The antifungal pipeline: a reality check

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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Candida albicans Biofilm Chip CaBChip for High-throughput Antifungal Drug Screening
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Candida albicans Biofilm Chip CaBChip for High-throughput Antifungal Drug Screening

Published on: July 18, 2012

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John R Perfect1

  • 1Duke University Medical Center, 200 Trent Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.

Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery
|May 13, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Rising invasive fungal infections and drug resistance necessitate new antifungal treatments. This review explores the promising antifungal drug pipeline, covering targets, strategies, and potential outcomes for novel therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Mycology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Invasive fungal infections are increasing due to a larger immunocompromised population, including those with HIV and patients successfully treated for serious conditions.
  • Current antifungal therapies (polyenes, flucytosine, azoles, echinocandins) show plateauing effectiveness and face challenges like toxicity and emerging drug resistance.
  • There is a critical need for novel antifungal agents to address the growing threat of invasive fungal infections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current landscape of antifungal drug development.
  • To highlight novel targets, strategies, and compounds in the antifungal pipeline.
  • To assess the potential outcomes of new antifungal therapies.

Main Methods:

  • Comprehensive review of preclinical and pharmaceutical industry antifungal research.
  • Analysis of emerging antifungal targets and therapeutic strategies.
  • Evaluation of compounds in the development pipeline.

Main Results:

  • The antifungal pipeline is robust and dynamic, featuring diverse approaches.
  • Several novel compounds targeting different fungal pathways are advancing through development.
  • The pipeline includes strategies to overcome existing drug resistance and toxicity issues.

Conclusions:

  • The development of new antifungal drugs is crucial to combat rising infections and resistance.
  • The current pipeline shows significant promise for future clinical applications.
  • Continued research and development are essential to address the unmet needs in antifungal therapy.

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