[9][7] Deferiprone monotherapy is indicated in the European Union for the treatment of iron overload in those with thalassaemia major when current chelation therapy is contraindicated or inadequate.

[9] The researchers found that the oral drug, deferiprone, reactivates the “altruistic suicide response” of an HIV-infected cell, killing the HIV RNA it carries.

Effective suppression of HIV-1 generation and induction of apoptosis both require deferiprone at a concentration around 150 μM in infected T-cell lines.

[10] Deferiprone was at the center of a protracted struggle between Nancy Olivieri, a Canadian haematologist and researcher, and the Hospital for Sick Children and the pharmaceutical company Apotex, that started in 1996, and delayed approval of the drug in North America.

[7] Deferiprone was considered a successful treatment for participants who experienced at least a 20 percent decrease in serum ferritin, a protein that stores iron in the body for later use.