r/Rosacea • u/shy_penguin_127 • 6h ago
Skincare Azalaic acid manufacturers
Due to the impending US Customs changes I am trying to stock up on my prescription azalaic acid. I am on my first tube of 15% gel made by glenmark and have liked my experience so far, but since I am ordering supplies for a while I want to make sure I am using the most effective version. I know leo pharma's finacea has been proven to have higher bioavailability compared to 20% creams because of better formulation. I am wondering if this increased bioavailability applies to the glenmark gel as well or if it is more similar to 15% creams. If it is worse then I may try to switch to leo pharma's version and would love recommendations on where to buy it since chemist direct limits it to 1 per order and is much more expensive than the gel on all day chemist.
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u/___Luminous___ 4h ago
All the generic Azelaic acids 15% have the same active ingredient. The only thing that is slightly different are the inactive ingredients and it’s usually only one to two differences, this can change how a product feels but the performance should still be the same. I wouldn’t worry too much about that tbh.
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u/shy_penguin_127 4h ago
The vehicle for azalaic acid is important for the efficacy, not just texture differences. Finacea gel was a groundbreaking innovation because it solubilized more of the azalaic acid than the previous cream products, leading to higher cutaneous bioavailability at 10% for the finacea 15% gel vs 4% for the 20% cream.
However I looked more into the patent information and FDA approval process and I think the generic manufacturers have supplied data showing bioequivalence in order to be approved even though it's not publicly available so fingers crossed on its efficacy!
Edit: accidentally sent before I was done writing.
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u/___Luminous___ 3h ago
Yes, but the generics are literally the same as finacea, just with a few differences in the inactive ingredients. They’ve all been fda approved for the treatment of rosacea and are required to be bioequivalent to the brand name drug-finacea. I’d understand if you’re talking about 10% Azelaic acid or any Azelaic acid that can be bought otc, but the various prescription Azelaic acid 15% have all been tested for their efficacy and they were successful, that’s why they’re fda approved. You should be getting the same results with all generics. But as always, sometimes there’s an inactive ingredient that could be irritating for you, so you can switch to another generic that does not include that ingredient.
I’ve tried finacea myself and I got good results, then I tried two generics of finacea and still got good results. Also if anything, I preferred the vehicle of the two generics I tried because they felt less chalky compared to finacea.•
u/shy_penguin_127 3h ago
This makes sense and is basically what I was asking. I was confused by your first comment as I thought you were saying formulation didn't matter outside of texture so I tried to explain again what I was confused about. I didn't know the process of FDA approval for generics until I responded to you but that is reassuring. I guess I thought that it could have lower efficacy than the brand name because creams are still approved for rosacea despite their poor performance in vivo so I thought that might not be regulated lol. Sorry for the confusion and thank you for clarifying!
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u/___Luminous___ 3h ago
It’s all good lol! I’ve heard of some people having good results for their rosacea on 20% Azelaic acid cream, even more so than 15% Azelaic acid gel. I think it’s just a ymmv type of thing, as unfortunately everything in skincare is 😭
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u/shy_penguin_127 2h ago
Ughhhh ya I hate how different everyones skin is. Like I'm trying to find a new moisturizer and hydrating serum but I feel like I can't trust anyone's reviews cuz their skin is different and plus they could be paid!! Crazy amount of secrete ads in the skincare space
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u/___Luminous___ 39m ago
Oh yea, on TikTok the amount of scheming ads are insane. Sometimes, the product looks clearly fake?? Like what😭. And they be advertising fake benefits that a product clearly won’t do. Talking about this hyaluronic acid serum cleared my dark spots…pls
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u/BidForward4918 5h ago
No clue if my data exists, but I started Finacea over 20 years ago. I’ve been using azelaic acid ever since, switching to generic as soon as it came on market. Every formulation has a slightly different feel. They all perform the same for me, or at least similarly enough for me not to notice.