Idebenone 45mg tablets
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Idebenone is a synthetic analogue of ubiquinone (also known as Coenzyme Q10), a vital cell antioxidant and essential component of the Electron Transport Chain (ETC).
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
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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 Idebenone
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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
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Suspected adverse reactions reported for Idebenone
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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.
1 branded products available
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
900 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 the NHS dm+d supplementary BNF/ATC mapping files (NHSBSA). 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(2)
Idebenone for treating visual impairment in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy in people 12 years and over (TA1093)
Mitochondrial disorders in children: Co-enzyme Q10 (ES11)
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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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 & safety information
Official UK regulator monitoring and safety alerts
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. Shortage and safety information sourced from MHRA drug safety updates (gov.uk, Crown Copyright under OGL v3.0).
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 code shown is the factual mapping value distributed by NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in the dm+d supplementary file under OGL v3.0; it is not affiliated with, nor licensed from, the publishers of the British National Formulary. 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: 12 · Randomised trials: 4 · 1990–2026
Showing the 50 most relevant studies, sorted by most relevant.
Newman NJ, Biousse V, Yu-Wai-Man P, et al.
2025
- Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber
- Ubiquinone
- NADH Dehydrogenase
Our aim was to assess the visual outcomes of patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) harboring the m.11778G>A MT-ND4 mutation who had no treatment (natural history) or received idebenone or lenadogene nolparvovec. Efficacy outcomes included clinically relevant recovery (CRR) from nadir and final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). For the natural history and idebenone groups, we performed a systematic review of the literature and available clinical/regulatory reports. For the lenadogene nolparvovec group, all data from phase 3 studies were included. The overall effect and its 95 % confidence interval (CI) were estimated using a random effects model. For each meta-analysis, patients had a mean age of approximately 30 years at vision loss and were mostly (≥78 %) men. The CRR from nadir [95 % CI] at eye level was 17 % [7 %; 30 %] (n=316 eyes), 31 % [24 %; 40 %] (n=313) and 59 % [54 %; 64 %] (n=348) in untreated, idebenone-treated and lenadogene nolparvovec-treated patients, respectively. This gradient of efficacy was also observed with CRR at the patient level and final BCVA. There was a gradient of efficacy in all assessed visual outcomes, more marked for CRR than for final BCVA, with lenadogene nolparvovec gene therapy superior to idebenone treatment, and both superior to the natural history of the disease.
Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND
Paulo Victor Zattar Ribeiro, Lucas Pari Mitre, Mateus M. Gauza, et al.
Ophthalmic Genetics, 2025
- Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber
- Ubiquinone
- Antioxidants
Paulo Victor Zattar Ribeiro, Paulo Henrique Furukawa Gadani, Lucas Mitre, et al.
Genetics in Medicine Open, 2025
Hassan AK, Abu Serhan H
2025
- Dependovirus
- Optic Atrophy, Hereditary, Leber
- Ubiquinone
Katherine A. Lyseng-Williamson
Drugs, 2016
Li Y, Chen F, Luo N, et al.
2026
David R. Lynch, Susan L. Perlman, Thomas Meier
Archives of Neurology, 2010
N. Gueven, P. Ravishankar, R. Eri, et al.
Redox Biology, 2020
Pierre Rustin, Damien Bonnet, Agnès Rötig, et al.
Neurology, 2004
L. Montenegro, R. Turnaturi, C. Parenti, et al.
Nanomaterials, 2018
The key role of antioxidants in treating and preventing many systemic and topical diseases is well recognized. One of the most potent antioxidants available for pharmaceutical and cosmetic use is Idebenone (IDE), a synthetic analogue of Coenzyme Q10. Unfortunately, IDE’s unfavorable physicochemical properties such as poor water solubility and high lipophilicity impair its bioavailability after oral and topical administration and prevent its parenteral use. In recent decades, many strategies have been proposed to improve IDE effectiveness in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and skin disorders. After a brief description of IDE potential therapeutic applications and its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile, this review will focus on the different approaches investigated to overcome IDE drawbacks, such as IDE incorporation into different types of delivery systems (liposomes, cyclodextrins, microemulsions, self-micro-emulsifying drug delivery systems, lipid-based nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles) and IDE chemical modification. The results of these studies will be illustrated with emphasis on the most innovative strategies and their future perspectives.
Abstract licence: CC BY 4.0
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
Not available
Mechanism
Idebenone is a synthetic analogue of ubiquinone (also known as Coenzyme Q10), a…
Food interactions
1 warning
Human targets
None mapped
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
1 hour
Volume of distribution
Metabolism
Elimination
750 mg
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Due to its ability to reduce oxidative damage and improve ATP production, idebenone was originally investigated for its potential use in Alzheimer's Disease and other cognitivie disorders [A19769]. Lack of improvement in cognitive function halted its production for these conditions, however it continues to be investigated for use in other conditions associated with mitochondrial damage.
Idebenone is currently only indicated for use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of visual impairment in adolescent and adult patients with
Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). LHON is a mitochondrially inherited degeneration of retinal ganglion cells, resulting in acute central vision loss. Due to its biochemical mode of action, it's thought that idebenone may re-activate viable-but-inactive retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in LHON patients [L885]. It is not currently approved for use by either the Food and Drug Administration (USA) or Health Canada.
Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). It is not currently approved for use by either the Food and Drug Administration (USA) or Health Canada .
[L885]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 731 interactions
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[L885]
[L885]
QS4+QS4-C .
[L885]
[L885]
ATC N06BX13
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)
Idebenone
DrugBank citations
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Structured knowledge from the free knowledge base
ATC classifications (Wikidata)
Linked open data from Wikidata (Q4197874), a free and open knowledge base operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. WHO INN from the World Health Organization.