Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Antihistamines, hyposensitisation, and allergic emergencies
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
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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.
View Drug Analysis Profile
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Levocetirizine
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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.
View EudraVigilance report
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Levocetirizine
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.
23 branded products available
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Levocetirizine on the MHRA register
Xyzal 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg tablets
Levocetirizine 5mg 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)
5 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
Levocetirizine
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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.
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
1 found
Half-life
1.54 hours
Mechanism
Levocetirizine selectively inhibits histamine H1 receptors.
Food interactions
2 warnings
Human targets
1 target
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
5mg
Half-life
1.54 hours
[A181727]
Protein binding
96.1%
[A181727]
Volume of distribution
0.02L/kg
[A181727]
Metabolism
85.8%
[A181727]…
Elimination
168 hours
Clearance
0.18mL/min/kg
[A181727]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Levocetirizine was granted FDA approval in 1995.[L7694]
[L7694]
It is also used over the counter for a variety of mild allergy symptoms.
[A181748]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1666 interactions
[L7694]
Children may become agitated and restless before drowsiness.
[L7694]
Patients should be treated with supportive measures.
[L7694]
Dialysis will not assist in removing the drug from the body.
[L7694]
The maximal nonlethal dose in mice and rats is 240mg/kg.
[L7694]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A181727]
The AUC of levocetirizine is 2.31±0.50µg\*h/mL.
[A181727]
Taking levocetirizine with food does not affect the AUC but delays Tmax by 1.25 hours and lowers Cmax by 36%.
[L7694]
[A181727]
[A181727]
[A181727]
[A181727]
Levocetirizine can be metabolized to a dihydrodiol (M2), an N-oxide (M3), a hydroxymethoxy derivative (M4), a hydroxy derivative (M5), an O-dealkylated derivative (M6), a taurine conjugate (M8), and an N-dealkylated and aromatic hydroxylated derivative (M9).
[A181727]
The M5 metabolite can be glucuronidated to form the M1 metabolite and the M9 metabolite can form 4-chloro-4'-hydroxybenzhydryl mercapturates (M10a and M10b).
[A181727]
[A181727]
In the urine, 77% of the dose was recovered as unchanged drug, 0.5% as the M8 and M9 metabolites, 0.4% as the M10a metabolite, 0.4% as the M10b metabolite, 0.3% as the M3 metabolite, 0.3% as the M4 and M5 metabolite, 0.2% as the M2 metabolite, and 0.1% as the M1 metabolite.
[A181727]
In the feces, 9.0% of the dose was recovered as unchanged drug, 1.0% as the M4 and M5 metabolite, and 0.1% as the M1 metabolite.
[A181727]
[A181727]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:33828102 PMID:8280179
Through the H1 receptor, histamine mediates the contraction of smooth muscles and increases capillary permeability due to contraction of terminal venules. Also mediates neurotransmission in the central nervous system and thereby regulates circadian rhythms, emotional and locomotor activities as well as cognitive functions (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:10660625 PMID:11907186 PMID:15037815 PMID:15102942 PMID:15291761 PMID:15576633 PMID:17229912 PMID:18501590 PMID:26277985 PMID:28027879
May be responsible for placental absorption of fetal-derived steroid sulfates such as estrone sulfate (E1S) and the steroid hormone precursor dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), as well as clearing waste products and xenobiotics from the fetus .
PMID:12409283
Maybe also be involved in placental urate homeostasis .
PMID:17229912
Facilitates the renal reabsorption of organic anions such as urate and derived steroid sulfates .
PMID:15037815 PMID:17229912
Organic anion glutarate acts as conteranion for E1S renal uptake .
PMID:15037815 PMID:17229912
Possible transport mode may also include DHEA-S/E1S exchange .
PMID:28027879
Also interacts with inorganic anions such as chloride and hydroxyl ions, therefore possible transport modes may include E1S/Cl(-), E1S/OH(-), urate/Cl(-) and urate/OH(-) .
PMID:17229912
Also mediates the transport of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and prostaglandin F2-alpha (PGF2-alpha) and may be involved in their renal excretion .
PMID:11907186
Also able to uptake anionic drugs, diuretics, bile salts and ochratoxin A .
PMID:10660625 PMID:26277985
Mediates the unidirectional efflux of glutamate and aspartate .
PMID:28027879
Glutamate efflux down its transmembrane gradient may drive SLC22A11/OAT4-mediated placental uptake of E1S PMID:26277985
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
Involved compounds
ATC R06AE09
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)
Levocetirizine
Additional database identifiers
ChemSpider
1266001
BindingDB
85030
PDB
LCR
ZINC
ZINC000019364230
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:5182
GenAtlas
HRH1
GeneCards
HRH1
GenBank Gene Database
Z34897
GenBank Protein Database
510296
Guide to Pharmacology
262
UniProt Accession
HRH1_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:18120
GenAtlas
SLC22A11
GeneCards
SLC22A11
GenBank Gene Database
AB026116
GenBank Protein Database
7707622
Guide to Pharmacology
1030
UniProt Accession
S22AB_HUMAN
Patent information
1 active patent, 1 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: