Hansepran 100

Clofazimine, sold under the brand name Lamprene, is a medication used together with rifampicin and dapsone to treat leprosy. It is specifically used for multibacillary (MB) leprosy and erythema nodosum leprosum, and its discovery greatly improved the overall efficiency of the treatment. Evidence is insufficient to support its use in other conditions,[needs update] though a retrospective study found it 95% effective in the treatment of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) when administered together with a macrolide and ethambutol, as well as the drugs amikacin and clarithromycin. However, in the United States, clofazimine is currently considered an orphan drug, is unavailable in pharmacies, and its use in the treatment of MAC is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration. It is taken orally.

Clofazimine is a highly lipophilic, brick-red crystalline phenazine dye with the molecular formula C₂₇H₂₂Cl₂N₄ and a molecular weight of 473.4 g/mol, primarily used in combination with other antimycobacterials such as dapsone and rifampin to treat lepromatous leprosy (Hansen's disease), including dapsone-resistant cases and erythema nodosum leprosum reactions.[1][2][3] It exhibits antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium leprae by binding to its DNA and generating lysophospholipids that disrupt bacterial membranes, while also providing anti-inflammatory effects through suppression of T-lymphocyte activity.[1][2] Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1986 under the brand name Lamprene, clofazimine is administered orally at doses of 100 mg daily for multibacillary leprosy over 2–3 years, with higher doses up to 200–300 mg for managing leprosum reactions, and it is absorbed at 45–70% bioavailability when taken with meals, featuring a long elimination half-life of approximately 25 days.[2][3][4]