# Eltrombopag

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/eltrombopag/  
OnCo record `eltrombopag` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Eltrombopag is a daily tablet that raises platelet counts by stimulating the bone marrow; it is approved for immune thrombocytopenia and severe aplastic anaemia, and haematologists also use it when low platelets complicate blood cancers and their treatment.

## Summary

Eltrombopag is an oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist first approved in the United States in 2008 for chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) that has not responded to steroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy. Its label also covers thrombocytopenia in hepatitis C to allow interferon treatment and severe aplastic anaemia, a bone marrow failure that sits alongside myelodysplastic syndromes in haematology clinics. It is not approved for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia or for low platelets in leukaemia or myelodysplasia, though it has been studied in both and is used off label. Liver toxicity and a possible increase in marrow fibrosis or blast counts are the main cautions.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Also known as: Eltrombopag Olamine; SB-497115
- Tags: gap-fill; supportive-care
- Brand: Promacta / Revolade
- Modality: Oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist
- Mechanism: A small molecule that binds the transmembrane part of the thrombopoietin receptor (MPL) on megakaryocytes and their precursors, driving them to make platelets.
- Approvals: US 2008: Chronic immune thrombocytopenia with insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins or splenectomy

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eltrombopag
- Label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=eltrombopag
- Drugs@FDA NDA 022291: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=022291

## Connected records

- cancers: [Acute myeloid leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/aml/), [Myelodysplastic syndromes / neoplasms (MDS)](https://onco.cc/cancers/mds/)
- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- drugs: [Romiplostim](https://onco.cc/drugs/romiplostim/)
- companies: [Novartis](https://onco.cc/companies/novartis/)
- terms: [Thrombocytopenia](https://onco.cc/terms/thrombocytopenia/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/eltrombopag.json