Common inactive drug ingredients not as inert as thought
38 out of 639 excipients tested interact with toxicity-related proteins, some reaching levels that might produce unwanted effects
Some ingredients that help keep medicines stable and get them into our bodies could also have previously unknown biological effects. US researchers who studied 639 of these ingredients, known as excipients, have found 38 that interact with medically relevant proteins. Two excipients, cetylpyridinium chloride and thimerosal, are potentially capable of reaching levels in the body that could lead to unwanted effects.
‘While we believe that [this] usually won’t lead to toxicity in most cases, the activities are strong enough to be worrisome, and maybe all of them can be replaced,’ comments one of the study’s lead researchers, Brian Shoichet from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).