ABSTRACT
Triclabendazole is a benzimidazole carbamate anthelmintic that was originally synthesized by Ciba-Geigy, now Novartis. It was initially developed as a veterinary anthelmintic and was first used for the treatment of human fascioliasis in 1986 (Wessely et al., 1988). The use of triclabendazole was expanded in Iran in 1989 during an epidemic of fascioliasis near the Caspian Sea, where studies demonstrated its tolerability and superior efficacy over other agents. In 1990, the Division of Control of Tropical Diseases (CTD) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the pharmaceutical company Ciba-Geigy concluded a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct additional clinical trials of triclabendazole for the treatment of fascioliasis and paragonimiasis. In 1997, based on the remarkable success of these trials, the WHO Expert Committee on the Use of Essential Drugs recommended that the drug be included in the Essential Drugs List (WHO, 1998a). The process of registering triclabendazole for human use is under way in countries where fascioliasis is endemic (first registered in Egypt in 2000). It is currently marketed as Egaten/Fasinex by the originators.
