Tafenoquine

Summary

Tafenoquine (CHEMBL298470) is an approved small molecule (ATC P01BA07); indicated across 5 conditions including malaria and plasmodium vivax malaria.

At a glance

• Status: Approved (max clinical phase 4)
• Modality: Small molecule
• ATC class: P01BA07
• Indications: 5 conditions
• Clinical trials: 33
• Chemistry: 463.5 Da · C24H28F3N3O3

Identifiers

Drug identity and classification

Field	Value
ChEMBL ID	CHEMBL298470
Name	Tafenoquine
Type	Small molecule
Max phase	4
FDA approved	yes
PubChem CID	115358
ChEBI	CHEBI:141487
ATC	P01BA07
Molecular formula	C24H28F3N3O3
Molecular weight	463.5
InChIKey	LBHLFPGPEGDCJG-UHFFFAOYSA-N

SMILES: CC1=CC(=NC2=C1C(=C(C=C2NC(C)CCCN)OC)OC3=CC=CC(=C3)C(F)(F)F)OC

IUPAC name: 4-N-[2,6-dimethoxy-4-methyl-5-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy]quinolin-8-yl]pentane-1,4-diamine

ChEBI definition: An aminoquinoline that is 8-aminoquinoline which is substituted by methoxy groups at positions 2 and 6, a methyl group at position 4, and a m-(trifluoromethyl)phenoxy group at position 5, and in which the amino substituent at position 8 is itself substituted by a 5-aminopentan-2-yl group.

Also known as: Tafenoquina, Tafenoquine, WR 238605, tafenoquine, TAFENOQUINE

Parent form; salt/anhydrous children: CHEMBL2364635

Patent coverage: 435 distinct patent families (1,380 SureChEMBL compound mentions), from 4 matched compound structure(s). One matched structure accounts for 1,321 (96%) of the total. Mentions count patents naming the compound (not distinct inventions), so promiscuous / reference molecules inflate the mention figure — families are the dedup metric.

Targets

Targets

Broader ChEMBL bioactivity targets: 10 (assay-derived). Sample: D(1A) dopamine receptor, Estrogen receptor, Progesterone receptor, 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A, Prostaglandin G/H synthase 1, Sodium-dependent noradrenaline transporter, Sodium-dependent serotonin transporter, Mu-type opioid receptor, D(3) dopamine receptor, Sodium-dependent dopamine transporter.

Bioactivity

ChEMBL activities: 6 potent at pChembl ≥ 5 of 11 total. Top 30 by potency (10 = 0.1 nM, 6 = 1 µM):

Target	pChembl	Type	Value	Unit	Activity ID
SLC6A2	5.65	AC50	2260	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25146173
DRD3	5.59	AC50	2570	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25194691
PTGS1	5.42	AC50	3810	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25206328
PGR	5.37	AC50	4230	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25204464
SLC6A3	5.22	AC50	5980	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25125132
PTGS1	5.03	AC50	9380	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_25205397

Target pathways

No target-pathway data for this drug (no mapped target genes).

Indications & clinical

Indications

5 indications (1 at ChEMBL trial phase 4). Phase below is the highest clinical-trial phase recorded for this drug against each disease — not the molecule’s overall approval status (that is in the Summary).

Indication	Trial phase	MONDO	EFO
malaria	4	MONDO:0005136	EFO:0001068
Plasmodium vivax malaria	3	MONDO:0005921	EFO:0007445
Plasmodium falciparum malaria	2	MONDO:0005920	EFO:0007444
severe acute respiratory syndrome	2	MONDO:0005091	MONDO:0100096
babesiosis	2	MONDO:0005661	EFO:0007162

Clinical trials

Total trials: 33.

Phase distribution

Phase	Trials
PHASE2	12
PHASE1	6
PHASE3	5
Not specified	5
PHASE4	4
EARLY_PHASE1	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT04704999	PHASE4	RECRUITING	Southeast Asia Dose Optimization of Tafenoquine
NCT04984759	PHASE4	WITHDRAWN	Tafenoquine and Primaquine in Colostrum and Breast Milk
NCT05203744	PHASE4	UNKNOWN	Escalating Monthly Doses of Tafenoquine in Healthy Volunteers
NCT06575647	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Vivax Elimination With Tafenoquine (VET) Study
NCT06148792	PHASE3	RECRUITING	A Revised Tafenoquine Dose to Improve Radical Cure for Vivax Malaria
NCT06666491	PHASE3	RECRUITING	An Interventional Study to Compare the Efficacy and Safety of Tafenoquine (TQ) and Primaquine (PQ) When Either Are Taken Together With Chloroquine (CQ) for the Treatment of P. Vivax Malaria in Indian Participants Aged 2 Years and Older
NCT02216123	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Study to Assess the Incidence of Hemolysis, Safety, and Efficacy of Tafenoquine (SB-252263, WR238605) Versus Primaquine in Subjects With Plasmodium Vivax Malaria
NCT02802501	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Efficacy and Safety Study of Tafenoquine (TQ) Co-administered With Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQP) for the Radical Cure of Plasmodium Vivax (P. Vivax) Malaria
NCT04411836	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Effectiveness of Novel Approaches to Radical Cure With Tafenoquine and Primaquine
NCT06207370	PHASE2	RECRUITING	Oral Tafenoquine Plus Standard of Care Versus Placebo Plus Standard of Care for Babesiosis
NCT06656351	PHASE2	RECRUITING	B-FREE Chronic Babesiosis Study
NCT01290601	PHASE2	TERMINATED	Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Tafenoquine for the Treatment of Plasmodium Vivax in Adults
NCT01376167	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Ph 2B/3 Tafenoquine (TFQ) Study in Prevention of Vivax Relapse
NCT02488902	PHASE2	COMPLETED	A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Evaluation of Increasing Doses of Weekly Tafenoquine for Chemosuppression of Plasmodium Falciparum
NCT02488980	PHASE2	COMPLETED	An Evaluation of Weekly Tafenoquine
NCT02491606	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Evaluation of Weekly Tafenoquine
NCT02563496	PHASE2	COMPLETED	A Pharmacokinetics, Safety and Efficacy Study of Tafenoquine (TQ) in Pediatric Subjects With Plasmodium Vivax (P. Vivax) Malaria
NCT03320174	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Long-Term Safety Study of Tafenoquine
NCT04533347	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Tafenoquine in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19
NCT05081089	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Gametocytocidal and Transmission-blocking Efficacy of PQ in Combination With AL and TQ in Combination With SPAQ in Mali
NCT05947812	PHASE2	UNKNOWN	A Clinical Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Randomized Placebo Versus the 8-aminoquinoline Tafenoquine for Early Symptom Resolution in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID 19 Disease and Low Risk of Disease Progression
NCT00871156	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Tafenoquine/Chloroquine DDI Study
NCT01205178	PHASE1	COMPLETED	G6PD (Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase) Study to Evaluate Hemolysis Potential of TFQ (Tafenoquine)
NCT01928914	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Tafenoquine Thorough QTc Study in Healthy Subjects
NCT02184637	PHASE1	COMPLETED	A Study to Evaluate the Pharmacokinetics of a Single Dose of Tafenoquine Co-administered With Either Artemether + Lumefantrine or Dihydroartemisinin + Piperaquine Tetraphosphate
NCT02658435	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Assessment of Any Potential Retinal Effects of Tafenoquine (TQ)
NCT02751294	PHASE1	COMPLETED	A Study to Assess the Effects of Dissolution Profile on the Pharmacokinetics of Single Oral Doses of Tafenoquine Tablets and Tafenoquine Stable Isotope Labelled Solution
NCT07373743	EARLY_PHASE1	NOT_YET_RECRUITING	Pharmacokinetic (PK) Study of Tafenoquine in Healthy Adults
NCT06478641	Not specified	AVAILABLE	Expanded Use in Persistent (B. Microti) Babesiosis
NCT07533136	Not specified	NOT_YET_RECRUITING	Tafenoquine Combinations for Improved Radical Cure Efficacy of Plasmodium Vivax
NCT05096702	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Operational Feasibility of Appropriate Radical Cure of Plasmodium Vivax With Tafenoquine or Primaquine After Quantitative G6PD Testing in Brazil
NCT05361486	Not specified	COMPLETED	Radical Cure (RC) With Tafenoquine or Primaquine After Semi-quantitative G6PD Testing: A Feasibility Study in Peru
NCT05753150	Not specified	COMPLETED	Operational Feasibility of Appropriate Plasmodium Vivax Radical Cure After G6PD Testing in Thailand

Clinical evidence (CIViC)

No CIViC predictive evidence (expected for non-precision-medicine drugs).

Pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics

PharmGKB dosing guidelines (1) — CPIC / DPWG genotype-guided dosing for this drug (drug × pharmacogene):

Guideline	Source	Gene(s)	Dosing	Recommendation
Annotation of CPIC Guideline for dapsone, methylene blue, pegloticase,	CPIC	G6PD		yes

PharmGKB also curates 1 clinical and 3 variant annotation(s) for this drug (gene-keyed; see PharmGKB).

Related molecules

Related molecules

No competitor molecules sharing a primary target (ChEMBL phase ≥2 or PubChem drug-class).