Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Sex hormones and hormone antagonists in malignant disease
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Official medicine documents
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 Anastrozole
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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.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Anastrozole
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EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
40 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Anastrozole on the MHRA register
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Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
Anastrozole 1mg tablets
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.
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
1 mg
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via NHS dm+d BNF mapping files. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Anastrozole
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(11)
Fulvestrant for untreated locally advanced or metastatic oestrogen-receptor positive breast cancer (TA503)
Fulvestrant for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (TA239)
Lapatinib or trastuzumab in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for the first-line treatment of metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer that overexpresses HER2 (TA257)
Abemaciclib with an aromatase inhibitor for previously untreated, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (TA563)
Ribociclib with an aromatase inhibitor for adjuvant treatment of hormone receptor-positive HER2-negative early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence (TA1086)
Familial breast cancer: classification, care and managing breast cancer and related risks in people with a family history of breast cancer (CG164)
Ribociclib with an aromatase inhibitor for previously untreated, hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (TA496)
Elacestrant for treating oestrogen receptor-positive HER2-negative advanced breast cancer with an ESR1 mutation after endocrine treatment (TA1036)
Ribociclib with fulvestrant for treating hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer after endocrine therapy (TA687)
Fertility problems: assessment and treatment (CG156)
Everolimus with exemestane for treating advanced breast cancer after endocrine therapy (TA421)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). 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.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
None known
Half-life
50 hours
Mechanism
Anastrazole exerts its anti-estrogenic effects via selective and competitive inh…
Food interactions
1 warning
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
2 hours
[A186877][L8869]…
Half-life
50 hours
[L8863][L8869][A186877]
Protein binding
40%
[L8869]
Volume of distribution
3.19 mL
Metabolism
Elimination
85%
[L8863]…
Clearance
30%
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Anastrozole was first approved for use in the United States in 1995.[L8863]
[L8863]
It may also be used in the treatment of advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women who experience disease progression despite treatment with [tamoxifen].
[L8866][L8863]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 332 interactions
[L8887]
Knowledge of the signs and symptoms of anastrozole overdose is incomplete as there are no documented descriptions of a patient receiving more than 60mg,[L8872] a dose which was administered to a healthy male volunteer and was well-tolerated.
[L8863][L8869]
There is no antidote for anastrozole and treatment should be supportive and symptomatic, including close monitoring of patient vital signs. As anastrozole exhibits relatively low protein binding, dialysis may be helpful and should be considered in select cases.
[L8863][L8869]
The incidence of ischemic cardiovascular events was increased during anastrozole therapy and patients with pre-existing ischemic heart disease should consider the risks and benefits of anastrozole before beginning therapy. Anastrozole has also been reported to decrease spine and hip bone mineral density (BMD), so consideration should be given to monitoring of BMD in patients receiving long-term therapy.[L8863][A186955]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A186877][L8869]
Coadministration with food reduces the rate but not the overall extent of absorption - mean Cmax decreased by 16% and the median Tmax was extended to 5 hours when anastrozole was administered 30 minutes after ingestion of food,[L8863] though this relatively minor alteration in absorption kinetics is not expected to result in clinically significant effects.
[L8866]
[L8863][L8869][A186877]
[L8869]
[A186859]
[A184457][L8863][L8869]
Oxidation to hydroxyanastrozole is catalyzed predominantly by CYP3A4 (as well as CYP3A5 and CYP2C8, to a lesser extent) and the direct glucuronidation of anastrozole appears to be catalyzed mainly by UGT1A4.
[A184457]
Anastrozole may also undergo N-dealkylation to form triazole and 3,5-Bis-(2-methylpropiononitrile)-benzoic acid.
[A184457]
Labels for anastrozole state the main metabolite found in plasma following administration is triazole,[L8863][L8869] but a recent pharmacokinetic study was unable to detect any products of N-dealkylation in vitro.
[A184457]
[L8863]
Approximately 10% of the administered dosage is eliminated unchanged in the urine.
[L8869][L8872]
[L8863][L8869]
Conversely, renal impairment has a negligible effect on total drug clearance as the renal route is a relatively minor clearance pathway for anastrozole. In volunteers with severe renal impairment, renal clearance was reduced by 50% while total clearance was only reduced by approximately 10%.
[L8863][L8869]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:27702664 PMID:2848247
Catalyzes three successive oxidations of C19 androgens: two conventional oxidations at C19 yielding 19-hydroxy and 19-oxo/19-aldehyde derivatives, followed by a third oxidative aromatization step that involves C1-beta hydrogen abstraction combined with cleavage of the C10-C19 bond to yield a phenolic A ring and formic acid .
PMID:20385561
Alternatively, the third oxidative reaction yields a 19-norsteroid and formic acid. Converts dihydrotestosterone to delta1,10-dehydro 19-nordihydrotestosterone and may play a role in homeostasis of this potent androgen .
PMID:22773874
Also displays 2-hydroxylase activity toward estrone .
PMID:22773874
Mechanistically, uses molecular oxygen inserting one oxygen atom into a substrate, and reducing the second into a water molecule, with two electrons provided by NADPH via cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR; NADPH-ferrihemoprotein reductase) PMID:20385561 PMID:22773874
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:2897240 PMID:35970996 PMID:8898203 PMID:9038218 PMID:35507548
Catalyzes the flop of phospholipids from the cytoplasmic to the exoplasmic leaflet of the apical membrane. Participates mainly to the flop of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, beta-D-glucosylceramides and sphingomyelins .
PMID:8898203
Energy-dependent efflux pump responsible for decreased drug accumulation in multidrug-resistant cells PMID:2897240 PMID:35970996 PMID:9038218
ATC L02BG03
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)
Anastrozole
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
27
ChemSpider
2102
BindingDB
10015
ZINC
ZINC000000000941
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2594
GenAtlas
CYP19A1
GeneCards
CYP19A1
GenBank Gene Database
M22246
GenBank Protein Database
179002
Guide to Pharmacology
1362
UniProt Accession
CP19A_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2638
GenAtlas
CYP3A5
GeneCards
CYP3A5
GenBank Gene Database
J04813
GenBank Protein Database
181346
Guide to Pharmacology
1338
UniProt Accession
CP3A5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2622
GenAtlas
CYP2C8
GeneCards
CYP2C8
GenBank Gene Database
M17397
Guide to Pharmacology
1325
UniProt Accession
CP2C8_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:12536
GeneCards
UGT1A4
GenBank Gene Database
M57951
GenBank Protein Database
184475
UniProt Accession
UD14_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:12535
GeneCards
UGT1A3
GenBank Gene Database
M84127
GenBank Protein Database
340135
UniProt Accession
UD13_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:12554
GeneCards
UGT2B7
GenBank Gene Database
J05428
GenBank Protein Database
340080
UniProt Accession
UD2B7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2596
GenAtlas
CYP1A2
GeneCards
CYP1A2
GenBank Gene Database
Z00036
Guide to Pharmacology
1319
UniProt Accession
CP1A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2623
GenAtlas
CYP2C9
GeneCards
CYP2C9
GenBank Gene Database
AY341248
Guide to Pharmacology
1326
UniProt Accession
CP2C9_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:40
GenAtlas
ABCB1
GeneCards
ABCB1
GenBank Gene Database
M14758
GenBank Protein Database
307180
Guide to Pharmacology
768
UniProt Accession
MDR1_HUMAN
International reference pricing
Reference pricing from DrugBank. Prices are indicative and may not reflect current UK costs.
Source: DrugBank. Used under CC BY-NC 4.0 academic licence for non-commercial purposes.
Patent information
All patents expired, 2 expired
Source: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0. Patent data sourced from national patent offices. Expiry dates may not reflect extensions, regulatory exclusivity periods, or legal challenges.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: