A fixed combination of 2 drugs in one pill.
Sold as Avar, BP 10-Wash, BP Cleansing Wash, Clenia, Plexion and 4 more.
A combination is graded by its riskiest ingredient: each part of the score is the lowest of the ingredients' scores. This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
Each ingredient has its own full page with the FDA label, side-effect reports, recalls, evidence, and payments. Open them for the detail behind this grade.
Score breakdown (76/100)
Safety ×35%
A
Evidence ×25%
F
Regulatory ×15%
A
Money & lawsuits ×15%
A
Options ×10%
D
Safety: 100
Graded by its riskiest ingredient, sulfacetamide (100)
Death share in reports is near or below the FAERS average (0.3x)
Evidence: 19
Graded by its riskiest ingredient, sulfacetamide (19)
5 randomized trials and 0 systematic reviews/meta-analyses indexed in PubMed
No Cochrane review found (-5)
Regulatory history: 100
Graded by its riskiest ingredient, sulfacetamide (100)
No recalls on record since 2016
Money & lawsuits: 100
Graded by its riskiest ingredient, sulfacetamide (100)
Pharma paid doctors $0 tied to this drug last year: negligible
Not named in any pending federal MDL
Options: 60
Graded by its riskiest ingredient, sulfur (60)
No generic version approved: brand-only pricing (-30)
2 same-class alternative(s) (-10)
Money and lawsuits
In 2024, drug companies reported $2,450 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this combination's brands across 9 transactions (Sumadan Wash $2,450).
No pending federal MDL names this combination or its brands.
The ingredients' own payments and lawsuits are on their pages and already count toward this grade.
Who takes it and what it costs
162Medicare Part D patients (2024)
263prescriptions filled
$235average cost per fill
$0Mtotal Medicare spend
Questions to ask your prescriber
This is a fixed combination of sulfacetamide and sulfur. Why both together, instead of only the one I need?
The most-reported problems in FDA's adverse event data are drug hypersensitivity, hypersensitivity, pain. How would we recognize and handle those?
Why this one over chloramphenicol, clindamycin, erythromycin? What would make you pick one of those instead?
What result are we expecting, by when, and what is the plan if it does not happen?
If 100 people like me took this drug, how many would actually get better because of it, and how many would be harmed by it? (Doctors call these the number needed to treat and the number needed to harm.)
The most-reported problems in FDA's adverse event data are dry skin, acne, erythema, skin burning sensation. How would we recognize and handle those?
Why this one over mesulfen, tioxolone? What would make you pick one of those instead?
There is no generic. Is there an older generic in the same class that works as well for my situation?