Pilocarpine · Ocusert Pilo-20, Pilocarpine Hydrochloride

What is Pilocarpine?

Pilocarpine is a cholinergic muscarinic agonist that activates muscarinic receptors on smooth muscle, such as the iris sphincter and ciliary muscle, and on exocrine glands.

Summary written with AI from the sources listed at the end of this page.

At a glance

Also known as

Ocusert Pilo-20, Pilocarpine Hydrochloride, Qlosi, Salagen, LDP

Drug type

Small molecule

Targets

muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

Mechanism

Agonist of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

Pathways

smooth muscle contraction, exocrine gland secretion

Therapy area

Ophthalmology

Developer

Epic Pharma Llc

In trials of

IRD

FDA status

Approved as Ocusert Pilo-20, Pilocarpine Hydrochloride, Qlosi (July 29, 1974), NDA017431 · FDA label

UNII

01MI4Q9DI3

✅ FDA-approved uses

• Dry mouth from salivary gland hypofunction caused by radiotherapy for cancer of the head and neck (Pilocarpine Hydrochloride)
• Dry mouth in Sjogren's Syndrome (Pilocarpine Hydrochloride)
• Presbyopia (Qlosi)
• Dry mouth from salivary gland hypofunction caused by radiotherapy for cancer of the head and neck (Salagen)
• Dry mouth in Sjogren's Syndrome (Salagen)

From the indications section of the FDA label (version of Jan 23, 2026). Read the full label for the exact wording, limitations and safety information.

🧪 Clinical trials

Trials of the companies BioRadar tracks, from ClinicalTrials.gov, most advanced phase first.

Conditions studied

Presbyopia

Sources

• FDA label (DailyMed)
• FDA label Pilocarpine Hydrochloride (2026-01-23), indications
• FDA label Qlosi (2025-05-30), indications
• FDA label Salagen (2024-12-05), indications
• NCI Thesaurus
• ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04675151
• ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05646719

Updated Oct 11, 2026.