals Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 40 mg | white suspension | |
Remedyrepack Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 20 mg | white round tablet, 8 mm, scored to split in 2 | PAR 289 |
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.
No FDA-reported recalls since 2020.
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.