Other uses have not been proven to be safe or effective.It has been studied in combination with other antimycobacterial drugs to treat Mycobacterium avium infections in people with HIV/AIDS and Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis. Clofazimine also has a marked anti-inflammatory effect and is given to control the leprosy reaction, erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL). (From AMA Drug Evaluations Annual, 1993, p1619). The drug is given as an alternative to people who can not tolerate the effects of dapsone for leprosy.Early research suggested clofazimine inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro and reduce viral load and inflammation in the lung in animal models

Side effects
Clofazimine produces pink to brownish skin pigmentation in 75-100% of patients within a few weeks, as well as similar discoloration of most bodily fluids and secretions. These discolorations are reversible but may take months to years to disappear. There is evidence in medical literature that as a result of clofazimine administration, several patients have developed depression which in some cases resulted in suicide. It has been hypothesized that the depression was a result of this chronic skin discoloration.Cases of icthyosis and skin dryness are also reported in response to this drug (8%-28%), as well as rash and itchiness (1-5%).40-50% of patients develop gastrointestinal intolerance. Rarely, patients have died from bowel obstructions and intestinal bleeding, or required abdominal surgery to correct the same problem. Mechanism
Clofazimine works by binding to the guanine bases of bacterial DNA, thereby blocking the template function of the DNA and inhibiting bacterial proliferation.
It also increases activity of bacterial phospholipase A2, leading to release and accumulation of lysophospholipids, which are toxic and inhibit bacterial proliferation.Clofazimine is also a FIASMA (functional inhibitor of acid sphingomyelinase). Metabolism
Clofazimine has a biological half life of about 70 days. Autopsies performed on those who have died while on clofazimine show crystal-like aggregates in the intestinal mucosa, liver, spleen, and lymph nodes. History
Clofazimine, initially known as B663, was first synthesised in 1954 by a team of scientists at Trinity College, Dublin: Frank Winder, J.G. Belton, Stanley McElhinney, M.L. Conalty, Seán OSullivan, and Dermot Twomey, led by Vincent Barry. Clofazimine was originally intended as an anti-tuberculosis drug but proved ineffective. In 1959, a researcher named Y. T. Chang identified its effectiveness against leprosy. After clinical trials in Nigeria and elsewhere during the 1960s, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis launched the product in 1969 under the brand name Lamprene.Novartis was granted FDA approval of clofazimine in December 1986 as an orphan drug. The drug is currently no longer commercially available in the United States. Society and culture
Clofazimine is marketed under the trade name Lamprene by Novartis. One producer of the clofazimine molecule is Sangrose Laboratories, located in Mavelikara, India. Research
The immunosuppressive effects of clofazimine were immediately noticed when applied in animal model. Macrophages were first reported to be inhibited due to the stabilization of lysosomal membrane by clofazimine. Clofazimine also showed a dosage-dependent inhibition of neutrophil motility, lymphocyte transformation, mitogen-induced PBMC proliferation and complement-mediated solubilization of pre-formed immune complexes in vitro.