Nifurtimox is manufactured by Bayer and marketed under the trade name Lampits.It is a nitrofuran derivative that was developed specifically for the treatment of American trypanosomiasis (Chagas'disease) (Packachanian, 1957). Nifurtimox is one of two drugs approved for use in treatment of Chagasdisease. It was shown to be the most active and least toxic of this group of agents in preclinical studies and was evaluated in clinical trials in the 1960s and subsequently marketed for use in Chagas’ disease in Latin America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although the use of nifurtimox for Chagas’ disease has decreased with the availability of benznidazole, a potentially more active and less toxic agent, there has been a resurgence of interest in and use of nifurtimox for the treatment of second-stage human African trypanosomiasis (HAT)caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.
