CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) is a prescription drug that helps prevent organ rejection after certain organ transplants. CellCept can interact with other medications and some supplements. For example, this drug can interact with certain antacids.
CellCept is used in adults and certain children to prevent organ rejection after a liver, heart, or kidney transplant. (With organ rejection, the immune system attacks a transplanted organ.)
CellCept comes in several forms that you swallow, including a tablet, capsule, and suspension (a type of liquid mixture). It also comes as a liquid solution that a healthcare professional gives as an intravenous (IV) infusion (an injection into your vein given over a period of time).
An interaction can occur because one substance causes another substance to have a different effect than expected. Interactions can also occur if you have certain health conditions.
Keep reading to learn about CellCept’s possible interactions. And for more information about CellCept, including details about its uses, see this article.
Before you start taking CellCept, tell your doctor and pharmacist about any prescription, over-the-counter, or other drugs you take. Sharing this information with them may help prevent possible interactions. (To learn whether CellCept interacts with supplements, herbs, and vitamins, see the “Are there other interactions with CellCept?” section below.)
If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
The table below lists drugs that may interact with CellCept. Keep in mind that this table does not include all drugs that may interact with CellCept. For more information about some of these interactions, see the “Drug interactions explained” section below.
| Drug group or drug name | Drug examples | What can happen |
| certain antibiotics | • amoxicillin (Amoxil, Larotid) • ciprofloxacin (Cipro) • rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) • sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim (Bactrim, Septra) | CellCept may be less effective |
| certain antivirals | • ganciclovir (Ganzyk-RTU) • acyclovir (Sitavig) • valacyclovir (Valtrex) | increased risk of side effects from CellCept and certain antivirals |
| certain birth control pills | • levonorgestrel (Opcicon One-Step, Plan B One-Step) • norgestrel (Opill) • ethinyl estradiol/levonorgestrel (Seasonique, Seasonale, others) | the birth control pills may be less effective |
| antacids* | • calcium carbonate/magnesium hydroxide/simethicone (Rolaids) • aluminum hydroxide/magnesium hydroxide (Maalox) • calcium carbonate (TUMS) | CellCept may be less effective |
| proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) | • esomeprazole (Nexium) • lansoprazole (Prevacid) • pantoprazole (Protonix) | CellCept may be less effective |
| bile acid sequestrants | • colestipol (Colestid) • colesevelam (Welchol) • cholestyramine (LoCholest, Prevalite) | CellCept may be less effective |
| phosphate binders | • calcium carbonate • lanthanum carbonate (Fosrenol) • sevelamer (Renagel, Renvela) | CellCept may be less effective |
| other immunosuppressant drugs† | • azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran) • tacrolimus (Astagraf XL, Envarsus XR, Prograf) • cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune) | increased risk of side effects from CellCept and other immunosuppressant drugs |
| telmisartan (Micardis) | — | CellCept may be less effective |
| probenecid (Probalan) | — | increased risk of side effects from CellCept |
* Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, can be used as an antacid. CellCept may interact with sodium bicarbonate supplements. To learn more, see the “Are there other interactions with CellCept?” section below.
† CellCept is an immunosuppressant drug, meaning it lowers the activity of your immune system.
Certain health conditions or other factors could raise your risk of harm if you take CellCept. In such cases, your doctor may not prescribe CellCept for you. These are known as contraindications. CellCept has one contraindication, which is described below.
If you’ve had an allergic reaction. If you have had an allergic reaction to CellCept or any of its ingredients, your doctor likely won’t prescribe CellCept. This is because taking the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better options for you.
Before you start taking CellCept, talk with your doctor if any of the factors above apply to you. Your doctor can determine whether CellCept is safe for you.
CellCept is not known to interact with alcohol. But drinking alcohol can cause harmful effects on a transplanted organ. CellCept is used to prevent organ rejection after a liver, heart, or kidney transplant. So your doctor may recommend that you limit or avoid alcohol during your CellCept treatment.
If you have questions about consuming alcohol while taking CellCept, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Learn more about certain drug interactions that can occur with CellCept.
Interaction with antacids
CellCept can interact with antacids, which treat conditions such as heartburn and indigestion (upset stomach).
Examples of antacids include:
- calcium carbonate/magnesium hydroxide/simethicone (Rolaids)
- aluminum hydroxide/magnesium hydroxide (Maalox)
- calcium carbonate (TUMS)
Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, can be used as an antacid. To learn more about this interaction, see the “Are there other interactions with CellCept?” section below.
What could happen
CellCept may be less effective if used with antacids. This is because antacids may attach to CellCept, which could keep your body from absorbing the drug. This could lead to low levels of CellCept in your system, preventing the drug from working correctly.
What you can do
Before starting CellCept treatment, tell your doctor if you take any antacids. They can recommend whether it’s safe for you to take these medications together.
If you use CellCept with an antacid, your doctor may advise you to take the antacid at least 2 hours after taking CellCept. Doing so may help prevent the antacid from affecting CellCept.
If you have questions about taking CellCept with antacids, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Interaction with bile acid sequestrants
CellCept can interact with bile acid sequestrants. These medications are used to treat high cholesterol.
Examples of bile acid sequestrants include:
- colestipol (Colestid)
- colesevelam (Welchol)
- cholestyramine (LoCholest, Prevalite)
What could happen
CellCept may be less effective if used with bile acid sequestrants. These medications could keep your body from absorbing CellCept properly, which can lead to a lower level of CellCept in your body. This could prevent the drug from working as it should.
What you can do
Before you start CellCept treatment, tell your doctor if you take a bile acid sequestrant. They can determine whether it’s safe to use these drugs together.
If you use CellCept with a bile acid sequestrant, your doctor may have you wait to take the bile acid sequestrant until at least 2 hours after CellCept. This can help prevent the drug from affecting CellCept.
If you have questions about taking CellCept with bile acid sequestrants, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Interaction with other immunosuppressant drugs
CellCept can interact with other immunosuppressant drugs. CellCept is also an immunosuppressant drug, meaning it lowers the activity of your immune system. Like CellCept, other immunosuppressants can help prevent organ rejection after certain organ transplants. They can also be used to treat other conditions, such as autoimmune disorders.
Examples of immunosuppressant drugs include:
- azathioprine (Azasan, Imuran)
- tacrolimus (Astagraf XL, Envarsus XR, Prograf)
- cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)
What could happen
CellCept and other immunosuppressants can increase your risk of serious infection. So, taking these drugs together can raise your risk even further.
CellCept has a
What you can do
Before taking CellCept, tell your doctor if you take an immunosuppressant. They aren’t likely to prescribe these drugs together. Your doctor can recommend other treatment options for your condition.
If you have questions about taking CellCept with other immunosuppressants, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
CellCept may have other interactions. They could occur with supplements, foods, vaccines, or even lab tests. See below for details. Note that the information below does not include all other possible interactions with CellCept.
Does CellCept interact with supplements?
Before you start taking CellCept, talk with your doctor and pharmacist about any supplements, herbs, and vitamins you take. Sharing this information with them may help you avoid possible interactions.
CellCept can interact with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) supplements. Some people use these supplements as an antacid for treating conditions such as heartburn and indigestion (upset stomach).
CellCept may be less effective if used with sodium bicarbonate supplements. This is because these supplements may attach to CellCept, which could keep your body from absorbing the drug. This could lead to low levels of CellCept in your system, which may prevent the drug from working correctly.
Your doctor can recommend whether it’s safe for you to use CellCept with sodium bicarbonate supplements. If you use CellCept with these supplements, your doctor may advise you to take the supplement at least 2 hours after taking CellCept. Doing so may help prevent sodium bicarbonate supplements from affecting CellCept.
If you have questions about interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
CellCept and herbs
There are currently no reports of CellCept interacting with herbs. But this doesn’t mean that interactions with herbs won’t be recognized in the future.
For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during your CellCept treatment.
CellCept and vitamins
There are currently no reports of CellCept interacting with vitamins. But this doesn’t mean that vitamin interactions won’t be recognized in the future.
For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any of these products during your CellCept treatment.
Does CellCept interact with food?
It’s important to note that you should not eat food at least 2 hours before and 1 hour after taking CellCept. If you take CellCept with food, the interaction could decrease the level of the drug in your body. This may make CellCept less effective.
There are currently no reports of CellCept interacting with specific foods. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) may interact with CellCept when it’s used as an antacid.* However, foods contain less baking soda than a sodium bicarbonate supplement. For this reason, baking soda in foods isn’t expected to interact with CellCept.
If you have questions about foods to avoid while taking CellCept, talk with your doctor.
* To learn more about this interaction, see “Does CellCept interact with supplements?” above.
Does CellCept interact with vaccines?
You should not receive a live vaccine* while taking CellCept. This is because getting a live vaccine while you’re taking CellCept increases your risk of infection. Examples of live vaccines include chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), and rotavirus.
If you need to receive a vaccine while taking CellCept, talk with your doctor first to make sure it’s safe.
* A live vaccine contains a weakened version of the bacterium or virus that it’s meant to protect against.
Does CellCept interact with lab tests?
There are currently no reports of CellCept interacting with lab tests. If you have questions about having certain lab tests during your treatment with CellCept, talk with the healthcare professional ordering the test.
Does CellCept interact with cannabis or CBD?Cannabis (commonly called marijuana) and cannabis products, such as cannabidiol (CBD), have been specifically reported to interact with CellCept. Taking CellCept with a cannabis product increases the risk of side effects from CellCept.
Before you start treatment with CellCept, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you use cannabis. By sharing this information with them, you may help prevent possible interactions.
Note: Cannabis is illegal at a federal level but is legal in many states to varying degrees.
Certain medical conditions or other health factors may raise the risk of interactions with CellCept. Before taking CellCept, talk with your doctor about your health history. They’ll determine whether CellCept is right for you.
Health conditions or other factors that might interact with CellCept include:
Digestive system problems. Before taking CellCept, tell your doctor if you have a digestive system problem. Examples include bleeding, tears, or holes in the stomach. CellCept may cause serious digestive system problems, which could worsen your condition.
If you have a digestive system problem, your doctor can determine whether CellCept is the right treatment option for you.
Phenylketonuria (PKU). CellCept comes in various forms, including a suspension (a type of liquid mixture) that you swallow. If you have PKU, your doctor may not prescribe this form of CellCept. This is because CellCept liquid suspension contains aspartame, which is a source of phenylalanine. (With PKU, phenylalanine levels build up in your body.)
If you have PKU, your doctor will likely prescribe a form of CellCept that doesn’t contain phenylalanine.
HGPRT enzyme deficiency. Before starting CellCept treatment, tell your doctor if you have a deficiency of an enzyme (protein) called hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (HGPRT).
If you have an HGPRT deficiency, CellCept may cause a high level of uric acid to build up in your system. This can lead to other health issues, such as gout or kidney failure. For this reason, your doctor likely will not prescribe CellCept.
Your doctor can recommend other treatment options for your condition.
Blood or semen donation. You should not donate blood or semen while you’re taking CellCept. You should wait at least 6 weeks after stopping CellCept to donate blood. And you should wait at least 90 days after stopping the drug to donate semen.
This is because blood and semen may contain traces of CellCept. A person who receives these fluids could be exposed to CellCept, which may cause serious side effects for them. If you have questions about this, talk with your doctor.
Pregnancy. It’s not safe to use CellCept during pregnancy. In fact, the drug has a
If you do use CellCept while pregnant, consider enrolling in the drug’s pregnancy registry. This registry collects details about pregnancy issues reported with CellCept. To learn more, call 800-617-8191 or talk with your doctor.
Breastfeeding. It’s unknown whether it’s safe to use CellCept while breastfeeding. It isn’t known whether the drug passes into breast milk or if it causes side effects in a child who is breastfed. If you’re breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, talk with your doctor about your options.
Allergic reaction. If you’ve had an allergic reaction to CellCept or any of its ingredients, your doctor will likely not prescribe CellCept. This is because taking the drug could cause another allergic reaction. You can ask your doctor about other treatments that may be better choices for you.
Taking certain steps can help you avoid interactions with CellCept. Before starting treatment, talk with your doctor and pharmacist. Things to discuss with them include:
- Whether you drink alcohol or use cannabis.
- Other medications you take, as well as any vitamins, supplements, and herbs. Your doctor or pharmacist can help you fill out a
medication list . - What to do if you start taking a new drug during your CellCept treatment.
It’s also important to understand CellCept’s
If you have trouble reading or understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help.
Taking CellCept exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions.
If you still have questions about CellCept and its possible interactions, talk with your doctor.
Questions you may want to ask your doctor include:
- What should I do if I start or stop a new medication while I’m taking CellCept?
- Do other treatments for my condition have similar interactions to CellCept?
- Should I space out taking certain medications during the day to avoid interactions?
To learn more about CellCept, see these articles:
- Side Effects of CellCept: What You Need to Know
- Dosage Details for CellCept
- CellCept and Cost: What You Need to Know
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Disclaimer: Healthline has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up to date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or another healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses.