Promacta

Meaning of Promacta: Promacta is a brand name for eltrombopag, an oral medication that stimulates platelet production to treat certain causes of low platelet counts.

Definition of Promacta

Promacta is a brand name for eltrombopag, a medication taken by mouth that stimulates the bone marrow to produce more platelets, the blood cells responsible for clotting. It belongs to a class of drugs called thrombopoietin receptor agonists, which act on the same receptor that the body's natural hormone thrombopoietin uses to regulate platelet production.

Eltrombopag is used to treat low platelet counts, a condition called thrombocytopenia, in several specific situations, including certain forms of immune thrombocytopenia that have not responded adequately to other treatments and thrombocytopenia associated with a type of bone marrow failure called aplastic anemia.

Because eltrombopag raises platelet counts by stimulating their production rather than by any other mechanism, it is generally used when low platelet counts persist despite other approaches, and platelet counts are monitored during treatment to guide dosing.