Quick answers
- What is Nexium?
- Nexium is a brand name of Esomeprazole, a prescription medicine. The FDA NDC Directory lists 7 Nexium products in 7 strengths and forms.
- Who makes Nexium?
- Astrazeneca holds the FDA application for Nexium (NDA021153, approved February 20, 2001).
- Is there a generic or store brand of Nexium?
- Yes. The FDA NDC Directory lists 14 other products with the same active ingredients, strength and form as a Nexium product, 14 of them generic. Ask your pharmacist whether one is right for you.
- What do pharmacies pay for Nexium?
- CMS lists a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) for 7 Nexium strengths and forms (see the table below). That is what pharmacies pay to buy it, not what you pay: your price depends on your insurance and your pharmacy.
- Has Nexium been recalled?
- FDA enforcement reports list 1 recall of Nexium products; the newest started July 2, 2012. A recall usually concerns specific lots, not every product.
What Nexium is
Each Nexium product as listed in the FDA NDC Directory, by active ingredient, strength and form, with its official label. “Same medicine, other names” counts the other products with exactly the same active ingredients, strength and form (generic versions, store brands and other brands); inactive ingredients can differ.
Esomeprazole · prescription medicine
| Strength and form | Product names | Same medicine, other names | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 10 mg granule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 1 product, 1 company | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 2.5 mg granule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | None listed | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 20 mg capsule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 4 products, 3 companies | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 20 mg granule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 1 product, 1 company | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 40 mg capsule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 6 products, 5 companies | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 40 mg granule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 1 product, 1 company | DailyMed |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 5 mg granule, delayed release (oral) | Nexium | 1 product, 1 company | DailyMed |
Its page lists every product and company, the FDA label’s uses and boxed warning, approvals, shortages and recalls: Esomeprazole →
FDA approval
- NDA: New Drug Application: how a new (usually brand-name) medicine is approved.
What pharmacies pay (NADAC)
The National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC) is the average price U.S. retail pharmacies paid to buy one unit of a medicine (one tablet, one mL or one gram), from a monthly survey of pharmacy invoices by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). State Medicaid programs use it to pay pharmacies.
This is not the price you pay. What you pay depends on your insurance (copay or coinsurance), your pharmacy and any discounts, and pharmacies also charge for filling a prescription. Ask your pharmacist or your health plan what your price will be.
| Strength and form | Generic or brand | Pharmacies pay |
|---|---|---|
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 10 mg granule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $9.14 per unit Generic of the same strength and form: $4.65 per unit |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 2.5 mg granule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $9.16 per unit |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 20 mg capsule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $8.77 per capsule Generic of the same strength and form: $0.1397 per capsule |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 20 mg granule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $9.14 per unit Generic of the same strength and form: $3.62 per unit |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 40 mg capsule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $8.78 per capsule Generic of the same strength and form: $0.1279 per capsule |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 40 mg granule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $9.12 per unit Generic of the same strength and form: $4.37 per unit |
| esomeprazole magnesium trihydrate 5 mg granule, delayed release | Brand: Nexium | $9.15 per unit Generic of the same strength and form: $4.59 per unit |
NADAC list of November 4, 2026; these prices took effect on October 21, 2026. Shown only where a package’s NDC code matches the NADAC list exactly, and only for that exact strength and form: nothing is averaged across strengths. Strengths and forms not listed here have no NADAC price.
Source: NADAC (National Average Drug Acquisition Cost) 2026, data.medicaid.gov (CMS) →
Companies that list Nexium
The company named on the package (holder, repackager or distributor), as listed in the FDA NDC Directory, with its number of Nexium products.
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP7 products
Recalls
From FDA enforcement reports, matched by the product’s NDC code or label. A recall usually covers specific lots: check the lot number on your package and ask your pharmacist. Do not stop a medicine on your own.
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July 2, 2012 · Class III · Terminated · D-1410-2012
Adulterated Presence of Foreign Tablets/Capsules: Some bottles may contain a small number of Nexium 20 mg capsules intended for the Japanese market in addtion to Nexium 40 mg capsules.
Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium) Delayed-Release Capsules, 40 mg, 1000-count bottle, Rx only, Manufactured for: AstraZeneca LP, Wilmington, DE 19850; By: AstraZeneca AB, S-151 85 Sodertalje, Sweden, NDC 0186-5040-85, UPC — ASTRA ZENECA Lp
Sources
- NDC Directory (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
- Drugs@FDA (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
- Drug labeling (SPL, openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
- Drug recall enforcement reports (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 27, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
- NADAC (National Average Drug Acquisition Cost) 2026 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), data.medicaid.gov, list of November 4, 2026, retrieved November 7, 2026
Which names get a brand page: a name the NDC Directory lists for a medicine, held by one company (the FDA application holder, or the company named on most of its products), that is not just a description, and that is not the only product of its medicine.