FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for ARAVA

These tables and charts are based on 53,150 total reports for ARAVA (LEFLUNOMIDE) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through July 30, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 52,937 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 213 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. Adverse events listed on this page represent serious and sometimes rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and often do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects in the most recent official drug label.

For a separate summary of the 213 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch ARAVA summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with ARAVA (reported in FAERS Database)

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1DRUG INEFFECTIVE22706
2RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS16873
3PAIN14008
4FATIGUE11286
5JOINT PAIN11163
6JOINT SWELLING11129
7DRUG INTOLERANCE10669
8ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT9925
9RASH9656
10HAIR LOSS9577
11CONTRAINDICATED PRODUCT ADMINISTERED9186
12JOINT PAIN8864
13SWELLING8675
14LUPUS8621
15BLISTERS8262
16OFF LABEL USE7635
17BURNING MOUTH SYNDROME7496
18CONDITION AGGRAVATED7411
19HYPERSENSITIVITY7387
20JOINT INFLAMMATION7280

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for ARAVA

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome29010
2Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved18646
3Patient recovered6265
4Patient died4644
5Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving2780
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues213

Yearly FDA Adverse Event Reports (Table)

YearNumber of Reports
2004665
2005643
2006701
2007948
2008864
2009829
2010745
2011965
20121372
20131504
20141417
20151947
20162676
20173711
20184506
20195574
20207480
20214838
20223711
20231889
20243055
20252425
2026685

Reports by Patient Age Group (Table)

Age GroupNumber of Reports
0-10112
11-20205
21-30682
31-402994
41-507929
51-608335
61-706270
71-803327
81-90519
91+150

Based on 30523 reports that included a patient age.

ARAVA Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 6611    40316    6223    53,150  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
Canada  31145
United States  9073
Brazil  1019
France  914
Australia  300
South Africa  299
Germany  261
Spain  216
United Kingdom  177
10 Italy  166

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 44850
Not Serious: 8297
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Top Indications      
Rheumatoid arthritis
Product used for unknown indication
PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS
Polyarthritis
Peripheral spondyloarthritis

Top Companies Reporting

   SANOFI AVENTIS

Safety-Related FDA Updates

FDA Approval Date: 1998-09-10

ARAVA (LEFLUNOMIDE) Rx Drug:
Safety-related Labeling Changes


Have experience (good or bad) with ARAVA? Rate ARAVA at Ask a Patient.

For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

Notes

Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent official drug label This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for ARAVA reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated with reports received through July 30, 2026.

This summary includes ALL reports where the drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event. This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific adverse events.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers). Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting) report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported (voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug name differences, duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions or comments about this report.