Valsartan
Brand names: Diovan, Valsartan
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 3,962,793
- Medicare drug cost
- $110.0M
- Average cost per prescription
- $27.77
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 103,341
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
Diovan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) indicated for: Hypertension, to lower blood pressure in adults and children 1 year and older. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions Heart failure (NYHA class II-IV), to reduce hospitalization for heart failure in adults Post-myocardial infarction, for the reduction of cardiovascular mortality in clinically stable patients with left ventricular failure or left ventricular dysfunction following myocardial infarction in adults
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 Diovan 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 Diovan 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 28.9%
- Family Medicine 27.3%
- Cardiology 14.4%
- Nurse Practitioners 12.7%
- Physician Assistants 4.5%
- Interventional Cardiology 4.5%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 2.4%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.1%
- General Practice 1.1%
- Cardiac Electrophysiology 0.6%
- Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology 0.4%
- Endocrinology & Diabetes 0.4%
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 121% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Alabama +212%
- South Carolina +192%
- North Carolina +181%
- Utah +178%
- Massachusetts +174%
- Hawaii (smallest change) +37%
- California (smallest change) +65%
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.
Aurobindo Pharma Limited
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 24 mg / 26 mg valsartan | white oval tablet, 9 mm | SV 50 |
| 49 mg / 51 mg valsartan | white oval tablet, 13 mm | SV 100 |
| 97 mg / 103 mg valsartan | white oval tablet, 17 mm | SV 200 |
Novadoz Pharmaceuticals LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 24 mg / 26 mg valsartan | purple oval tablet, 10 mm | M S1 |
| 49 mg / 51 mg valsartan | yellow oval tablet, 13 mm | M S2 |
| 97 mg / 103 mg valsartan | pink oval tablet, 15 mm | M S3 |
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 40 mg | yellow oval tablet, 6 mm, scored to split in 2 | NVR DO |
| 80 mg | red oval tablet, 10 mm | NVR DV |
| 80 mg | red round tablet, 10 mm | NVR DV |
| 160 mg | orange oval tablet, 13 mm | NVR DX |
| 320 mg | purple oval tablet, 16 mm | NVR DXL |
| 320 mg | purple oval tablet, 16 mm | NVR DC |
Pd-Rx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 160 mg | yellow oval tablet, 17 mm | C4 C |
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 $95 in payments to clinicians that named this drug in 2025 (meals, speaking, consulting and similar).
- Ani Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $95
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.
2 recalls since 2020
- Aug 2026 · Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation · Class II
Failed Dissolution Specifications - Mar 2021 · Cardinal Health Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: Intermittent exposure to temperature excursion during storage.
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.