Atovaquone - a novel broad-spectrum anti-infective drug.
Atovoquone is a novel hydroxynaphthoquinone that is currently showing clinical promise for the treatment of malaria and the AIDS-associated diseases Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and toxoplosmosis. The drug is the end product of half a century of research by numerous groups who have investigated the ontiporositic properties of many related compounds. Atovaquone is the only member of the series to show therapeutic activity in humans when taken orally. In this article, Alan Hudson explores the background to the discovery of this drug and reviews its mode of action, and biological and clinical profiles.
Hudson
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Research Laboratories, Langley Court, Beckenham, UK BR3 3BS.