Fluocinolone acetonide 0.025% gel
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Topical corticosteroids
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Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
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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
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1 branded products available
Part of the Synalar brand family (generic: Fluocinolone acetonide)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Fluocinolone acetonide on the MHRA register
Synalar 0.025% gel
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
Fluocinolone acetonide
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(7)
Fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant for treating chronic diabetic macular oedema (TA953)
Fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant for treating recurrent non-infectious uveitis (TA590)
Faricimab for treating diabetic macular oedema (TA799)
Brolucizumab for treating diabetic macular oedema (TA820)
Aflibercept for treating diabetic macular oedema (TA346)
Dexamethasone intravitreal implant for treating diabetic macular oedema (TA824)
Diabetic retinopathy: management and monitoring (NG242)
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
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Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
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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
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
1.3-1.7 hours
Mechanism
Fluocinolone acetonide is a corticosteroid and thus, it can be inferred that it…
Food interactions
None known
Human targets
7 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
12 months
[L4686]…
Half-life
1.3-1.7 hours
[A39536]
Protein binding
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
Clearance
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
-In dermatology, it is extensively used for the relief of inflammatory dermatosis, dermatitis, psoriasis, hypertrophic tissues, keloid tissues and atopic dermatitis.F1955
-It has been used in shampoo products as a low to medium potency corticosteroid for the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp.
[L4682]
-In ear drops, it is used as a low to medium potency corticosteroid for the treatment of chronic eczematous external otitis in adults and pediatric patients 2 years and older.
[L4683]
-As an intravitreal implant, it is indicated for the treatment of diabetic macular edema with patients that have been previously treated with a course of corticosteroids and no clinically significant rise in intraocular pressure.
[L4684]
-Fluocinolone acetonide was announced on October 15, 2018 to be FDA approved for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis affecting the posterior segment of the eye.
[L4685]
-Some reports have indicated the use of fluocinolone acetonide as a vasoprotective agent and for its use in the treatment of first-degree hemorrhoids.
[A39532]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1538 interactions
Some reports have indicated that fluocinolone acetonide presents a high binding affinity for the glucocorticoid receptor. After binding the receptor, the newly formed receptor-ligand complex translocates itself into the cell nucleus, where it binds to many glucocorticoid response elements in the promoter region of the target genes.[A16592] This effect promotes the induction of phospholipase A2 inhibitory proteins (lipocortins). Through this mechanism of action, it is thought that fluocinolone induces mainly one of the lipocortins, annexin 1, which will later mediate the synthesis of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes by inhibiting the release of arachidonic acid which is the precursor of all these inflammatory mediators. Hence, the induction of these proteins will prevent the release of arachidonic acid by phospholipase A2.F1957
For its ophthalmic indications, fluocinolone acetonide is administered as intravitreal micro-insert. This preparation was observed in clinical trials to reduce the recurrence of uveitis flares by 2 fold when compared with the non treated patients even after six months after initial administration. As well the intraocular pressure seemed to increase slightly with the presence of the fluocinolone implant but it is important to monitor intraocular pressure.[L4685]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L4686]
The concentration of fluocinolone acetonide are generally higher in the vitreous and retina with a little dispersion to the aqueous humor.T359
There are reports indicating that topical administration of fluocinolone acetonide produces a percutaneous absorption which is determined by the vehicle, integrity of the epidermal barrier and the use of occlusive dressing.F1956
Independently of the route of administration, the systemic absorption of fluocinolone acetonide is below 0.1 ng/ml which indicates that the systemic distribution is very minimal and the effect of fluocinolone is mainly local.
[A39533]
[A39536]
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)
PMID:8425544
Plays a role in glucocorticoid-mediated down-regulation of the early phase of the inflammatory response (By similarity). Contributes to the adaptive immune response by enhancing signaling cascades that are triggered by T-cell activation, regulates differentiation and proliferation of activated T-cells .
PMID:17008549
Promotes the differentiation of T-cells into Th1 cells and negatively regulates differentiation into Th2 cells .
PMID:17008549
Has no effect on unstimulated T cells .
PMID:17008549
Negatively regulates hormone exocytosis via activation of the formyl peptide receptors and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton .
PMID:19625660
Has high affinity for Ca(2+) and can bind up to eight Ca(2+) ions (By similarity).
Displays Ca(2+)-dependent binding to phospholipid membranes .
PMID:2532504 PMID:8557678
Plays a role in the formation of phagocytic cups and phagosomes. Plays a role in phagocytosis by mediating the Ca(2+)-dependent interaction between phagosomes and the actin cytoskeleton (By similarity)
Inhibits PCSK9-enhanced LDLR degradation, probably reduces PCSK9 protein levels via a translational mechanism but also competes with LDLR for binding with PCSK9 .
PMID:18799458 PMID:22848640 PMID:24808179
Binds to endosomes damaged by phagocytosis of particulate wear debris and participates in endosomal membrane stabilization, thereby limiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation (By similarity). Required for endothelial cell surface plasmin generation and may support fibrinolytic surveillance and neoangiogenesis (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that carry this drug through the body
ATC S01CA10
ATC D07BC02
ATC S02BA08
ATC C05AA10
ATC S01BA15
ATC D07AC04
ATC S02CA05
ATC D07CC02
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)
Fluocinolone acetonide
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
7578
ChemSpider
5980
ZINC
ZINC000003977981
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:533
GenAtlas
ANXA1
GeneCards
ANXA1
GenBank Gene Database
BC001275
GenBank Protein Database
12654863
UniProt Accession
ANXA1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:537
GenAtlas
ANXA2
GeneCards
ANXA2
GenBank Gene Database
D00017
GenBank Protein Database
219910
UniProt Accession
ANXA2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:541
GenAtlas
ANXA3
GeneCards
ANXA3
GenBank Gene Database
M20560
UniProt Accession
ANXA3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:542
GeneCards
ANXA4
UniProt Accession
ANXA4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:543
GeneCards
ANXA5
UniProt Accession
ANXA5_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:9030
GeneCards
PLA2G1B
GenBank Gene Database
M21054
GenBank Protein Database
190013
Guide to Pharmacology
1416
UniProt Accession
PA21B_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:1540
GenAtlas
SERPINA6
GeneCards
SERPINA6
GenBank Gene Database
J02943
GenBank Protein Database
179971
UniProt Accession
CBG_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
4 active patents, 12 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: