Artemether

Absorption	Food increases absorption.
Volume of distribution	Not Available
Protein binding	Artemether, 95.4%; Dihydroartemisinin, 47-76%
Metabolism	Rapidly metablized to its active metabolite, dihydroartemisinin. Enzyme Metabolite Reaction Km Vmax Cytochrome P450 3A5 Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) oxidation Cytochrome P450 3A4 Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) oxidation
Route of elimination	Not Available
Half life	Artemether, 1.6 +/- 0.7 and 2.2 +/- 1.9 hr; Dihydroartemisinin, 1.6 +/- 0.6 and 2.2 +/- 1.5 hr
Clearance	Not Available
Toxicity	Common side effects of combination artemether/lumefantrine therapy in adults include headache, anorexia, dizziness, and asthenia. Common side effects in children include pyrexia, cough, vomiting, anorexia, and headache. Possible serious adverse effects include QT prolongation, bullous eruption, urticaria, splenomegaly (9%), hepatomegaly (adults, 9%; children, 6%), hypersensitivty reaction, and angioedema.
Affected organisms	Plasmodium