DESCRIPTION Clofazimine is a phenazine dye with antimycobacterial properties . It has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. State-dependent block of K_v1.3 channels by clofazimine offers therapeutic potential for selective immunosuppression in the context of autoimmune diseases in which K_v1.3-expressing T cells play a significant role .

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 . 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. (GtoPdb)