Minoxidil
Brand names: Minoxidil
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 392,861
- Medicare drug cost
- $4.8M
- Average cost per prescription
- $12.34
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 12,380
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Because of the potential for serious adverse effects, minoxidil tablets are indicated only in the treatment of hypertension that is symptomatic or associated with target organ damage and is not manageable with maximum therapeutic doses of a diuretic plus two other antihypertensive drugs. At the present time use in milder degrees of hypertension is not recommended because the benefit-risk relationship in such patients has not been defined. Minoxidil reduced supine diastolic blood pressure by 20 mmHg or to 90 mmHg or less in approximately 75% of patients, most of who had hypertension that could not be controlled by other drugs.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated June 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Boxed warning
WARNINGS Minoxidil tablets contain the powerful antihypertensive agent, minoxidil, which may produce serious adverse effects. It can cause pericardial effusion, occasionally progressing to tamponade, and angina pectoris may be exacerbated. Minoxidil should be reserved for hypertensive patients who do not respond adequately to maximum therapeutic doses of a diuretic and two other antihypertensive agents. In experimental animals, minoxidil caused several kinds of myocardial lesions as well as other adverse cardiac effects (see Cardiac Lesions in Animals ). Minoxidil must be administered under close supervision, usually concomitantly with therapeutic doses of a beta-adrenergic blocking agent to prevent tachycardia and increased myocardial workload. It must also usually be given with a diuretic, frequently one acting in the ascending limb of the loop of Henle, to prevent serious fluid…
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
- Dermatology 53.1%
- Physician Assistants 11.7%
- Internal Medicine 8.4%
- Nurse Practitioners 6.7%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 5.6%
- Family Medicine 5.4%
- Cardiology 2.9%
- Mohs Surgery 1.6%
- Dermatopathology 1.0%
- Interventional Cardiology 0.8%
- Geriatric Medicine 0.3%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.3%
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 163% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- New York +323%
- Ohio +188%
- New Jersey +174%
- Florida +173%
- North Carolina +158%
- Mississippi (smallest change) +13%
- Indiana (smallest change) +53%
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.
Nucare Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 mg | white round tablet, 7 mm, scored to split in 2 | DAN 5642 2 5 |
Par Health USA, LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5 mg | white round tablet, 7 mm, scored to split in 2 | PAR256 MINOXIDIL 2 5 |
| 10 mg | white round tablet, 7 mm, scored to split in 2 | PAR257 MINOXIDIL10 |
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.