Ivermectin
StromectolPubChem CID 6435110 · 3D model
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Locks onto a chloride channel found only in parasite nerve and muscle cells, letting chloride ions rush in and paralyze the parasite — a channel human cells don't have, so the drug spares the person while killing the worm.
How it works
Ivermectin works by locking onto a type of channel found in the nerve and muscle cells of parasitic worms — a channel human cells don't have. Once ivermectin binds to it, the channel lets chloride ions flood into the parasite's cells, which shuts down its nerve and muscle signaling and paralyzes it, killing the parasite. Because this specific channel doesn't exist in mammalian cells, and because ivermectin barely crosses into the human brain, the drug can clear out parasites without doing the same to the person taking it.
What it’s used for
Ivermectin is FDA-approved to treat two parasitic worm infections: strongyloidiasis, an intestinal roundworm infection, and onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, caused by a worm spread through the bite of infected blackflies. Beyond individual treatment, ivermectin is the backbone of global river-blindness elimination campaigns across Africa and Latin America.
- Mechanism
- Glutamate-gated chloride channel agonist
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Antiparasitic