New agents for treatment of systemic fungal infections

Abstract

Systemic antifungal chemotherapy is enjoying its most dynamic era. More antifungal agents are under development than ever before, including agents in entirely new classes. Major goals of current investigations are to identify compounds with a wide spectrum of activity, minimal toxicity and a high degree of target specificity. The antifungal drugs in development include new azoles (voriconazole, posaconazole (formerly SCH56592), ravuconazole [formerly BMS-207147]), lipid formulations of amphotericin B, a lipid formulation of nystatin, echinocandins (VER-002 [formerly, LY303366], caspofungin [formerly MK-991], FK463), antifungal peptides other than echinocandins and sordarin derivatives. This discussion reviews the currently available antifungal agents and summarises the developmental issues that surround these new systemic antifungal drugs.

• amphotericin B
• amphotericin B colloidal dispersion
• amphotericin B lipid complex
• antifungal peptide
• caspofungin
• FK463
• fluconazole
• itraconazole
• ketoconazole
• liposomal amphotericin B
• liposomal nystatin
• posaconazole
• ravuconazole
• sordarin
• VER-002
• voriconazole