Antifungal drugs: What brings the future?

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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Whole Genome Sequencing of Candida glabrata for Detection of Markers of Antifungal Drug Resistance
08:45

Whole Genome Sequencing of Candida glabrata for Detection of Markers of Antifungal Drug Resistance

Published on: December 28, 2017

14.2K

Ruth Van Daele1,2, Isabel Spriet1,2, Joost Wauters3,4

  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Medical Mycology
|July 12, 2019
PubMed

Insights

New antifungal drugs are in development to combat rising invasive fungal infections (IFIs) and resistance. Promising candidates include novel azoles, glucan synthase inhibitors, and orotomides, offering improved safety and administration options.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Drug Development

Background:

  • Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) present a significant and increasing global health challenge.
  • Current antifungal therapies face limitations due to toxicity, drug interactions, and emerging resistance.
  • There is a critical need for novel antifungal agents with improved efficacy and administration routes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review antifungal drugs currently in clinical development pipelines.
  • To highlight agents with novel mechanisms of action and improved therapeutic profiles.
  • To discuss the potential of new antifungals for ambulatory and enhanced patient treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of clinical trial data for emerging antifungal agents.
  • Analysis of pharmacological properties, safety profiles, and resistance patterns.
  • Comparison of novel antifungals with existing treatments.

Main Results:

  • Isavuconazole, a new azole, demonstrates an improved safety profile and reduced drug-drug interactions (DDIs).
  • Rezafungin (CD101) and SCY-078 represent novel glucan synthase inhibitors (GSIs) with potential for once-weekly or oral administration, including against resistant strains.
  • New formulations of amphotericin B and the novel orotomide class show promise for broad-spectrum activity without cross-resistance.

Conclusions:

  • The antifungal drug pipeline shows promising candidates addressing limitations of current therapies.
  • Novel agents like isavuconazole, GSIs, and orotomides offer potential for improved safety, efficacy, and patient convenience.
  • Continued development is crucial to combat the growing threat of invasive fungal infections.
Keywords:
antifungal drugsinvasive fungal infectionspipelinereviewtreatment

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