tolevamer

Tolevamer is a nonabsorbable, anionic polymer developed as a potassium sodium polystyrene sulfonate. It was designed as a toxin-binding resin for the treatment of *Clostridioides difficile*-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Unlike antibiotics, it does not kill bacteria or disrupt normal gut flora; instead, it binds and neutralizes the enterotoxins (TcdA and TcdB) produced by *C. difficile* in the colon[4][5][6][8]. Early formulations used the sodium salt but were replaced with potassium sodium salt to avoid hypokalemia[4]. Although clinical studies showed that it could reduce recurrence rates of CDAD, development was terminated after phase 3 trials failed to meet primary efficacy endpoints due in part to high dropout rates[4].

Brand names

Tolevamer

Other names

polystyrene sulfonatepoly(styrene-4-sulfonic acid)polystyrenesulfonic acidp-styrenesulfonic acid homopolymerp-styrenesulfonic acid polymerpoly(p-styrenesulfonic acid)tolevamerotolevamerum