This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Azathioprine

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Azathioprine is a mercaptopurine derivative which has cytotoxic and immunosuppressive effects.

The main uses of azathioprine include:

  • the treatment of leukaemia
  • to prevent rejection of transplanted organs
  • in the treatment of active progressive rheumatoid arthritis

Azathioprine is metabolised to mercaptopurine and then to thioinosinate which interferes with purine metabolism.

Mercaptopurine interacts with allopurinol. The dose of azathioprine should be reduced if allopurinol is prescribed simultaneously.

The most common side-effects of azathioprine are myelosuppression and hepatotoxicity.

The summary of product characteristics should be consulted before prescribing this drug.


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page