Oxfendazole: a promising agent for the treatment and control of helminth infections in humans

Abstract

Introduction. Oxfendazole (methyl [5-(phenylsulphinyl)-1H benzimidazole- 2-yl] carbamate) has a particularly long metabolic half-life in ruminants, and its metabolite fenbendazole also has anthelminthic action. A very limited number of drugs are available for the treatment of some zoonotic helminth infections, such as neurocysticercosis and echinococcosis. More recent work has expanded oxfendazole’s non-clinical safety profile and demonstrated its safety and bioavailability in healthy human volunteers, thus advancing the possibility of a new and greatly needed option for antiparasitic treatment of geohelminths and tissue parasites. Areas covered. The present article reviews evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of oxfendazole against both gut and tissue dwelling helminths in animals, as well as more recent safety and pharmacokinetic data supporting its potential for use in human parasitoses. Expert commentary. The pharmacokinetics, safety and wide spectrum of efficacy of oxfendazole are consistently demonstrated in intestinal helminth infections of animals as well as in tissue dwelling larval cestode and trematode infections in diverse animal species. Now supported by first-in-human safety and pharmacokinetic data, oxfendazole becomes a promising alternative to the limited portfolio of antiparasitic drugs available to treat helminthic diseases of humans.

The Antitumor Potentials of Benzimidazole Anthelmintics as Repurposing Drugs

“…As benzimidazole anthelmintics have a long history for human and veterinary use, the pharmacokinetic properties and side effects of these anthelmintics are well established based on many studies. Table 2 ( 5 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 ) briefly summarizes the pharmacokinetic properties and side effects of benzimidazole anthelmintics using extracted literature reviews and websites, including www.drugs.com and PARASITIPEDIA.net, emphasizing some issues of these anthelmintics as repurposed drugs for cancer treatment.…”

Effects of an injectable long-acting formulation of ivermectin on Onchocerca ochengi in zebu cattle

“…The first is oxfendazole [1], which belongs to the benzimidazole family and could have the advantage of killing the adult worms without affecting the mf, and thus would not induce adverse effects, particularly in case of coinfection with Loa loa [27,48]. Ongoing trials (phase 1 and phase 2 against Trichuris trichiura) will enable us to evaluate its possible toxicity [25]. This point is key because the development of another benzimidazole to treat filariases, flubendazole, was interrupted in 2017 because its toxicity associated with effective doses was considered unacceptable [30].…”

Efficacy of novel albendazole salt formulations against secondary cystic echinococcosis in experimentally infected mice

“…Combination treatments using FBZ and netobimin, which is a prodrug of ABZ used as a veterinary anthelmintic (Garcia-Llamazares et al ., 1997), were shown to be efficacious in a rodent CE model. In E. granulosus -infected sheep and goats, oxfendazole and oxfendazole combined with nitazoxanide, were shown to be as efficacious as ABZ whereas not requiring daily uptake of the drug due to their prolonged bioavailability (Gavidia et al ., 2009; Gonzalez et al ., 2019). Other benzimidazoles exhibiting interesting protoscolicidal and metacestodicidal activity in vivo are flubendazole (Elissondo et al ., 2007; Ceballos et al ., 2015) and nocodazole (Shkoliar et al ., 2014).…”