Selected CYP3A4 Inhibitors/Pimozide Interactions

This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.

Medical warning:

Very Serious. These medicines may interact and cause very harmful effects and are usually not taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.

How the interaction occurs:

When these two medicines are taken together, your body may not process pimozide properly.

What might happen:

Your blood levels of pimozide may increase and cause life-threatening effects on your heart.

What you should do about this interaction:

Contact your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) as soon as possible about taking these two medicines together. They may already be aware of this drug interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.

  • 1.Agenerase (amprenavir) Oral Solution US prescribing information. GlaxoSmithKline May, 2005.
  • 2.Reyataz (atazanavir sulfate) US prescribing information. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company November, 2023.
  • 3.Reyataz (atazanavir sulfate) Australian product information. Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals October 25, 2023.
  • 4.Prezista (darunavir) US prescribing information. Janssen Therapeutics March, 2023.
  • 5.Lexiva (fosamprenavir calcium) US prescribing information. GlaxoSmithKline March, 2019.
  • 6.Orap (pimozide) US prescribing information. Gate Pharmaceuticals August, 2011.
  • 7.Crixivan (indinavir sulfate) US prescribing information. Merck & Co., Inc. September, 2016.
  • 8.Viracept (nelfinavir mesylate) US prescribing information. Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. September, 2016.
  • 9.Norvir (ritonavir) US prescribing information. Abbott Laboratories December, 2019.
  • 10.Fortovase (saquinavir) US prescribing information. Roche Laboratories, Inc. December, 2004.
  • 11.Invirase (saquinavir mesylate) US prescribing information. Roche Laboratories, Inc. March, 2019.
  • 12.Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir tablets) US prescribing information. Abbott Laboratories December, 2019.
  • 13.Aptivus (tipranavir) US prescribing information. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. June, 2020.
  • 14.Stribild (elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, tenofovir) US prescribing information. Gilead Sciences, Inc. September, 2021.
  • 15.Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir tablets and ritonavir tablets) US prescribing information. Pfizer Inc. May, 2023.
  • 16.Desta Z, Kerbusch T, Soukhova N, Richard E, Ko JW, Flockhart DA. Identification and characterization of human cytochrome P450 isoforms interacting with pimozide. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1998 May;285(2):428-37.
  • 17.Drew BJ, Ackerman MJ, Funk M, Gibler WB, Kligfield P, Menon V, Philippides GJ, Roden DM, Zareba W. Prevention of torsade de pointes in hospital settings: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation. J Am Coll Cardiol 2010 Mar 2;55(9):934-47.
  • 18.American Geriatrics Society 2023 updated AGS Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2023 Jul;71(7):2052-2081.

Selected from data included with permission and copyrighted by First Databank, Inc. This copyrighted material has been downloaded from a licensed data provider and is not for distribution, except as may be authorized by the applicable terms of use.

CONDITIONS OF USE: The information in this database is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals. The information is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions or adverse effects, nor should it be construed to indicate that use of a particular drug is safe, appropriate or effective for you or anyone else. A healthcare professional should be consulted before taking any drug, changing any diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment.