Lactulose

Drug ingredient

CAS 4618-18-2

This chemical is an active pharmaceutical ingredient used in FDA-regulated drugs.

US productionNot reported

Import value, 2024$189M

Top sourceChina 25%

EPA lists this chemical as inactive, meaning no company reported making, importing or processing it in the US from 2006 to 2016.

Why supply is unknown

Production is reported production, not a complete census of factories. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.

Where It Comes From

Customs basis: HS 294000 · basket

These shares come from HS customs code 294000, which covers 41 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.

Source Countries

Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).

CN 25%ChinaDE 16%GermanyIT 11%ItalyCA 7%CanadaDK 7%Denmark

United Kingdom
Belgium
Singapore
Portugal
Finland
South Africa
Hong Kong
New Zealand
Taiwan
Spain
Morocco
Russia
United Arab Emirates
Ukraine
Poland
Australia

26 FDA-registered drug labelers

Actavis Pharma, Inc.

APOZEAL PHARMACEUTICALS INC

Atlantic Biologicals Corp.

Bajaj Healthcare Ltd

Bajaj Medical, LLC

Bryant Ranch Prepack

Cardinal Health 107, LLC

Chartwell Governmental & Specialty RX, LLC.

Chartwell RX, LLC

Cumberland Assured Products Inc.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Danipharm A/S

Foxland Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Fresenius Kabi AUSTRIA GmbH

Fresenius Kabi AUT GmbH

Kesin Pharma Corporation

Laboratoires Abbott CIE

Lacsa Pty Ltd

Lannett Company, Inc.

PAI Holdings, LLC dba PAI Pharma

Proficient Rx LP

Rising Pharma Holdings, Inc.

Sionc Pharmaceutical Private Limited

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc.

Trifluent Pharma, Inc.

Xttrium Laboratories, Inc.

Why It Matters

Sectors

Health

Downstream Uses

Appears in 7 drug and cosmetic product listings (FDA).

•Lactulose
•Generlac
•Constulose
•Kristalose
•Lactulose Crystalline
•Lactulose Solution
•Enulose

FDA Shortage Status

Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."

No FDA shortage records

Chemical Identity

CAS4618-18-2

PubChem CID11333

DTXSIDDTXSID5045833

FormulaC12H22O11

Mol. Weight342.3 g/mol

SMILESC(C1C(C(C(C(O1)OC2C(OC(C2O)(CO)O)CO)O)O)O)O

Data Sources

PubChem · compound 11333Retrieved 2026-04-07
EPA TSCA InventoryRetrieved 2026-04-24
FDA National Drug Code directoryRetrieved 2026-04-07
US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04

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Brief citations

Lactulose (CAS 4618-18-2) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/4618-18-2/ PubChem: 11333. Retrieved 2026-04-07. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/11333 EPA TSCA Inventory: CAS 4618-18-2. Retrieved 2026-04-24. https://www.epa.gov/tsca-inventory FDA National Drug Code directory: bulk match. Retrieved 2026-04-07. https://open.fda.gov/data/ndc/ US Census international trade: HS 294000 for CAS 4618-18-2. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/