Two medicines, side by side
Oxybutynin vs trospium
Oxybutynin and trospium are both labeled for overactive bladder. Drugs@FDA records approvals of oxybutynin since 1975 and of trospium since 2004. Pharmacies paid $0.048 per oxybutynin 5 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. Oxybutynin's other strengths are brand-only: $2.74 per unit (Oxytrol for women 3.9 mg/24hr). How each works, in its label's words: Oxybutynin, “Oxybutynin chloride exerts a direct antispasmodic effect on smooth muscle and inhibits the muscarinic action of acetylcholine on smooth muscle.”; Trospium, “Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist.”
Check it at the source: the oxybutynin FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 16, 2025); the trospium FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 30, 2025).
Highlights of the oxybutynin record
Oxybutynin (Ditropan) · label of December 16, 2025
Used for
From the label: indicationsOxybutynin chloride extended-release tablets are a muscarinic antagonist indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and frequency. Oxybutynin chloride extended-release tablets are also indicated for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with symptoms of detrusor overactivity associated with a neurological condition (e.g., spina bifida). […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- July 16, 1975
- Generic labelers
- 39 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.048 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 9
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 (Oxybutynin label of December 16, 2025, Trospium label of December 30, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do oxybutynin and trospium differ on the record?
How each works, in its label's words: Oxybutynin, “Oxybutynin chloride exerts a direct antispasmodic effect on smooth muscle and inhibits the muscarinic action of acetylcholine on smooth muscle.”; Trospium, “Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist.”
Both are in FDA's class cholinergic muscarinic antagonists.
Generics: oxybutynin since 1988; trospium since 2010 (Drugs@FDA).
| Oxybutynin | Trospium | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Overactive bladder | Overactive bladder |
| Pharmacologic class | Cholinergic Muscarinic Antagonist | Cholinergic Muscarinic Antagonist |
| How it works (label) | Oxybutynin relaxes bladder smooth muscle. Oxybutynin chloride exerts a direct antispasmodic effect on smooth muscle and inhibits the muscarinic action of acetylcholine on smooth muscle. | 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) | n/a | Excretion: The plasma half-life for trospium chloride following oral administration is approximately 20 hours. |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | July 16, 1975 | May 28, 2004 |
| First generic approved | November 14, 1988 | August 13, 2010 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 39 labelers | 19 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.048 per tablet (Oxybutynin 5 mg tablet) | $0.211 per tablet (Trospium chloride 20 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -2% | -25% |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 9 | 1 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 37,662 | 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?
Oxybutynin label, drug interactionsDRUG INTERACTIONS The concomitant use of oxybutynin with other anticholinergic drugs or with other agents which produce dry mouth, constipation, somnolence (drowsiness), and/or other anticholinergic-like effects may increase the frequency and/or severity of such effects.
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 oxybutynin
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions