Metaproterenol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Metaproterenol is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 3 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Solution · Tablet
- Sold as
- 3 products — Alupent, Metaproterenol Sulfate and Prometa
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
Every metaproterenol product we track (3)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72/100 | Prescription | Solution | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Solution | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Tablet | No data | — | View → |
Metaproterenol and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for metaproterenol: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadMetaproterenol (orciprenaline) is no longer marketed in the US. Although no published data exist on the use of metaproterenol by mouth or inhaler during lactation, data from the related drug, terbutaline, indicate that very little is expected to be excreted into breastmilk. The authors of several reviews and an expert panel agree that use of inhaled bronchodilators is acceptable during breastfeeding because of the low bioavailability and maternal serum levels after use.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised May 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about metaproterenol
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 59 reports naming metaproterenol, and the FDA flagged 63% 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:
- dyspnoea6 reports
- abdominal pain4 reports
- dizziness4 reports
- fatigue4 reports
- nausea4 reports
- bronchitis3 reports
- dehydration3 reports
- diarrhoea3 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean metaproterenol 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.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take metaproterenol 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 metaproterenol against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is metaproterenol sold under?
We track 3 metaproterenol-containing products in the U.S.: Alupent, Metaproterenol Sulfate and Prometa. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does metaproterenol come in?
Across the brands we track, metaproterenol is currently marketed as solution and tablet, 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 metaproterenol?
Yes. Our catalog lists 2 generic metaproterenol products alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Metaproterenol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/metaproterenol
- MLA
- “Metaproterenol: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/metaproterenol.
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 metaproterenol on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.