Two medicines, side by side
Solifenacin vs trospium
Solifenacin and trospium are both labeled for overactive bladder. Drugs@FDA records approvals of solifenacin since 2004 and of trospium since 2004. Pharmacies paid $0.162 per solifenacin 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. How each works, in its label's words: Solifenacin, “Solifenacin is a competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist.”; Trospium, “Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist.”
Check it at the source: the solifenacin FDA label on DailyMed (effective February 4, 2026); the trospium FDA label on DailyMed (effective December 30, 2025).
Highlights of the solifenacin record
Solifenacin (Vesicare) · label of February 4, 2026
Used for
From the label: indicationsSolifenacin Succinate Tablets are indicated for the treatment of adults with overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency. Solifenacin Succinate Tablets are a muscarinic antagonist indicated for the treatment of adults with overactive bladder with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence, urgency, and urinary frequency.
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- November 19, 2004
- Generic labelers
- 20 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.162 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 6
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 (Solifenacin label of February 4, 2026, Trospium label of December 30, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do solifenacin and trospium differ on the record?
How each works, in its label's words: Solifenacin, “Solifenacin is a competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist.”; Trospium, “Trospium chloride is a muscarinic antagonist.”
Both are in FDA's class cholinergic muscarinic antagonists.
Half-life, in each label's words: Solifenacin, “Elimination The elimination half-life (t 1/2 ) of solifenacin following chronic dosing is approximately 45-68 hours.”; Trospium, “Excretion: The plasma half-life for trospium chloride following oral administration is approximately 20 hours.”
Generics: solifenacin since 2014; trospium since 2010 (Drugs@FDA).
| Solifenacin | Trospium | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Overactive bladder | Overactive bladder |
| Pharmacologic class | Cholinergic Muscarinic Antagonist | Cholinergic Muscarinic Antagonist |
| How it works (label) | Solifenacin is a competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist. Muscarinic receptors play an important role in several major cholinergically mediated functions, including contractions of urinary bladder 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) | Elimination The elimination half-life (t 1/2 ) of solifenacin following chronic dosing is approximately 45-68 hours. | Excretion: The plasma half-life for trospium chloride following oral administration is approximately 20 hours. |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | November 19, 2004 | May 28, 2004 |
| First generic approved | April 2, 2014 | August 13, 2010 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 20 labelers | 19 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.162 per tablet (Solifenacin 10 mg tablet) | $0.211 per tablet (Trospium chloride 20 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -3% | -25% |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
| Shortage now | No current entry | No current entry |
| Recalls recorded | 6 | 1 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 1,846 | 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 solifenacin
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions