Mercaptamine 0.55% eye drops
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Cystinosis is a rare disease caused by mutations in the CTNS gene that encodes for cystinosin, a protein responsible for transporting cystine out of the cell lysosome.
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
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 Mercaptamine
Browse all iDAP reports
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 Mercaptamine
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.
1 branded products available
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
Mercaptamine
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. 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
3.7 hours
Mechanism
Individuals born without the ability to metabolize cystine suffer from cystinosi…
Food interactions
2 warnings
Human targets
3 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
1.4 hours
Half-life
3.7 hours
[A218941]
Protein binding
52%
[L15616]
Volume of distribution
129 L
[A218941]…
Metabolism
Clearance
1.2 - 1.4 L
[L15616]
One reference mentions a clearance of 89.9…
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Several preparations of cysteamine exist for the treatment of cystinosis manifestations, some in capsule form, and others in ophthalmic solution form.[L15606][L15616] In particular, cystine deposits on the eye can cause significant discomfort throughout the day and require frequent treatment with eye drops, typically every waking hour.[L15611]
On August 25th 2020, the first ophthalmic solution for cystinosis requiring only 4 daily treatments was granted FDA approval.[L15606] Cysteamine eye drops are a practical and effective option for those affected by ocular cystinosis. Marketed by Recordati Rare Diseases Inc., CYSTADROPS® reduce the burden of multiple frequent medications normally administered to those with cystinosis.[L15601]
[L15616]
The hydrochloride salt, formulated as ophthalmic drops, is indicated for the treatment of corneal cystine crystal accumulation in patients with cystinosis .
[L15601][L15606]
Approved by the EMA for the treatment of corneal cystine crystal accumulation in adults and in children aged ≥6 months with cystinosis [L54181]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 45 of 45 interactions
Vomiting and dehydration followed. A full recovery was made after hospitalization and the replenishment of fluids.
[L15646]
There is no known antidote for an overdose with cysteamine. In the case of an overdose, provide supportive treatment, especially to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Hemodialysis may be useful in some cases due to the fact that cysteamine has poor plasma protein binding.
[L15646]
Cysteamine converts cystine to cysteine and cysteine-cysteamine mixed disulfides, reducing the buildup of corneal cystine crystals.[L15611] This drug participates in a thiol-disulfide interchange reaction with lysosomes, leading to cysteine exit from the lysosome in patients diagnosed with cystinosis.[L15616]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
[A218941][A218936][L15616]
One pharmacokinetic study of adults with Cystic Fibrosis revealed a Cmax of 2.86 mg/L.
[A218941]
The maximum plasma concentration after administration of cysteamine eye drops is unknown, however, it is likely to be considerably lower than oral administration.
[L15606]
According to prescribing information, the AUC 0-12 h for the delayed-release oral tablets is 99.26 ± 44.2 μmol*h/L with a Cmax of 27.70 ± 14.99 μmol/L.
[L15616]
The AUC 0-12 for the immediate-release tablets is 192.00 ± 75.62 μmol*h/L with a Cmax of 37.72 ± 12.10 μmol/L.
[L15616]
[A218941]
[L15616]
[A218941]
Prescribing information indicates a volume of distribution of 382 L for the delayed-release formulation and 198 L for the immediate-release preparation.
[L15616]
It is known to cross the blood-brain barrier.
[A218946]
[A218946]
[L15616]
One reference mentions a clearance of 89.9 L/h in patients with Cystic Fibrosis.
[A218941]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
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 A16AA04
ATC S01XA21
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Show
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Cysteamine
Matched from: Mercaptamine
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
22871
ChemSpider
5834
BindingDB
7968
PDB
DHL
ZINC
ZINC000008034121
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11329
GenAtlas
SST
GeneCards
SST
GenBank Gene Database
J00306
GenBank Protein Database
338288
UniProt Accession
SMS_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7957
GenAtlas
NPY2R
GeneCards
NPY2R
GenBank Gene Database
U36269
Guide to Pharmacology
306
UniProt Accession
NPY2R_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:7218
GenAtlas
MPO
GeneCards
MPO
GenBank Gene Database
J02694
GenBank Protein Database
189040
Guide to Pharmacology
2789
UniProt Accession
PERM_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:399
GenAtlas
ALB
GeneCards
ALB
GenBank Gene Database
V00494
GenBank Protein Database
28590
UniProt Accession
ALBU_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
12 active patents
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: