Chinese Drug Tribendimidine a Promising Drug Candidate Against Liver Fluke

Already 100mg of the Chinese drug candidate tribendimidine helps patients to get rid of a helminth infection caused by Opisthorchis viverrini according to a clinical study conducted by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health-Institute (Swiss TPH) and the National Institute of Public Health (NIOPH) in Lao PDR. Therefore, tribendimidine could be a promising new therapy against widespread liver fluke infections. 8 million people worldwide suffer from a helminth infection caused by the nematode Opisthorchis viverrini, many of them in Lao PDR and Thailand. Eating raw or undercooked fish, the parasites enter the human body where they provoke inflammation of the gallbladder and the lethal gallbladder cancer. In a Phase2-clinical trial, scientists from Swiss TPH and NIOPH determined the ideal dosage of tribendimidine, a Chinese drug against hookworm and roundworm infections and confirmed its efficacy against Opisthorchis viverrini. 'Already a small dosage of tribendimidine is able to heal the patients and to reduce the number of eggs considerably' says Jennifer Keiser (Swiss TPH) who led the study. _{Raw or uncooked fish might result in an infection with Opisthorchis viverrini (Christian Heuss, Swiss TPH)} Small Dosage, High Impact In two clinical trials in endemic regions in Lao PDR, the international research group determined the ideal dosage of tribendimidine for adults and children.