Synonyms: Lamprene®
clofazimine is an approved drug (FDA (1986))
Compound class:
Synthetic organic
Comment: Clofazimine is a phenazine dye with antimycobacterial properties [3]. It has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. State-dependent block of Kv1.3 channels by clofazimine offers therapeutic potential for selective immunosuppression in the context of autoimmune diseases in which Kv1.3-expressing T cells play a significant role [4].
SARS-CoV-2: A report in Nature has identified that clofazimine has anti-coronavirus activity, and that this is synergistic with the antiviral activity of remdesivir [7]. The drug was found to inhibit viral spike-mediated cell fusion and viral helicase activity in vitro, which translated to reduced pulmonary viral load, gut viral shedding and inflammation in an in vivo infection model. The authors suggest that their data supports the use of clofazimine in an outpatient setting for those infected with SARS-CoV-2, or for hospitalised COVID-19 patients if combined with remdesivir. Based on this evidence it is planned to progress clofazimine + remdesivir directly into Phase 2 clinical trial. A trial of clofazimine + interferon-1β is already underway. |
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Classification ![]() |
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Compound class | Synthetic organic |
Approved drug? | Yes. FDA (1986) |
WHO Essential Medicine | WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) (23rd List, 2023). Access PDF version. Click to view more information about the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines. |
IUPAC Name ![]() |
N,5-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-3-propan-2-yliminophenazin-2-amine |
International Nonproprietary Names ![]() |
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INN number | INN |
2248 | clofazimine |
Synonyms ![]() |
Lamprene® |
Database Links ![]() |
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Specialist databases | |
Antibiotic DB
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Clofazimine |
Reactome Drug
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R-ALL-9695530 |
Reactome Reaction
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R-HSA-9685655 |
Other databases | |
ChEMBL Ligand | CHEMBL1292 |
GtoPdb PubChem SID | 315661264 |
PubChem CID | 2794 |
Search Google for chemical match using the InChIKey | WDQPAMHFFCXSNU-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
Search Google for chemicals with the same backbone | WDQPAMHFFCXSNU |
Search PubMed clinical trials | clofazimine |
Search PubMed titles | clofazimine |
Search PubMed titles/abstracts | clofazimine |
UniChem Compound Search for chemical match using the InChIKey | WDQPAMHFFCXSNU-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
UniChem Connectivity Search for chemical match using the InChIKey | WDQPAMHFFCXSNU-UHFFFAOYSA-N |
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