Two medicines, side by side
Alfuzosin vs trospium
Alfuzosin is labeled for enlarged prostate (bph); trospium for overactive bladder. Their labels share no use, so they are not alternatives to each other. Drugs@FDA records approvals of alfuzosin since 2003 and of trospium since 2004. Pharmacies paid $0.105 per alfuzosin HCl ER 10 mg tablet and $0.211 per trospium chloride 20 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. In FDA's classes, alfuzosin is an alpha-adrenergic blocker and trospium a cholinergic muscarinic antagonist.
Check it at the source: the alfuzosin FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 5, 2024); the trospium FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 30, 2025).
Highlights of the alfuzosin record
Alfuzosin (Uroxatral) · label of December 5, 2024
Used for
From the label: indicationsUROXATRAL is indicated for the treatment of signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. UROXATRAL is an alpha adrenergic antagonist, indicated for the treatment of signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. ( 1 ) Important Limitations of Use: UROXATRAL is not indicated for treatment of hypertension. ( 1.1 ) UROXATRAL is not indicated for use in the pediatric population. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- June 12, 2003
- Generic labelers
- 10 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.105 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 1
Highlights of the trospium record
Trospium (Sanctura) · label of December 30, 2025
Used for
From the label: indicationsTrospium chloride tablets are a muscarinic antagonist indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency. Trospium chloride tablets are a muscarinic antagonist indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency.
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- May 28, 2004
- Generic labelers
- 19 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.211 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 1
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Alfuzosin label of December 5, 2024, Trospium label of December 30, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do alfuzosin and trospium differ on the record?
In FDA's classes, alfuzosin is an alpha-adrenergic blocker and trospium a cholinergic muscarinic antagonist.
How each works, in its label's words: Alfuzosin, “Alfuzosin is a selective antagonist of post-synaptic alpha 1 -adrenoreceptors, which are located in the prostate, bladder base, bladder neck, prostatic capsule, and prostatic urethra.”; Trospium, “Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist.”
Half-life, in each label's words: Alfuzosin, “Following oral administration of UROXATRAL 10 mg tablets, the apparent elimination half-life is 10 hours.”; Trospium, “Excretion: The plasma half-life for trospium chloride following oral administration is approximately 20 hours.”
Generics: alfuzosin since 2011; trospium since 2010 (Drugs@FDA).
| Alfuzosin | Trospium | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Enlarged prostate (BPH) | Overactive bladder |
| Pharmacologic class | alpha-Adrenergic Blocker | Cholinergic Muscarinic Antagonist |
| How it works (label) | Alfuzosin is a selective antagonist of post-synaptic alpha 1 -adrenoreceptors, which are located in the prostate, bladder base, bladder neck, prostatic capsule, and prostatic urethra. | Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist. Trospium chloride antagonizes the effect of acetylcholine on muscarinic receptors in cholinergically innervated organs including the bladder. |
| Half-life (label) | Following oral administration of UROXATRAL 10 mg tablets, the apparent elimination half-life is 10 hours. | Excretion: The plasma half-life for trospium chloride following oral administration is approximately 20 hours. |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | June 12, 2003 | May 28, 2004 |
| First generic approved | July 18, 2011 | August 13, 2010 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 10 labelers | 19 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.105 per tablet (Alfuzosin HCl ER 10 mg tablet) | $0.211 per tablet (Trospium chloride 20 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -0.1% | -25% |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 1 | 1 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 5,746 | 2,273 |
| DEA schedule | none | none |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What do the labels say about using others of their kind?
Trospium label, drug interactionsThe concomitant use of trospium chloride with other antimuscarinic agents that produce dry mouth, constipation, and other anticholinergic pharmacological effects may increase the frequency and/or severity of such effects.
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to alfuzosin
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions