Brinzolamide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Brinzolamide is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor sold in the U.S. under one brand, for open-angle glaucoma. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitor
- Treats
- Open-Angle Glaucoma
- Available as
- Drops
- Sold as
- Azopt
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $10 per ml — not your price
How brinzolamide is dosed
From the FDA label for Azopt (application NDA020816). Other brinzolamide products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
The recommended dose is one drop of AZOPT in the affected eye(s) 3 times daily. Shake well before use. AZOPT may be used concomitantly with other topical ophthalmic drug products to lower IOP. If more than one topical ophthalmic drug is being used, the drugs should be administered at least 10 minutes apart. • Instill one drop in the affected eye(s) 3 times daily. ( 2 ) • If more than one topical ophthalmic drug is being used, the drugs should be administered at least 10 minutes apart. ( 2 )
Brinzolamide side effects
Most common adverse reactions (incidence 5% to 10%) are blurred vision and bitter, sour, or unusual taste. ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Sandoz Inc. at 1-800-525-8747 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to the rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. In clinical studies of AZOPT, the most frequently reported adverse reactions reported in 5% to 10% of patients were blurred vision and bitter, sour, or unusual taste. Adverse reactions occurring in 1% to 5% of patients were blepharitis, dermatitis, dry eye, foreign body sensation, headache, hyperemia, ocular discharge, ocular discomfort, ocular keratitis, ocular pain, ocular pruritus, and rhinitis. The following adverse reactions were reported at an incidence below 1%: allergic reactions, alopecia, chest pain, conjunctivitis, diarrhea, diplopia, dizziness, dry mouth, dyspnea, dyspepsia, eye fatigue, hypertonia, keratoconjunctivitis, keratopathy, kidney pain, lid margin crusting or sticky sensation, nausea, pharyngitis, tearing, and urticaria. 6.2 Postmarketing Experience The following adverse reactions have been identified during postapproval…
Who shouldn’t take brinzolamide
AZOPT is contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to any component of this product. Hypersensitivity to any component of this product. ( 4 )
Brinzolamide drug interactions
There is a potential additive effect of the known systemic effects of carbonic anhydrase inhibition in patients receiving both oral and topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. ( 7.1 ) • Rare instances of acid-base alterations have occurred with high-dose salicylate therapy. ( 7.2 ) 7.1 Oral Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors There is a potential for an additive effect on the known systemic effects of carbonic anhydrase inhibition in patients receiving an oral carbonic anhydrase inhibitor and AZOPT. The concomitant administration of AZOPT and oral carbonic anhydrase inhibitors is not recommended. 7.2 High-Dose Salicylate Therapy Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors may produce acid-base and electrolyte alterations. These alterations were not reported in the clinical trials with brinzolamide. However, in patients treated with oral carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, rare instances of acid-base alterations have occurred with high-dose salicylate therapy. Therefore, the potential for such drug interactions should be considered in patients receiving AZOPT.
Every brinzolamide product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Azopt.
Combination products containing brinzolamide
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
How long brinzolamide keeps
No brinzolamide label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Does brinzolamide expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsBrinzolamide and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for brinzolamide: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadNo information is available on the use of brinzolamide ophthalmic drops during breastfeeding. French guidelines recommend ophthalmic carbonic anhydrase inhibitor drops such as brinzolamide as a preferred therapy for glaucoma during breastfeeding. To substantially diminish the amount of drug that reaches the breastmilk after using eye drops, place pressure over the tear duct by the corner of the eye for 1 minute or more, then remove the excess solution with an absorbent tissue.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised December 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about brinzolamide
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 2,566 reports naming brinzolamide, and the FDA flagged 84% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- dizziness328 reports
- dyspnoea314 reports
- fall286 reports
- eye pain281 reports
- diarrhoea273 reports
- arthralgia261 reports
- headache257 reports
- malaise257 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean brinzolamide caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
What is brinzolamide?
Azopt (Brinzolamide) is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor used to treat Open-Angle Glaucoma.
What kind of drug is brinzolamide?
The FDA classifies brinzolamide as a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. These block the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which normally helps the body recycle bicarbonate. In the kidneys this flushes more bicarbonate, sodium, and water into the urine, and in the eye it cuts production of the fluid that builds up pressure, which is why they treat conditions like glaucoma and altitude sickness. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take brinzolamide with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run brinzolamide against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does brinzolamide come in?
Across the brands we track, brinzolamide is currently marketed as drops, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic brinzolamide?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled brinzolamide product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Brinzolamide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/brinzolamide
- MLA
- “Brinzolamide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/brinzolamide.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for brinzolamide on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.