Adapalene 0.1% cream
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Acne vulgaris is a multifactorial disorder of the pilosebaceous unit involving increased sebum production, inflammation, and hyperproliferation/hyperkeratinization of the follicular infundibulum.
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Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Adapalene
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Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Adapalene
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8 branded products available
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Differin 0.1% cream
This is the NHS Drug Tariff indicative price used for reimbursement purposes. It may not reflect the price paid by patients or pharmacies.
View full Drug TariffSource: NHS Drug Tariff via NHSBSA. Derived from dm+d VMPP (Virtual Medicinal Product Pack) pricing data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity is based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and on a factual NHS dm+d therapeutic-grouping code prefix. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NICE clinical guidance(1)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
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SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Academic studies and reviews for this medicine's active substance
Showing the 50 most relevant studies.
Reviews & meta-analyses: 14 · Randomised trials: 28 · 1996–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Cunliffe, Poncet, Christian Loesche, et al.
British Journal of Dermatology, 1998
- Adapalene
- Acne Vulgaris
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal
Aleid A, Aleid AM, Nukaly HY, et al.
2025
- Acne Vulgaris
- Benzoyl Peroxide
- Clindamycin
Sesgundo JA, Borra UR, Teslim AA, et al.
2024
- Acne Vulgaris
- Benzoyl Peroxide
- Clindamycin
Elrosasy A, Abo Zeid M, Cadri S, et al.
2024
Brigitte Dréno, Robert Bissonnette, Angélique Gagné-Henley, et al.
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2018
- Adapalene
- Acne Vulgaris
- Administration, Cutaneous
Sewon Kang, Michael Goldfarb, Jonathan Weiss, et al.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2003
- Adapalene
- Dermatologic Agents
- Gels
Diane Thiboutot, Michael H. Gold, Michael Jarratt, et al.
PubMed, 2001
- Adapalene
- Acne Vulgaris
- Administration, Topical
Chao Luan, Wen Yang, Jia Yin, et al.
Dermatology and Therapy, 2024
Claudia Nicklas, Rocío Rubio, Consuelo Cárdenas, et al.
Photodermatology Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, 2018
- Photochemotherapy
- Adapalene
- Acne Vulgaris
Aiman Wazir, Abdur Rahim, Laila Mahmood
International Journal of Medical Science, 2026
Sources: aggregated from Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI), OpenAlex, Crossref, PubMed and other open scholarly databases. Retracted articles are excluded. Study information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
51 hours
Mechanism
Adapalene is used for the treatment/maintenance of mild-to-severe acne (acne vulgaris).
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
9 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
0.3%
Half-life
0.3%
Metabolism
25%
Elimination
30 ng
Clearance
72 hours
[L12873]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Differin®, produced by Galderma Labs, was first granted FDA approval on May 31st, 1996, as a 0.1% adapalene topical solution. Differin was later made available as 0.1% gel, cream, or lotion, or 0.3% gel products. On December 8th, 2008, Galderma Labs gained FDA approval for Epiduo®, a 0.1% adapalene, 2.5% BPO combination gel.[L12873]
[L12873]
It is also indicated for acne vulgaris in combination with [benzoyl peroxide][L12930] and in a triple combination therapy with benzoyl peroxide and [clindamycin].
[L48666]
Known interactions with other medicines. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 2 of 2 interactions
[L12873]
Adapalene has an acute oral LD50 in S-D rats and CD-1 mice of over 5000 mg/kg.
The LD50 of 0.3% applied topically to Credo OF1 mice is over 10 ml/kg (30 mg/kg). No systemic or local toxicity was observed in rats treated topically with 6 mg/kg/day of 0.3% adapalene.
[L12897]
In addition, adapalene modulates the immune response by down-regulating toll-like receptor 2 (TLR-2) expression and inhibiting the transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP-1). TLR-2 recognizes Cutibacterium acnes (formerly Propionibacterium acnes), the bacterium primarily associated with acne. TLR-2 activation causes nuclear translocation of AP-1 and downstream pro-inflammatory gene regulation. Therefore, adapalene has a general anti-inflammatory effect, which reduces inflammation-mediated acne symptoms.[A193512]
When used with benzoyl peroxide, which possesses free radical-mediated bactericidal effects, the combination acts synergistically to reduced comedones and inflammatory lesions.[A193512]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L12873]
[L12873]
Approximately 25% of the drug is metabolized; the rest is excreted as parent drug.
[L12897]
[A193509]
[L12873]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
In the absence or presence of hormone ligand, acts mainly as an activator of gene expression due to weak binding to corepressors .
PMID:12554770
The RXRA/RARB heterodimer can act as a repressor on the DR1 element and as an activator on the DR5 element .
PMID:29021580
In concert with RARG, required for skeletal growth, matrix homeostasis and growth plate function (By similarity)
In the absence of ligand, acts mainly as an activator of gene expression due to weak binding to corepressors. Required for limb bud development. In concert with RARA or RARB, required for skeletal growth, matrix homeostasis and growth plate function (By similarity)
The high affinity ligand for RXRs is 9-cis retinoic acid (By similarity)
PMID:10874028 PMID:11162439 PMID:11915042 PMID:37478846
Forms homo- or heterodimers with retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and binds to target response elements in response to their ligands, all-trans or 9-cis retinoic acid, to regulate gene expression in various biological processes .
PMID:10195690 PMID:11162439 PMID:11915042 PMID:16107141 PMID:17761950 PMID:18800767 PMID:19167885 PMID:28167758 PMID:37478846
The RAR/RXR heterodimers bind to the retinoic acid response elements (RARE) composed of tandem 5'-AGGTCA-3' sites known as DR1-DR5 to regulate transcription .
PMID:10195690 PMID:11162439 PMID:11915042 PMID:17761950 PMID:28167758
The high affinity ligand for retinoid X receptors (RXRs) is 9-cis retinoic acid .
PMID:1310260
In the absence of ligand, the RXR-RAR heterodimers associate with a multiprotein complex containing transcription corepressors that induce histone deacetylation, chromatin condensation and transcriptional suppression .
PMID:20215566
On ligand binding, the corepressors dissociate from the receptors and coactivators are recruited leading to transcriptional activation .
PMID:20215566 PMID:37478846 PMID:9267036
Serves as a common heterodimeric partner for a number of nuclear receptors, such as RARA, RARB and PPARA .
PMID:10195690 PMID:11915042 PMID:28167758 PMID:29021580
The RXRA/RARB heterodimer can act as a transcriptional repressor or transcriptional activator, depending on the RARE DNA element context .
PMID:29021580
The RXRA/PPARA heterodimer is required for PPARA transcriptional activity on fatty acid oxidation genes such as ACOX1 and the P450 system genes .
PMID:10195690
Together with RARA, positively regulates microRNA-10a expression, thereby inhibiting the GATA6/VCAM1 signaling response to pulsatile shear stress in vascular endothelial cells .
PMID:28167758
Acts as an enhancer of RARA binding to RARE DNA element .
PMID:28167758
May facilitate the nuclear import of heterodimerization partners such as VDR and NR4A1 .
PMID:12145331 PMID:15509776
Promotes myelin debris phagocytosis and remyelination by macrophages .
PMID:26463675
Plays a role in the attenuation of the innate immune system in response to viral infections, possibly by negatively regulating the transcription of antiviral genes such as type I IFN genes .
PMID:25417649
Involved in the regulation of calcium signaling by repressing ITPR2 gene expression, thereby controlling cellular senescence PMID:30216632
ATC D10AD03
ATC D10AD53
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Adapalene
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
224
ChemSpider
54244
BindingDB
50048280
ZINC
ZINC000003784182
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9865
GenAtlas
RARB
GeneCards
RARB
GenBank Gene Database
X07282
GenBank Protein Database
35883
Guide to Pharmacology
591
UniProt Accession
RARB_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9866
GenAtlas
RARG
GeneCards
RARG
GenBank Gene Database
M24857
GenBank Protein Database
306887
Guide to Pharmacology
592
UniProt Accession
RARG_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10478
GenAtlas
RXRB
GeneCards
RXRB
GenBank Gene Database
X63522
GenBank Protein Database
30448
Guide to Pharmacology
611
UniProt Accession
RXRB_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10479
GenAtlas
RXRG
GeneCards
RXRG
GenBank Gene Database
U38480
GenBank Protein Database
1053069
Guide to Pharmacology
612
UniProt Accession
RXRG_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:10477
GenAtlas
RXRA
GeneCards
RXRA
GenBank Gene Database
X52773
GenBank Protein Database
35885
Guide to Pharmacology
610
UniProt Accession
RXRA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:6204
GenAtlas
JUN
GeneCards
JUN
GenBank Gene Database
J04111
GenBank Protein Database
386839
UniProt Accession
JUN_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11848
GenAtlas
TLR2
GeneCards
TLR2
GenBank Gene Database
AF051152
GenBank Protein Database
3132528
Guide to Pharmacology
1752
UniProt Accession
TLR2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9864
GenAtlas
RARA
GeneCards
RARA
GenBank Gene Database
X06614
GenBank Protein Database
36157
Guide to Pharmacology
590
UniProt Accession
RARA_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:4432
GenAtlas
GOT1
GeneCards
GOT1
GenBank Gene Database
M37400
GenBank Protein Database
179067
UniProt Accession
AATC_HUMAN
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite:
- DrugBank 6.02024Recommended citationKnox C., Wilson M., Klinger C.M., et alDrugBank 6.0: the DrugBank Knowledgebase for 2024Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jan 552(D1):D1265-D1275
- DrugBank 5.02018Wishart D.S., Feunang Y.D., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank 5.0: a major update to the DrugBank database for 2018Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Nov 846(D1):D1074-D1082
- DrugBank 4.02014Law V., Knox C., Djoumbou Y., et alDrugBank 4.0: shedding new light on drug metabolismNucleic Acids Res. 2014 Jan 142(1):D1091-7
- DrugBank 3.02011Knox C., Law V., Jewison T., et alDrugBank 3.0: a comprehensive resource for 'omics' research on drugsNucleic Acids Res. 2011 Jan39(Database issue):D1035-41
- DrugBank 2.02008Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a knowledgebase for drugs, drug actions and drug targets.Nucleic Acids Research2008 Jan36(Database issue):D901-6
- DrugBank 1.02006Wishart D.S., Knox C., Guo A.C., et alDrugBank: a comprehensive resource for in silico drug discovery and exploration.Nucleic Acids Research2006 Jan 134(Database issue):D668-72