Carbidopa and levodopa Brand names: Rytary, Crexont, Sinemet, Duopa, Dhivy

What is carbidopa and levodopa used for?

From the label: indications and usage

SINEMET is indicated in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, post-encephalitic parkinsonism, and symptomatic parkinsonism that may follow carbon monoxide intoxication or manganese intoxication. Carbidopa allows patients treated for Parkinson's disease to use much lower doses of levodopa. Some patients who responded poorly to levodopa have improved on SINEMET. This is most likely due to decreased peripheral decarboxylation of levodopa caused by administration of carbidopa rather than by a primary effect of carbidopa on the nervous system. Carbidopa has not been shown to enhance the intrinsic efficacy of levodopa. […]

Conditions named in the indications of carbidopa and levodopa's FDA labels, with every medicine labeled for each:

• Parkinson's disease

From other carbidopa and levodopa labels

Parkinson's disease: INDICATIONS AND USAGE SINEMET is indicated in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, post-encephalitic parkinsonism, and symptomatic parkinsonism that may follow carbon monoxide intoxication or manganese intoxication.

FDA pharmacologic class: Aromatic Amino Acid and Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylation Inhibitor.

What does the patient leaflet for carbidopa and levodopa say first?

The FDA-approved Medication Guide or Patient Information that comes with the medicine, in its own words.

From the patient leaflet: What is the most important information I should know about DUOPA?

DUOPA can cause serious side effects, including: Stomach and intestine (gastrointestinal) problems and problems from the procedure you will need to have to receive DUOPA (gastrointestinal procedure-related problems). Some of these problems may require surgery and may lead to death. ○ a blockage of your stomach or intestines (bezoar) ○ stopping movement through intestines (ileus) ○ drainage, redness, swelling, pain, feeling of warmth around the small hole in your stomach wall (stoma) ○ bleeding from stomach ulcers or your intestines ○ inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis) ○ infection in your lungs (pneumonia) ○ air or gas in your abdominal cavity ○ skin infection around the intestinal tube, pocket of infection (abscess), infection in your blood (sepsis) or abdominal cavity may occur, after surgery ○ stomach pain, nausea or vomiting Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms of stomach and intestine problems and gastrointestinal procedure-related problems: ○ stomach (abdominal) pain ○ constipation that does not go away ○ nausea or vomiting ○ fever ○ blood in your stool or a dark tarry stool (melanotic stool) You will need to have a procedure to make a small hole (called a “stoma”) in your stomach wall to place a gastro-jejunostomy tube (called a PEG-J tube) in an area of your small intestine called the jejunum. DUOPA is delivered directly to your small intestine through this tube. Your healthcare provider will talk to you about the stoma procedure. Before the stoma procedure, tell your healthcare provider if you have ever had a surgery or problems with your stomach. Talk to your healthcare provider about what you need to do to care for your stoma. […]

From the patient leaflet: What should I avoid while using DUOPA?

Do not drive, operate machinery, or do other activities until you know how DUOPA affects you. Sleepiness and falling asleep suddenly caused by DUOPA can happen as late as 1 year after you start your treatment.

From the patient leaflet: How should I store DUOPA?

Store DUOPA in the refrigerator between 36ºF to 46ºF (2ºC to 8ºC). Do not freeze. Use at room temperature. Take one DUOPA cassette out of the carton and out of the refrigerator 20 minutes prior to use. Use the product at room temperature or you may not get the right amount of medication. Protect the cassette from light and keep it in the carton before using. Use DUOPA before the expiration date printed on the cassette. Keep DUOPA and all medicines out of the reach of children.

Is there a generic for carbidopa and levodopa (Crexont)?

The FDA approved the first generic carbidopa and levodopa on August 28, 1992. 29 generic applications are approved; 18 of them carry a current (not discontinued) marketing status in Drugs@FDA; that status is not evidence that the generic is on sale. Drugs@FDA also holds 1 tentative approval: the FDA found the generic approvable, but patents or exclusivity keep it from final approval for now.

FDA's NDC Directory lists carbidopa and levodopa from 33 labelers under a generic (ANDA) application and from 4 brand labelers. A listing means the company has registered the product for sale; it does not show that every pharmacy stocks it.

The Orange Book lists 30 patents for Crexont capsules, the last expiring on December 21, 2041. A patent or exclusivity date is not the date a generic goes on sale: court cases and settlements move it either way.

What do pharmacies pay for carbidopa and levodopa (Crexont)?

In CMS's NADAC survey of October 7, 2026, pharmacies paid $0.0759 per Carbidopa-levodopa 25-100 tablet, down 7% from $0.0818 on October 8, 2025. Prices per unit in the table differ many-fold by strength, form and brand, so compare like with like. The chart's scale runs from the lowest to the highest price shown, not from zero. NADAC is what retail pharmacies paid their wholesalers, per unit, in CMS's monthly survey; what a patient pays depends on insurance and the pharmacy.

Has carbidopa and levodopa been recalled?

The FDA's Enforcement Report lists 6 recalls naming carbidopa and levodopa since 2013: 0 Class I (the most serious), 6 Class II, 0 Class III; 0 still ongoing. 1 of them is by a firm that FDA's NDC Directory does not list as a maker of carbidopa and levodopa and that holds no application for it in Drugs@FDA, such as compounding pharmacies or bulk-ingredient suppliers; the recall notice names the product recalled. A recall names products and lots, not every product of the medicine.

What does the carbidopa and levodopa label say about other medicines?

The carbidopa and levodopa label names 12 other medicines in its interaction, contraindication or warning sections. The labels of 3 other medicines name carbidopa and levodopa. The sentences are the labels' own; a label lists what its studies and reports found, not every interaction.

Check carbidopa and levodopa against other medicines

What do FAERS reports show for carbidopa and levodopa?

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System holds 49,777 reports that list carbidopa and levodopa among the medicines taken, through July 30, 2026, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 6,354 are coded as a death and 13,612 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is.

Reports received each year

• 2,346
• 4,184
• 3,850
• 4,909
• 5,179
• 4,727
• 4,501
• 3,464
• 3,363
• 3,769
• 1,382

• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 2025
• 2026

The most reported reactions

• Fall4,736
• Drug Ineffective (a use or a product term, not a reaction)4,389
• Hallucination (named in the label)4,306
• Tremor (named in the label)3,427
• Death (an outcome recorded in the report)3,193
• Dyskinesia (named in the label)3,095
• Dizziness (named in the label)2,673
• Parkinson^S Disease2,659

Side effects: the label's list and every FAERS reaction

What else is labeled for the same conditions as carbidopa and levodopa?

11 other medicines are given the same way (oral) and in the same FDA class as carbidopa and levodopa or labeled mainly for the same use (parkinson's disease), the same class first. Parkinson's disease lists all 19 medicines labeled for it, by any route. The first 8 are below. They are listed as records, not as substitutes: whether one can replace another is a prescriber's decision.

Every medicine labeled for the same conditions as carbidopa and levodopa

What next?

Alternatives to carbidopa and levodopa

11 medicines for the same use

Other aromatic amino acids

the pharmacologic class, with prices and generics

Carbidopa and levodopa side effects

the label's list beside FAERS reports

Check an interaction

what two or more labels say about each other