Is clarithromycin gluten-free?
Looks mostly clean — worth verifying with the maker. Mostly yes — but worth a quick call to the manufacturer for some generics. Of 12 product labels we checked, 10 are clean, 0 are confirmed gluten-free by the maker, and 2 contain an inactive ingredient (typically a source-ambiguous starch) whose botanical origin isn't fully disclosed. None contained confirmed gluten.
Drug context
About clarithromycin
Clarithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic used for respiratory infections and H. pylori, sold under brand names including Biaxin.
Why this matters
Different manufacturers, different ingredients
Generics of clarithromycin use the same active ingredient, but they aren't required to use the same inactive ingredients. Your pharmacy may switch which manufacturer they dispense between fills, sometimes without telling you. The list below shows each manufacturer's product label as a separate entry, because that's the granularity that actually matters when you're celiac.
The labels
The 12 we checked
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01Ranbaxy worth a call to confirmView source label →
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02(manufacturer not listed) worth a call to confirm
Worth a call to the maker: No confirmed gluten-free formulation available
View source label → -
03Sportpharm LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C YELLOW NO. 10 ALUMINUM LAKE · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE (1600000 WAMW) · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POVIDONE K30 · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SILICON DIOXIDE · STARCH, CORN · STEARIC ACID · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · VANILLIN
View source label → -
04Solaris Pharma Corporation nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · HYPROMELLOSES · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 400 · POVIDONE K29/32 · SILICON DIOXIDE · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
05Northwind Health Company, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE (1600000 WAMW) · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (15 MPA.S) · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POVIDONE K30 · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SILICON DIOXIDE · SORBIC ACID · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · VANILLIN
View source label → -
06Solaris Pharma Corporation nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients GLYCERYL DIBEHENATE · HYPROMELLOSES · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
07Northwind Health Company, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (3 MPA.S) · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (6 MPA.S) · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 400 · POLYSORBATE 80 · POVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
08Phathom Pharmaceuticals Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients Ammonia · Ascorbic acid · Croscarmellose Sodium · Croscarmellose sodium · Ferric Oxide Red · Ferric Oxide Yellow · Ferrosoferric Oxide · Fumaric Acid · Gelatin, Unspecified · Hydroxypropyl Cellulose, Unspecified · Hypromellose, unspecified · Magnesium Stearate · Mannitol · Microcrystalline Cellulose · Polyethylene Glycol 8000 · Polyethylene Glycol, Unspecified · Polysorbate 80 · Potassium Hydroxide · Povidone, Unspecified · Propylene Glycol · Shellac · Talc · Titanium Dioxide
View source label → -
09Chartwell RX, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients GLYCERYL DIBEHENATE · HYPROMELLOSES · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
10Direct_Rx nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE (1600000 WAMW) · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (15 MPA.S) · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POVIDONE K30 · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SILICON DIOXIDE · SORBIC ACID · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · VANILLIN
View source label → -
11Actavis Pharma, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients D&C YELLOW NO. 10 ALUMINUM LAKE · GLYCERYL MONOSTEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 3000 · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MONOBASIC, ANHYDROUS · SUCROSE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
12Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients ACETONE · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · D&C RED NO. 28 · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C RED NO. 40 · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · GELATIN, UNSPECIFIED · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE, UNSPECIFIED · HYPROMELLOSE 2910 (15 MPA.S) · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL · MAGNESIUM CARBONATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · METHACRYLIC ACID AND ETHYL ACRYLATE COPOLYMER · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 4000 · POLYSORBATE 80 · POVIDONE K30 · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE · SORBIC ACID · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · VANILLIN
View source label →
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Background
What “gluten in a medication” actually means
Gluten enters drugs through their excipients — the inactive ingredients used to bind, coat, fill, or stabilize the dose. The main concern is wheat starch as a filler. Source-ambiguous starches (plain “starch”, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, modified starch) get flagged for verification because their botanical origin isn't always disclosed on the label.
The 2024 Mangione et al. pediatric NDC analysis (689 NDCs across the top 100 pediatric medications) found 1.5% contained gluten outright; another 25.7% couldn't be confirmed either way. Liquid and oral-suspension formulations carry disproportionate risk because wheat starch is a common thickener. Full methodology →
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