Table 1.
List of transdermal products currently on the US market.
| Active ingredients | Type of delivery system | Name | Company | Type of patch | Dose and application | Regulatory status | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clonidine | Transdermal patch extended release | Catapres TTS® | Boehringer Ingelheim | Drug in reservoir and in adhesive formulation | 3.5–10.5-cm2 patches deliver 0.1–0.3 mg/day for 7 days Applied to hairless skin on the upper outer arm or chest |
Rx | Essential hypertension |
| Clonidine | Par Pharm | Reservoir type | 0.1–0.3 mg/24 h for 7 days | ||||
| Estradiol | Transdermal patch extended release | Alora® | Watson Laboratories | Adhesive matrix drug reservoir | 9–36-cm2 patches deliver 0.025–0.1 mg/day and continuous delivery for twice weekly dosing Applied to lower abdomen |
Rx | Menopause, postmenopausal and osteoporosis, in case of lowered estrogen levels |
| Climara® | Bayer Healthcare | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 6.5–25-cm2 patches deliver 0.025–0.1 mg/day for 7 days Applied to lower abdomen or upper quadrant of buttock |
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| Estraderm® | Novartis | Reservoir type | 0.05 or 0.1-mg/day and continuous delivery for twice weekly application | ||||
| Estradiol | Mylan Technologies | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 0.025–0.1 mg/day continuous delivery once weekly patch | ||||
| Menostar® | Bayer Healthcare | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 3.25-cm2 delivers 14 μg/day for 7 days Applied near lower abdomen |
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| Vivelle®/Vivelle-Dot | Novartis/Novogyne | Adhesive formulation contains drug | Patches having active surface area of 2.5–10 cm2 deliver 0.025–0.1 mg/day and twice weekly application Applied to the abdomen |
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| Transdermal gel | Divigel® | Upsher-Smith Laboratories | 0.1% gel | 0.25–1 g dose available Applied to a small area (200 cm2) of the thigh in a thin, quick-drying layer |
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| Elestrin® | Azur Pharma | 0.06% gel supplied in a non-aerosol, metered-dose pump container | Applied once daily to the upper arm using a metered-dose pump that delivers 0.87 g of Elestrin® gel per actuation | ||||
| Estrogel® | Ascend Therapeutics | 0.06% estradiol in an absorptive hydroalcoholic gel | 1.25 g in a single dose and applied to 750-cm2 area Applied to arm between wrist and shoulder |
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| Transdermal spray | Evamist™ | KV Pharm/Ther-Rx | Topical application to the skin of a rapidly drying homogeneous solution of 1.7% drug from a metered-dose pump | One, two or three sprays/day (90 μl/spray) to adjacent nonoverlapping 20-cm2 areas on the inner surface of the arm between the elbow and the wrist and allowed to dry | Rx | Menopause, postmenopausal and osteoporosis, in case of lowered estrogen levels | |
| Estradiol and levonorgestrel | Transdermal patch extended release | Climara Pro™ | Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals | Drug in adhesive layer | 22-cm2 Climara Pro™ system contains 4.4 mg estradiol and 1.39 mg levonorgestrel and delivers 0.045 mg estradiol and 0.015 mg levonorgestrel/day for 7 days applied to lower abdomen | Rx | Menopausal symptoms |
| Estradiol and norethindrone acetate | Transdermal patch extended release | Combipatch® | Novartis | Adhesive layer contains both drugs | 9–16-cm2 patches deliver 0.05/0.14 or 0.05/0.25 mg estradiol/norethindrone acetate per day and applied twice weekly to lower abdomen | Rx | Menopausal symptoms |
| Ethinyl estradiol and norelgestromin | Transdermal patch extended release | Ortho Evra® | Ortho McNeil Janssen | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 6.00 mg norelgestromin and 0.75 mg ethinyl estradiol in each 20-cm2 patch and delivers for 7 days Applied to buttock, abdomen, upper outer arm or upper torso |
Rx | Contraception |
| Fentanyl | Transdermal patch extended release | Fentanyl transdermal system | Actavis, Mylan Technologies, Lavipharm Labs, Noven, Watson Laboratories and Teva Pharms | Matrix type (Mylan technologies and Teva Pharms) and reservoir (Actavis and Watson laboratories) | 10–40-cm2 patches deliver 25–100 μg/h | Schedule II | Chronic pain (opioid tolerant) that cannot be managed by any other means |
| Duragesic® | Ortho McNeil Janssen | Drug in reservoir and in adhesive formulation | 5–40-cm2 patches deliver 12.5–100 μg/h continuous systemic delivery for 72 h applied to flat surface such as the chest, back, flank or upper arm | ||||
| Granisetron | Transdermal patch extended release | Sancuso® | Prostraken | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 52-cm2 patch containing 34.3 mg of granisetron. The patch releases 3.1 mg of granisetron per 24 h for up to 7 days Applied to upper outer arm |
Rx | Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting |
| Methylphenidate | Transdermal patch extended release | Daytrana® | Shire | Adhesive-based matrix type patch | 12.5–37.5-cm2 patches deliver 10–30 mg/9 h per patch applied to the hip area 2 h before an effect is needed and should be removed 9 h after application | Schedule II | Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder |
| Nicotine | Transdermal patch extended release | Nicoderm® CQ | Aventis | Matrix type patch | 7–21 mg over 24 h at different stages of the treatment | OTC | Smoking cessation |
| Nicotine transdermal system | Novartis Consumer, Watson Laboratories, Cardinal Health and Aveva | Matrix type patch | 7–21 mg/24 h at different stages of treatment | ||||
| Habitrol® | Novartis and Novartis Consumer | Reservoir type | 17.5–52.5 mg that delivers 7–21 mg/day for the duration of treatment | ||||
| Nitroglycerin | Transdermal patch extended release | Nitro Dur® | Key Pharmaceuticals | Drug in adhesive | 5–40-cm2 patch delivers 0.1–0.8 mg/h for 12–14 h | Rx | Angina prophylaxis |
| Nitroglycerin | Noven, Hercon Laboratories, Kremers Urban and Mylan Technologies | Drug in adhesive | Delivers nitroglycerin at 0.2 mg/h | ||||
| Minitran Transdermal System™ | Graceway Pharmaceuticals | Drug in adhesive | Delivers 0.1–0.6 mg/h | ||||
| Transdermal ointment | Nitroglycerin | Fougera | 2% | 7.5–30 mg applied in the morning and again 6 h later to a 36-inch2 area of truncal skin | |||
| Oxybutynin | Transdermal patch extended release | Oxytrol® | Watson Laboratories | Adhesive matrix containing drug | 39 cm2 system containing 36 mg and has a nominal in vivo delivery rate of 3.9 mg oxybutynin per day consistently for 3–4 days Applied to abdomen, hip or buttock |
Rx | Bladder muscle dysfunction |
| Oxybutynin chloride | Transdermal gel | Gelnique® | Watson Labs | 10% gel | 100 mg applied once daily to dry, intact skin on the abdomen, upper arms/shoulders or thighs (area of application rotated) | Rx | Bladder muscle dysfunction |
| Rivastigmine | Transdermal patch extended release | Exelon® | Novartis | Matrix reservoir containing drug | 4.6–9.5 mg/24 h from 5–10-cm2 patches Preferable application to upper or lower back |
Rx | Dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease |
| Scopolamine | Transdermal patch extended release | Transderm Scop® | Novartis | Matrix reservoir containing drug | 2.5-cm2 patch delivers 1.0 mg for 3 days Applied to the hairless area behind one ear |
Rx | Motion sickness, Postoperative nausea and vomiting (prophylaxis). |
| Selegiline | Transdermal patch extended release | Emsam® | Somerset | Drug in adhesive | 6–12 mg/24 h from 20–40-cm2 patch Applied to the upper torso, upper thigh or the outer surface of the upper arm |
Rx | Major depressive disorder |
| Testosterone | Transdermal patch extended release | Androderm® | Watson Laboratories and Watson Pharma | Reservoir type | 2.5 or 5 mg/day from 37–44-cm2 patch | Schedule III Rx | Hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency) |
| Transdermal gel | Androgel® | Unimed Pharma and Solvay/Abbott | 1% gel | 5–10 g contains 50–100 mg, 10% of the applied testosterone dose is absorbed across skin of average permeability during a 24-h period Applied 5 g once daily to shoulders and upper arms and/or abdomen |