Nootropil 1200mg

Nootropil 1200mg is a film-coated tablet containing 1,200 mg of piracetam. The Indian pack we sell is marketed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories (PharmEasy and Medkart listings). In the UK, where Nootropil is a licensed prescription medicine, its only licensed use is cortical myoclonus: sudden, uncontrollable muscle jerks that start in the outer layer of the brain, treated alongside other anti-myoclonic medicines under a specialist. We sell Nootropil 1200 in packs of 30, 60 and 90 tablets, from $1.36 a tablet in the 90 pack before shipping.

We want to be plain about two things before you read further. First, most people who search for Nootropil want a "nootropic": something to sharpen memory, focus or study performance. The current UK label does not list any memory or focus use, the best reviews of piracetam for memory problems found no clear benefit, and we have not found good evidence that it helps healthy people think better. We would not recommend buying Nootropil for that purpose. Second, the licensed dose is large: the UK label starts at 7.2 g a day (six tablets) and goes up to 24 g a day (20 tablets), so our biggest pack lasts 15 days at the starting dose. This page uses the UK Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) and patient leaflet for Nootropil 1200 mg, FDA warning letters, the Australian Poisons Standard, Cochrane reviews and the Indian pharmacy listings, all listed at the end.

Nootropil 1200mg at a glance

Price per tablet

Prices below are as of October 2026; the pack selector shows the current price.

All three packs cost less than $149, so each carries the $25 shipping charge when ordered alone. The larger packs are cheaper per tablet before shipping as well as after it. Two 90 packs ($245) pass the free shipping threshold.

How long does a pack last? Our arithmetic, using the UK label dose: at the 7.2 g starting dose (six tablets a day), a 30 pack lasts 5 days, a 60 pack 10 days and a 90 pack 15 days. At the 24 g maximum (20 tablets a day), a 90 pack lasts four and a half days. At the starting dose, a month of treatment is about 180 tablets, which is about $245 from us (two 90 packs) or roughly $8.17 a day. The label raises the dose every three to four days, so most people will need more tablets than this. The UK leaflet says the 1200 mg tablets come in a blister pack of 60.

Compared with the UK brand and US options

NADAC is the US National Average Drug Acquisition Cost, what US pharmacies pay for a medicine. We searched the 2026 NADAC data and openFDA on 28 October 2026 and found no piracetam product, so there is no US price to compare. We have no bioequivalence data comparing the Indian pack with the UK pack. In the US, myoclonus is treated with other, FDA-approved medicines chosen by a neurologist; piracetam is not one of them.

Which strength to choose

We sell one strength, 1,200 mg. The UK label sets the dose in grams per day, so the table below converts it to 1,200 mg tablets (our arithmetic).

The last row is there because Indian listings describe memory uses: they reflect an older UCB international prescribing information (2013), which listed memory and alertness symptoms in the elderly, sickle cell crises and reading difficulties in children. The current UK label does not include any of these, and the evidence section below explains why we do not support them.

How to take Nootropil 1200mg

• Only as prescribed by a doctor, usually a neurologist, alongside your other anti-myoclonic medicines. The UK label says those medicines "should be maintained at the same dosage", and may be reduced later if possible depending on benefit.
• Split the daily dose into two or three doses (UK SmPC 4.2; the UK leaflet's example is 2 tablets in the morning, 2 at midday and 2 in the evening).
• With or without food. The UK leaflet says to swallow the tablets whole with a glass of water and not to break or chew them, "as piracetam has a very bitter taste".
• Missed dose: the UK leaflet says "Do not take a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose. Simply take the next dose as planned."
• How long: the UK label says treatment should continue for as long as the original brain disease persists. After an acute episode, an attempt to reduce or stop it should be made every 6 months.
• Never stop suddenly. UK SmPC 4.4: "Abrupt discontinuation of treatment should be avoided as this may induce myoclonic or generalised seizures in some myoclonic patients." The label's taper is 1.2 g (one tablet) less every two days, or every three or four days in Lance and Adams syndrome (myoclonus after lack of oxygen to the brain). This is one more reason not to rely on a supplier who takes two weeks to deliver.
• Storage: the UK SmPC lists no special storage conditions. Keep it out of the sight and reach of children.

Lower doses for kidney problems and older people

About 90% of a dose leaves the body unchanged in the urine (UK SmPC 4.5), so the dose depends on kidney function. The UK SmPC 4.2 table, based on creatinine clearance (CrCl):

Section 4.3 of the same label makes piracetam contraindicated when CrCl is below 20 mL/min, so in our reading the "below 30" row only applies between 20 and 29 mL/min. For older people on long-term treatment, the label requires regular checks of creatinine clearance. No dose change is needed for liver problems alone, but if both liver and kidneys are affected, the kidney table applies.

What the evidence says

For cortical myoclonus (the licensed use). The trials are small. In a double-blind crossover trial of 21 people with cortical myoclonus (Brown 1993), all of whom had already seemed to improve when piracetam was started and most of whom were on other anti-myoclonic drugs, 10 of 21 had to be rescued from the placebo phase because their jerks got severely worse, and none from the piracetam phase; the total rating score improved by a median of 22% on piracetam. In 20 people with Unverricht-Lundborg disease (Koskiniemi 1998), 24 g a day improved the main myoclonus score, and the effect rose with dose. These results are why it is used as an add-on under specialist care.

For memory, dementia and cognitive impairment. A Cochrane review (Flicker and Grimley Evans 2001) found more people improved on a global impression scale with piracetam, but "no benefit was shown by any of the more specific measures", and concluded that the evidence "does not support the use of piracetam in the treatment of people with dementia or cognitive impairment". A 2024 meta-analysis (Gouhie and colleagues: 18 studies, 886 patients with memory impairment) found no clear difference in memory against placebo (standardised mean difference 0.75, 95% confidence interval from minus 0.19 to 1.69), with very high variation between studies, and said the effect on memory cannot be definitively established.

For stroke. A Cochrane review of piracetam for acute ischaemic stroke (Ricci 2012; 3 trials, 1,002 patients) found a statistically non-significant trend towards more deaths at one month, possibly explained by differences in stroke severity, and not enough evidence on dependence.

For healthy people. We have not found good-quality trials showing that piracetam improves memory, focus or exam performance in healthy adults. Treat any such claim with suspicion.

Side effects

The UK SmPC 4.8 lists these from clinical trials (more than 3,000 people on piracetam) and post-marketing reports. "Not known" means the frequency cannot be estimated from the data. The table is complete for the UK label.

No label gives side effect rates by dose, so we have not charted them. On driving, UK SmPC 4.7 says hyperkinesia, somnolence, nervousness and depression were reported more often than with placebo at 1.6 to 15 g a day, and there is no experience of driving at 15 to 20 g a day. The UK leaflet says: "Nootropil Tablets may cause drowsiness and shakiness. If this happens to you, do not drive or use machinery."

When to get urgent help

Get medical help straight away, and call emergency services (911 in the US and Canada, 999 in the UK, 000 in Australia) for breathing trouble, if you have:

• Signs of allergy: swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, fever with a rash, or widespread hives. The UK label lists anaphylactoid reactions and angioneurotic oedema. Stop taking it.
• Unusual bleeding or bruising, blood in urine or stool, or black stools. Piracetam reduces platelet clumping and has prolonged bleeding time in studies (UK SmPC 5.1).
• Fits that are new or worse, or myoclonus that returns badly after a dose was missed or stopped. "Epilepsy aggravated" is listed in 4.8, and sudden stopping can trigger seizures (4.4).
• Hallucinations, severe confusion or agitation.
• Too many tablets taken. The UK leaflet says: "If you accidentally take too much, immediately go to the nearest hospital casualty department or your doctor." The label says there is no specific antidote and treatment may include haemodialysis, for which the extraction efficiency of the dialyser is 50 to 60% for piracetam. Tell emergency staff that the medicine was piracetam, how much was taken and when.

Who should not take Nootropil 1200mg

Never take it if (UK SmPC 4.3):

• you are allergic to piracetam, other pyrrolidone derivatives or any ingredient of the tablet;
• you have severe kidney impairment with a creatinine clearance below 20 mL/min (the 4.2 table also lists end-stage kidney disease as contraindicated);
• you have had a cerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain);
• you have Huntington's chorea (Huntington's disease).

The UK label says "caution is recommended" (4.4) because of the effect on platelets, in people with:

• severe haemorrhage, or a risk of bleeding such as a gastrointestinal ulcer;
• disorders of blood clotting (haemostasis);
• a history of haemorrhagic stroke;
• major surgery, including dental surgery, coming up;
• anticoagulants or antiplatelet medicines, "including low dose acetylsalicylic acid" (aspirin). The UK leaflet names warfarin and acenocoumarol.

Sodium. UK SmPC 4.4: above 10 tablets a day (12.6 g) the medicine "cannot be considered 'sodium-free'"; the 24 g maximum (20 tablets) contains 43.8 mg of sodium. This matters if you are on a controlled sodium diet.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding. UK SmPC 4.6: piracetam crosses the placenta (newborn levels about 70% to 90% of the mother's) and "should not be used during pregnancy unless clearly necessary". It passes into breast milk, so "piracetam should not be used during breastfeeding or breastfeeding should be discontinued". The UK leaflet says to use contraception while taking it.

Children. The UK licence covers adults only.

Other medicines. UK SmPC 4.5 reports confusion, irritability and sleep disorder with thyroid extract (T3 plus T4); the UK leaflet adds thyroxine to the list to tell your doctor about. At 20 g a day it did not change blood levels of carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbitone or valproate. Tell your doctor about every medicine and supplement you take.

Prescription and legal status

• US: no piracetam product is approved by the FDA (openFDA search, 28 October 2026). In a February 2019 warning letter to Peak Nootropics, a seller of "nootropics", the FDA said its products, including piracetam, "are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced uses and, therefore, these products are 'new drugs'", which "may not be legally introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce without prior approval from the FDA". A footnote added that the letter "does not address the issue of whether products containing piracetam can be lawfully marketed as dietary supplements". An FDA spokesperson said in November 2019 that it had issued a warning letter in July 2012 to a company selling supplements that contained piracetam. The FDA says personal importation of unapproved medicines is illegal in most circumstances.
• UK: Nootropil 1200 mg is a prescription only medicine (PL 12762/0688), still listed on the emc with a leaflet revised May 2026. This Indian pack is not registered with the MHRA.
• Australia: piracetam is in Schedule 4 (prescription only medicine) of the Poisons Standard October 2026 (F2026L01327). We did not search the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, so we cannot tell you whether any piracetam product is registered there; this Indian pack is not registered with the TGA. Ask a pharmacist about the rules for bringing it in.
• Canada: Health Canada's Drug Product Database has no piracetam product (searched 28 October 2026), so there is no Health Canada approved piracetam.
• India: Medkart marks Nootropil 1200 as "Prescription Required"; Lybrate says "Prescription by Doctor required".

Check the rules where you live before ordering.

Buying genuine Nootropil

Piracetam sold online as a "supplement" is a known problem. In a study of supplements sold as cognitive enhancers (Cohen and colleagues, published online in 2019 in JAMA Internal Medicine), the authors reported "supplements with individual doses of piracetam exceeding 1500 mg, and daily doses greater than 11,000 mg". A branded strip from a pharmaceutical company is a different product from an unlabelled powder, but the same caution applies to any medicine bought from abroad. The MHRA warns: "Any medicine not authorised for sale in the UK can be unsafe or ineffective and there is no way of knowing what is in them or the negative health effects they can have." That warning covers this Indian pack. The MHRA advises UK buyers to "Only use UK-registered pharmacies, including online pharmacies displaying the official green cross logo".

When your order arrives, read the strip: it should name Nootropil, piracetam 1,200 mg and Dr Reddy's Laboratories, with a batch number and an expiry date. These checks cannot prove that tablets are genuine, because counterfeiters copy packaging. If a batch causes unusual symptoms, seek medical advice and report it to your medicines regulator (the MHRA Yellow Card scheme in the UK, FDA MedWatch in the US, the TGA in Australia or Health Canada) as well as to us.

Delivery

We ship Nootropil 1200mg to the US, UK, Australia and Canada in plain packaging with tracking. Standard delivery takes 7 to 14 business days to most countries. Shipping costs a flat $25 on orders under $149 and is free from $149. Because stopping piracetam suddenly can bring back myoclonus or cause seizures, do not let your supply run low while waiting for a delivery; your specialist and local pharmacy should be your main source. See our shipping page and refund policy.

Related guides

• How to buy medicine online safely

Sources

• Mercury Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ADVANZ Pharma). Nootropil 1200 mg film-coated tablets, Summary of Product Characteristics, PL 12762/0688, text revised July 2025 (sections 4.1 to 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, 6.4, 6.5). emc
• Nootropil 1200 mg film-coated tablets, Patient Information Leaflet, revised May 2026. emc
• UCB. Nootropil (piracetam) international prescribing information, 2013 (indications and dosage). PDF
• US Food and Drug Administration. Warning letter to Peak Nootropics LLC (aka Advanced Nootropics), MARCS-CMS 557887, dated 4 February 2019. FDA
• US Food and Drug Administration. Warning letter to Pure Nootropics LLC, MARCS-CMS 565425, 5 February 2019. FDA
• Daniells S. Cohen study finds presence of unapproved drug in cognitive "supplements" (includes FDA statement). NutraIngredients-USA, 26 November 2019. NutraIngredients
• Cohen PA, et al. Presence of piracetam in cognitive enhancement dietary supplements. JAMA Internal Medicine 2020. PMID 31764936.
• Flicker L, Grimley Evans J. Piracetam for dementia or cognitive impairment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2001. PMID 11405971.
• Gouhie FA, et al. Cognitive effects of piracetam in adults with memory impairment: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery 2024. PMID 38878641.
• Ricci S, et al. Piracetam for acute ischaemic stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012. PMID 22972044.
• Brown P, et al. Effectiveness of piracetam in cortical myoclonus. Movement Disorders 1993. PMID 8419809.
• Koskiniemi M, et al. Piracetam relieves symptoms in progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 1998. PMID 9527146.
• Australian Government. Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard, October 2026) Instrument, F2026L01327, Schedule 4 entry for piracetam. Federal Register of Legislation
• Health Canada Drug Product Database, searched for piracetam on 28 October 2026. Health Canada
• US Food and Drug Administration, openFDA drug approvals and NDC directory, searched for piracetam on 28 October 2026; Medicaid NADAC 2026 dataset, searched on 28 October 2026 (no rows). data.medicaid.gov
• PharmEasy listing, Nootropil 1200mg strip of 10 tablets, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, checked 28 October 2026. PharmEasy
• Medkart listing, Nootropil 1200mg tablet 10's, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited, prescription required, checked 28 October 2026. Medkart
• Lybrate listing, Nootropil 1200 mg tablet, Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd, prescription by doctor required, checked 28 October 2026. Lybrate
• MHRA. 20 million illegal erectile dysfunction pills seized as MHRA warns against risky online buys, 13 February 2026. GOV.UK
• US Food and Drug Administration. Personal Importation. FDA

This page is for information and is not medical advice. Piracetam is a prescription medicine in the UK, Australia and India. Take it only for a condition a specialist has diagnosed, and do not start, stop or change treatment without a clinician's advice.