User:Mr. Ibrahem/Pyrimethamine

Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin to treat the parasite diseases toxoplasmosis and cystoisosporiasis. It is also used with dapsone as a second-line option to prevent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia in people with HIV/AIDS. It was previously used for malaria but is no longer recommended due to resistance. Pyrimethamine is taken by mouth.

Common side effects include gastrointestinal upset, severe allergic reactions, and bone marrow suppression. It should not be used by people with folate deficiency that has resulted in anemia. There is concern that it may increase the risk of cancer. While occasionally used in pregnancy it is unclear if pyrimethamine is safe for the baby. Pyrimethamine is classified as a folic acid antagonist. It works by inhibiting folic acid metabolism and therefore the making of DNA.

Pyrimethamine was discovered in 1952 and came into medical use in 1953. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In the United States in 2015, Turing Pharmaceuticals was criticized for increasing the price 50-fold, from US$13.50 to $750 a tablet —a $75,000 cost for a course of treatment reported at one hospital. It was approved as a generic in the United States in February 2020.