Suramin

Suramin is an antiparasitic drug developed by Oskar Dressel and Richard Kothe of Bayer, Germany in 1916, and is still sold by Bayer under the brand name Germanin. The formula of suramin was kept secret by Bayer for commercial reasons, however, it was elucidated and published in 1924 by Ernest Fourneau and his team of the Pasteur Institute.

It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system.

Medical uses

Protozoa

It is used for treatment of human sleeping sickness caused by trypanosomes.

Helminthiasis

It has been used in the treatment of onchocerciasis.

Adverse reactions

The most frequent adverse reactions are nausea and vomiting. About 90% of patients will get an urticarial rash that disappears in a few days without needing to stop treatment. There is a greater than 50% chance of adrenal cortical damage, but only a smaller proportion will require lifelong corticosteroid replacement. It is common for patients to get a tingling or crawling sensation of the skin with suramin. Suramin will cause clouding of the urine which is harmless: patients should be warned of this to avoid them becoming alarmed.