Timolol Drop 0.25%, 0.5% solution Suppliers & Bulk Manufacturers

Available Forms: Drops

Available Strengths: 0.25%, 0.5% solution

Reference Brands: Timoptic (USA), Betimol (USA), Timoptol (EU/UK)

Category: Opthalmology

Timolol eye drops (0.25% & 0.5%) are beta-blocker ophthalmic solutions used to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in conditions such as open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. They work by reducing aqueous humor production in the eye. Available as standard drops, gel-forming solutions, and in fixed-dose combinations with other agents.

Product Description:

Timolol is a non-selective beta-blocker and was the reference glaucoma drop for two decades before prostaglandin analogues displaced it. It lowers intraocular pressure by reducing aqueous humour production at the ciliary epithelium, typically by twenty to twenty-five percent, and it remains one of the most cost-effective pressure-lowering agents available, which is why it is still first-line in much of the world.

It is used once or twice daily for open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension, and it is the partner component in most fixed-combination glaucoma drops. The systemic risk deserves emphasis because it is easy to underestimate: a drop in the eye drains into the nasal mucosa and is absorbed straight into the bloodstream, without passing through the liver, so plasma levels can approach those of a small oral dose. Deaths from bronchospasm in asthmatic patients given timolol drops are documented. It is contraindicated in asthma, severe COPD, sinus bradycardia, heart block and uncompensated heart failure, and it masks hypoglycaemia.

Sourcing notes. Off patent, very inexpensive, and on essential medicines lists, so tender and public-programme volume is large. Solution, gel-forming solution and preservative-free unit doses are separate presentations; the gel-forming form allows once-daily use and reduces systemic exposure.