Beractant is a prescription medicine (Surfactant). The sections below reproduce one FDA label for it, named under "Label". Products in other forms, strengths or from other makers have their own labels, which can differ.
- Type
- Prescription only (Rx)
- Brand names
- Survanta
- Drug class
- Surfactant
- Taken
- Endotracheal
- Label
- AbbVie Inc., revised October 15, 2020 · full label on DailyMed
- Biosimilars
- None approved · details
What it is used for
SURVANTA is indicated for prevention and treatment (“rescue”) of Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) (hyaline membrane disease) in premature infants.
Who should not take it (contraindications)
None
Warnings
SURVANTA can rapidly affect oxygenation and lung compliance within minutes of administration of SURVANTA. Therefore, its use should be restricted to a highly supervised clinical setting with immediate availability of clinicians experienced with intubation, ventilator management, and general care of premature infants. Infants receiving SURVANTA should be frequently monitored with arterial or transcutaneous measurement of systemic oxygen and carbon dioxide. During the dosing procedure, transient episodes of bradycardia and decreased oxygen saturation have been reported. If these occur, stop the dosing procedure and initiate appropriate measures to alleviate the condition. After stabilization, resume the dosing procedure.
Precautions
General Rales and moist breath sounds can occur transiently after administration. Endotracheal suctioning or other remedial action is not necessary unless clear-cut signs of airway obstruction are present. Increased probability of post-treatment nosocomial sepsis in SURVANTA-treated infants was observed in the controlled clinical trials (Table 3). The increased risk for sepsis among SURVANTA-treated infants was not associated with increased mortality among these infants. The causative organisms were similar in treated and control infants. There was no significant difference between groups in the rate of post-treatment infections other than sepsis. Use of SURVANTA in infants less than 600 g birth weight or greater than 1750 g birth weight has not been evaluated in controlled trials. There is no controlled experience with use of SURVANTA in conjunction with experimental therapies for RDS (eg, high-frequency ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). No information is available on the effects of doses other than 100 mg phospholipids/kg, more than four doses, dosing more frequently than every 6 hours, or administration after 48 hours of age. Carcinogenesis, Mutagenesis, Impairment of Fertility Carcinogenicity studies have not been performed with SURVANTA. SURVANTA was negative when tested in the Ames test for mutagenicity. Using the maximum feasible dose volume, SURVANTA up to 500 mg phospholipids/kg/day (approximately one-third the premature infant dose based on mg/m 2 /day) was administered subcutaneously to newborn rats for 5 days. The rats reproduced normally and there were no observable adverse effects in their offspring.
Side effects (adverse reactions)
The most commonly reported adverse experiences were associated with the dosing procedure. In the multiple-dose controlled clinical trials, each dose of SURVANTA was divided into four quarter-doses which were instilled through a catheter inserted into the endotracheal tube by briefly disconnecting the endotracheal tube from the ventilator. Transient bradycardia occurred with 11.9% of doses . Oxygen desaturation occurred with 9.8% of doses . Other reactions during the dosing procedure occurred with fewer than 1% of doses and included endotracheal tube reflux, pallor, vasoconstriction, hypotension, endotracheal tube blockage, hypertension, hypocarbia, hypercarbia, and apnea. No deaths occurred during the dosing procedure, and all reactions resolved with symptomatic treatment. The occurrence of concurrent illnesses common in premature infants was evaluated in the controlled trials. The rates in all controlled studies are in Table 3. Table 3. All Controlled Studies Concurrent Event SURVANTA (%) Control (%) P -Value a Patent ductus arteriosus 46.9 47.1 0.814 Intracranial hemorrhage 48.1 45.2 0.241 Severe intracranial hemorrhage 24.1 23.3 0.693 Pulmonary air leaks 10.9 24.7 < 0.001 Pulmonary interstitial emphysema 20.2 38.4 < 0.001 Necrotizing enterocolitis 6.1 5.3 0.427 Apnea 65.4 59.6 0.283 Severe apnea 46.1 42.5 0.114 Post-treatment sepsis 20.7 16.1 0.019 Post-treatment infection 10.2 9.1 0.345 Pulmonary hemorrhage 7.2 5.3 0.166 a P -value comparing groups in controlled studies When all controlled studies were pooled, there was no difference in intracranial hemorrhage. However, in one of the single-dose rescue studies and one of the multiple-dose prevention studies, the rate of intracranial hemorrhage was significantly higher in SURVANTA patients than control patients (63.3% v 30.8%, P = 0.001; and 48.8% v 34.2%, P = 0.047, respectively). The rate in a Treatment IND involving approximately 8100 infants was lower than in the controlled trials. In the controlled clinical trials, there was no effect of SURVANTA on results of common laboratory tests: white blood cell count and serum sodium, potassium, bilirubin, and creatinine. More than 4300 pretreatment and post-treatment serum samples from approximately 1500 patients were tested by Western Blot Immunoassay for antibodies to surfactant-associated proteins SP-B and SP-C. No IgG or IgM antibodies were detected. Several other complications are known to occur in premature infants. The following conditions were reported in the controlled clinical studies. The rates of the complications were not different in treated and control infants, and none of the complications were attributed to SURVANTA. Respiratory lung consolidation, blood from the endotracheal tube, deterioration after weaning, respiratory decompensation, subglottic stenosis, paralyzed diaphragm, respiratory failure. Cardiovascular hypotension, hypertension, tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, aortic thrombosis, cardiac failure, cardio-respiratory arrest, increased apical pulse, persistent fetal circulation, air embolism, total anomalous pulmonary venous return. Gastrointestinal abdominal distention, hemorrhage, intestinal perforations, volvulus, bowel infarct, feeding intolerance, hepatic failure, stress ulcer. Renal renal failure, hematuria. Hematologic coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, disseminated intravascular coagulation. Central Nervous System seizures Endocrine/Metabolic adrenal hemorrhage, inappropriate ADH secretion, hyperphosphatemia. Musculoskeletal inguinal hernia. Systemic fever, deterioration. Follow-Up Evaluations To date, no long-term complications or sequelae of SURVANTA therapy have been found. Single-Dose Studies Six-month adjusted-age follow-up evaluations of 232 infants (115 treated) demonstrated no clinically important differences between treatment groups in pulmonary and neurologic sequelae, incidence or severity of retinopathy of prematurity, rehospitalizations, growth, or allergic manifestations. Multiple-Dose Studies Six-month adjusted age follow-up evaluations have been completed in 631 (345 treated) of 916 surviving infants. There were significantly less cerebral palsy and need for supplemental oxygen in SURVANTA infants than controls. Wheezing at the time of examination was significantly more frequent among SURVANTA infants, although there was no difference in bronchodilator therapy. Final twelve-month follow-up data from the multiple-dose studies are available from 521 (272 treated) of 909 surviving infants. There was significantly less wheezing in SURVANTA infants than controls, in contrast to the six-month results. There was no difference in the incidence of cerebral palsy at twelve months. Twenty-four month adjusted age evaluations were completed in 429 (226 treated) of 906 surviving infants. There were significantly fewer SURVANTA infants with rhonchi, wheezing, and tachypnea at the time of examination. No other differences were found.
Are there biosimilars to Beractant?
No. The FDA has not approved a biosimilar yet.
Biologics have biosimilars rather than generics: highly similar versions with no clinically meaningful differences. Only biosimilars the FDA designates as interchangeable can be swapped at the pharmacy without asking the prescriber, where state law allows; the FDA Purple Book lists which ones are.
Brand-name versions
- Survanta Abbvie, approved 1991
Source: Drugs@FDA (via openFDA), checked October 29, 2026. Marketing status is what companies report to the FDA; whether a pharmacy stocks a product, and what your insurance covers, can differ.
Dosage:
we do not reproduce dosing instructions. The right dose depends on the person and the condition and is set by the prescriber or pharmacist. Dosage section of the full label.
Beractant in the news
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Source: FDA structured product labeling, retrieved through openFDA. Label text is shown as published by the FDA, without editing; long sections are shortened, marked […]. openFDA data are not validated for clinical use — always check the current label and ask a doctor or pharmacist about your own treatment. Set ID 7ef9e3a5-fc39-4ae1-0dad-6b47a1684635.