Antifungal agents

At this year's ICAAC Meeting, new data on approximately 20 different antifungal agents were presented, while no new agents were disclosed. Drugs in late development include the triazoles, voriconazole (Pfizer Ltd) and Sch-56592 (Schering-Plough Corp), and the echinocandins, caspofungin (Merck & Co Inc) and FK-463 (Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co Ltd). In contrast to previous years, presentations on these and earlier developmental compounds were relatively modest in scope, with few significant new data. Little new information appeared on the most recent novel class of agents, the sordarins (Glaxo Wellcome plc). Early clinical results were presented for FK-463, showing acceptable tolerability and dose-dependent efficacy in AIDS-associated esophageal candidiasis. A new liposomal formulation of nystatin (Nyotran; Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc) was shown to be equivalent to conventional amphotericin B in empiric therapy of presumed fungal infection in neutropenic patients, but with reduced toxicity. Intravenous itraconazole (Janssen Pharmaceutica NV) was an effective prophylactic therapy in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, while oral itraconazole was discussed as a treatment for fungal infection in heart and liver transplant patients. The allylamine compound, terbinafine (Novartis AG), showed good clinical efficacy against fungal mycetoma, a serious tropical infection. A major highlight was the first presentation of inhibitors of fungal efflux pumps as a strategy for overcoming resistance. MC-510027 (milbemycin alpha-9; Microcide Pharmaceuticals Inc) and its derivatives, potentiated the antifungal activity of triazoles and terbinafine in a number of Candida spp. Another pump inhibitor, MC-005172 (Microcide Pharmaceuticals Inc) showed in vivo potentiation of fluconazole in a mouse kidney infection model. Microcide Pharmaceuticals Inc also presented inhibitors of bacterial efflux pumps.