Trichloroacetic Acid

Summary

Trichloroacetic Acid (CHEMBL14053) is an approved small molecule; indicated across 3 conditions including acne and severe cutaneous adverse reaction.

At a glance

• Status: Approved (max clinical phase 4)
• Modality: Small molecule
• Indications: 3 conditions
• Clinical trials: 8
• Chemistry: 163.38 Da · C2HCl3O2

Identifiers

Drug identity and classification

Field	Value
ChEMBL ID	CHEMBL14053
Name	Trichloroacetic Acid
Type	Small molecule
Max phase	3
FDA approved	yes
PubChem CID	6421
ChEBI	CHEBI:30956
Molecular formula	C2HCl3O2
Molecular weight	163.38
InChIKey	YNJBWRMUSHSURL-UHFFFAOYSA-N

SMILES: C(=O)(C(Cl)(Cl)Cl)O

IUPAC name: 2,2,2-trichloroacetic acid

ChEBI definition: A monocarboxylic acid that is acetic acid in which all three methyl hydrogens are substituted by chlorine.

Pharmacological roles (ChEBI): carcinogenic agent.

Other ChEBI roles (chemical / environmental): metabolite, mouse metabolite.

Also known as: Acetic acid, trichloro-, NSC-215204, Tcaa, Trichloroacetate, Trichloroacetic acid, Trichloroethanoic acid, Trichloro-acetic acid, SID17388684, SID17389700, SID47193683, SID144208830

Parent form; salt/anhydrous children: CHEMBL2028283, CHEMBL3904175

Patent coverage: 51,541 distinct patent families (138,589 SureChEMBL compound mentions), from 2 matched compound structure(s). One matched structure accounts for 138,588 (100%) 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: 3 (assay-derived). Sample: Thyrotropin receptor, Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1, Cellular tumor antigen p53.

Bioactivity

ChEMBL activities: 1 potent at pChembl ≥ 5 of 4 total. Top 100 by potency (10 = 0.1 nM, 6 = 1 µM):

Target	pChembl	Type	Value	Unit	Activity ID
TP53	8.2	Potency	6.3	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_4874554

Target pathways

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

Indications & clinical

Indications

3 diseases in clinical trials (phase 1–3, investigational — not approved indications). Highest ChEMBL trial phase per disease; a non-cancer approved use is occasionally logged at phase 3 here.

Disease (in trials)	Phase	MONDO	EFO
acne	3	MONDO:0011438	EFO:0003894
severe cutaneous adverse reaction	2	MONDO:0005594	EFO:0006346
anogenital human papillomavirus infection	2	MONDO:0005647	EFO:0007147

Clinical trials

Total trials: 8.

Phase distribution

Phase	Trials
Not specified	4
PHASE4	2
PHASE2/PHASE3	2

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT03153852	PHASE4	UNKNOWN	Modified Jessner’s Solution With Trichloroacetic Acid Versus Glycolic Acid With Trichloroacetic Acid
NCT03625960	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Cantharone for the Treatment of Perenial Warts
NCT06188104	PHASE2/PHASE3	WITHDRAWN	Efficacy of Topical 95% TCA in the Treatment of CIN 1 or Less After Low-grade Abnormality of Screening Test
NCT06281353	PHASE2/PHASE3	COMPLETED	The Effect of Oral Nanocurcumin as an Adjuvant Therapy for Anogenital Warts: Evaluation of Clinical Improvement, NFĸB, IFN-γ, and FOXP3+TReg From Lesions Tissue
NCT04400578	Not specified	COMPLETED	TRICIN: Prospective Study on the Efficacy of Single Topical Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) 85% in the Treatment of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN 1/2)
NCT05594316	Not specified	COMPLETED	New Treatment of Alopecia Areata
NCT05622916	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Topical Ethanol Extract (Piper Crocatum) for Anogenital Warts
NCT06836791	Not specified	COMPLETED	Topical 15% Trichloroacetic Acid Versus Silver Nitrate Cauterization in the Management of Idiopathic Childhood Epistaxis: A Prospective Double-Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial

Clinical evidence (CIViC)

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

Pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics

No PharmGKB pharmacogenomic data curated for this drug.

Related molecules

Related molecules

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