Betamethasone 0.1% ear/eye/nose drops
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory preparations
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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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 Betamethasone
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Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
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 Betamethasone
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
7 branded products available
Part of the Betnesol brand family (generic: Betamethasone)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Betamethasone on the MHRA register
Betnesol 0.1% eye/ear/nose drops
Betamethasone 0.1% ear/eye/nose drops
Betamethasone 0.1% ear/eye/nose drops
Betamethasone 0.1% ear/eye/nose drops
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 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
Betamethasone
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(6)
Secondary bacterial infection of eczema and other common skin conditions: antimicrobial prescribing (NG190)
Psoriasis: assessment and management (CG153)
Impetigo: antimicrobial prescribing (NG153)
Preterm labour and birth (NG25)
Ruxolitinib cream for treating non-segmental vitiligo in people 12 years and over (TA1140)
Hypertension in pregnancy: diagnosis and management (NG133)
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
59 found
Half-life
2.5 hours
Mechanism
Glucocorticoids inhibit neutrophil apoptosis and demargination, and inhibit NF-K…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
0.05%
Half-life
2.5 hours
Protein binding
[A192168][A192363]
Volume of distribution
539 mL
[A192420]…
Metabolism
[A192429]
The metabolic processes include 6β hydroxylation, 11β-hydroxyl oxidation, and…
Elimination
[A187436]
Clearance
805 mL
[A192420]…
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
[L11991][L10782][L11997]
Betamethasone can be used topically in combination with a vitamin D analog such as calcipotriene to treat plaque psoriasis.
[L12000]
The corticosteroid is also available as an injectable suspension and can be used to manage a range of inflammatory conditions including endocrine disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and rheumatic disorders among other conditions.
[L11994]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1378 interactions
[A188405]
Overdose may be treated by adjusting the dose or stopping the corticosteroid as well as initiating symptomatic and supportive treatment.
[A188405]
Corticosteroids like betamethasone can act through nongenomic and genomic pathways.[A31458] The genomic pathway is slower and occurs when glucocorticoids activate glucocorticoid receptors and initiate downstream effects that promote transcription of anti-inflammatory genes including phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), IL-1-receptor antagonist, and tyrosine amino transferase (TAT).[A31458] On the other hand, the nongenomic pathway is able to elicit a quicker response by modulating T-cell, platelet and monocyte activity through the use of existing membrane-bound receptors and second messengers.[A31458]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A192375]
There are several structural modifications that can determine the potency of a topical corticosteroid. For example, corticosteroids containing a halogen at specific carbons, or that contain esters are more potent due to enhanced lipophilicity.
[A192378]
As such, there is a marked difference between topical products containing betamethasone dipropionate vs. betamethasone valerate.
Betamethasone dipropionate contains 2 esters which enhances its potency, while betamethasone valerate has only one ester and is less potent.
[A192378]
It should be noted that the use of occlusive dressings with topical steroids significantly increases the absorption, increasing the risk for adverse effects.
[L10782]
[A192420]
[A192168][A192363]
[A192420]
[A192429]
The metabolic processes include 6β hydroxylation, 11β-hydroxyl oxidation, and reduction of the C-20 carbonyl group followed by removal of the side chain.
[A192429]
[A187436]
[A192420]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:27120390 PMID:37478846
Has a dual mode of action: as a transcription factor that binds to glucocorticoid response elements (GRE), both for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and as a modulator of other transcription factors .
PMID:28139699
Affects inflammatory responses, cellular proliferation and differentiation in target tissues. Involved in chromatin remodeling .
PMID:9590696
Plays a role in rapid mRNA degradation by binding to the 5' UTR of target mRNAs and interacting with PNRC2 in a ligand-dependent manner which recruits the RNA helicase UPF1 and the mRNA-decapping enzyme DCP1A, leading to RNA decay .
PMID:25775514
Could act as a coactivator for STAT5-dependent transcription upon growth hormone (GH) stimulation and could reveal an essential role of hepatic GR in the control of body growth (By similarity)
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
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
PMID:19021548
Major calcium and magnesium transporter in plasma, binds approximately 45% of circulating calcium and magnesium in plasma (By similarity).
Potentially has more than two calcium-binding sites and might additionally bind calcium in a non-specific manner (By similarity). The shared binding site between zinc and calcium at residue Asp-273 suggests a crosstalk between zinc and calcium transport in the blood (By similarity). The rank order of affinity is zinc > calcium > magnesium (By similarity).
Binds to the bacterial siderophore enterobactin and inhibits enterobactin-mediated iron uptake of E.coli from ferric transferrin, and may thereby limit the utilization of iron and growth of enteric bacteria such as E.coli .
PMID:6234017
Does not prevent iron uptake by the bacterial siderophore aerobactin PMID:6234017
ATC R01AD06
ATC D07BC01
ATC S01BA06
ATC S01BB04
ATC S01CB04
ATC H02AB01
ATC C05AA05
ATC S03CA06
ATC D07XC01
ATC D07AC01
ATC A07EA04
ATC S02BA07
ATC R03BA04
ATC S03BA03
ATC S01CA05
ATC D07CC01
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)
Betamethasone
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7610
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7603
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7606
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
13244
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7608
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
20081
ChemSpider
9399
BindingDB
73823
ZINC
ZINC000003876136
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7978
GenAtlas
NR3C1
GeneCards
NR3C1
GenBank Gene Database
X03225
GenBank Protein Database
31680
Guide to Pharmacology
625
UniProt Accession
GCR_HUMAN
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: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:2640
GeneCards
CYP3A7
GenBank Gene Database
D00408
GenBank Protein Database
220149
UniProt Accession
CP3A7_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2610
GenAtlas
CYP2A6
GeneCards
CYP2A6
GenBank Gene Database
X13897
Guide to Pharmacology
1321
UniProt Accession
CP2A6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2597
GenAtlas
CYP1B1
GeneCards
CYP1B1
GenBank Gene Database
U03688
GenBank Protein Database
501031
Guide to Pharmacology
1320
UniProt Accession
CP1B1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2615
GeneCards
CYP2B6
GenBank Gene Database
M29874
GenBank Protein Database
181296
Guide to Pharmacology
1324
UniProt Accession
CP2B6_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:2623
GenAtlas
CYP2C9
GeneCards
CYP2C9
GenBank Gene Database
AY341248
Guide to Pharmacology
1326
UniProt Accession
CP2C9_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2621
GeneCards
CYP2C19
GenBank Gene Database
M61854
GenBank Protein Database
181344
Guide to Pharmacology
1328
UniProt Accession
CP2CJ_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:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:1540
GenAtlas
SERPINA6
GeneCards
SERPINA6
GenBank Gene Database
J02943
GenBank Protein Database
179971
UniProt Accession
CBG_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
18 active patents, 4 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: