Two medicines, side by side
Colchicine vs febuxostat
Colchicine and febuxostat are both labeled for gout. Drugs@FDA records approvals of colchicine since 2009 and of febuxostat since 2009. Pharmacies paid $0.122 per colchicine 0.6 mg tablet and $0.191 per febuxostat 40 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. In FDA's classes, colchicine is an alkaloid and febuxostat a xanthine oxidase inhibitor.
Check it at the source: the colchicine FDA label on DailyMed (effective July 22, 2025); the febuxostat FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 24, 2025).
Highlights of the colchicine record
Colchicine (Colcrys) · label of July 22, 2025
Used for
From the label: indicationsColchicine is an alkaloid indicated for: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) in adults and children 4 years or older ( 1.2 ). 1.2 Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) Colchicine tablets are indicated in adults and children four years or older for treatment of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF).
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- July 29, 2009
- Generic labelers
- 30 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.122 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 2
Highlights of the febuxostat record
Febuxostat (Uloric) · label of December 24, 2025
CARDIOVASCULAR DEATH Gout patients with established cardiovascular (CV) disease treated with ULORIC had a higher rate of CV death compared to those treated with allopurinol in a CV outcomes study [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ]. Consider the risks and benefits of ULORIC when deciding to prescribe or continue patients on ULORIC.
Used for
From the label: indicationsULORIC is a xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitor indicated for the chronic management of hyperuricemia in adult patients with gout who have an inadequate response to a maximally titrated dose of allopurinol, who are intolerant to allopurinol, or for whom treatment with allopurinol is not advisable. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- February 13, 2009
- Generic labelers
- 23 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.191 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 5
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Colchicine label of July 22, 2025, Febuxostat label of December 24, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do colchicine and febuxostat differ on the record?
In FDA's classes, colchicine is an alkaloid and febuxostat a xanthine oxidase inhibitor.
How each works, in its label's words: Colchicine, “The mechanism by which colchicine exerts its beneficial effect in patients with FMF has not been fully elucidated; however, evidence suggests that colchicine may interfere with the intracellular …”; Febuxostat, “ULORIC, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, achieves its therapeutic effect by decreasing serum uric acid.”
Only the febuxostat label carries a boxed warning.
Generics: colchicine since 2016; febuxostat since 2019 (Drugs@FDA).
| Colchicine | Febuxostat | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Gout | Gout |
| Pharmacologic class | Alkaloid | Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor |
| How it works (label) | The mechanism by which colchicine exerts its beneficial effect in patients with FMF has not been fully elucidated; however, evidence suggests that colchicine may interfere with the intracellular assembly of the inflammasome complex present … | ULORIC, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, achieves its therapeutic effect by decreasing serum uric acid. ULORIC is not expected to inhibit other enzymes involved in purine and pyrimidine synthesis and metabolism at therapeutic concentrations. |
| Half-life (label) | n/a | Febuxostat has an apparent mean terminal elimination half-life (t 1/2 ) of approximately 5 to 8 hours. |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | July 29, 2009 | February 13, 2009 |
| First generic approved | September 28, 2016 | July 1, 2019 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 30 labelers | 23 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.122 per tablet (Colchicine 0.6 mg tablet) | $0.191 per tablet (Febuxostat 40 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -27% | -19% |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 2 | 5 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 26,198 | 16,668 |
| 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)
Do their labels mention each other?
Febuxostat label, drug interactionsBased on drug interaction studies in healthy patients, ULORIC does not have clinically significant interactions with colchicine, naproxen, indomethacin, hydrochlorothiazide, warfarin or desipramine [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.3) ].
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA
What next?
- Alternatives to colchicine
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions