Emerging therapeutic agents for onychomycosis

Abstract

Onychomycosis is a frequent disorder that represents the most prevalent fungal infection, particularly among older individuals. Diverse fungi of the dermatophyte, non-dermatophyte mold and yeast families have been reported to be responsible for onychomycosis. The output from the pharmaceutical industry of new antifungals to treat onychomycosis has been limited over the last decade. Present treatment options include both oral and topical drugs, with oral therapies giving better outcomes. However, neither of these treatment options provides high cure rates that are durable. At present, azoles and allylamines are keeping the pivotal roles. New derivatives with a favorable risk-benefit ratio and new formulations of older azoles seem to be promising. Thus, ongoing drug development activities have focused on novel delivery technologies to facilitate incorporation of existing antifungal drugs inside the nail plate and the discovery of new active antifungals.

Keywords::

• allylamine
• azole
• dermatophyte
• fungus
• mold
• onychomycosis
• yeast

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Fonds d'Investissement de la Recherche Scientifique of the University Hospital of Liège. No other sources of funding were used to assist in the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this review. The use of trade names is for product identification purposes only and does not imply endorsement.