Atovaquone

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Atovaquone, sold under the brand name Mepron, is an naphthoquinone antiprotozoal medication used in the prevention and treatment Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP), and malaria (in combination with proguanil), as well as for treatment of babesiosis (in combination with azithromycin). Atovaquone is an analogue of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10) and exerts its pharmaceutical effects by binding to the ubiquinone binding site on the parasitic mitochondrial cytochrome bc1 complex, thus inhibiting a step of protozoal pyrimidine synthesis. Atovaquone is a hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, an analog of both ubiquinone and lawsone.

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