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New Player In The Fight Against Resistant Fungal Infections In Phase 3 Trial

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Antibiotic-resistant infections tend to get the most airtime, but lethal fungal infections are lurking in hospitals and are equally deserving of our attention. These infections prey on weak and immuno-compromised hospital patients, and efforts to cure them are increasingly unsatisfactory. However, a new anti-fungal medication, Rezafungin, currently in Phase 3 trials, aims to solve this current hole in drug development. 

Rezafungin is a novel molecule in the echinocandin class of antifungals, which its developer Cidara believes will be an improvement among current fungal infections treatments. Rezafungin is being developed as a first-line treatment of candidemia and invasive candidiasis.  

The drug aims to address the growing threat of hospital-related fungal infections, which claim an estimated 97,000 American lives each year. Ninety percent of these often deadly infections are caused by just two common fungi, Candida and Aspergillus.

An irritated nail or foot may come to mind for most when they hear of the phrase fungal infection, but in the case of hospital-acquired infections, the fungi are able to pollute the bloodstream. The infections are most common in patients with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing organ or bone marrow transplants, chemotherapy, AIDS patients, and those with long hospital stays. 

Part of what makes these infections so lethal is how difficult they are to cure. As explained by Jeff Stein, PhD.,Cidara CEO, echinocandins are regarded as the safest treatment for hospital-acquired fungal infections. However, these treatments must be administered daily via an IV infusion, sometimes for many weeks. For this reason, often an azole is often chosen as the most patient-friendly option. The drug is oral, which means that patients can be discharged and continue their treatment on their own. Azoles are often not effective enough as patient compliance is low and researchers are seeing increasing fungi resistance. 

“In addition, azoles have drug interactions and tolerability issues,” explained Stein. “Patients that get fungal infections are hospitalized for something else and they are usually on a lot of other drugs so it is highly likely that one or more of those drugs will have an interaction with the azoles.”

Rezafungin has a prolonged half-life and a higher concentration, which allows the drug to be administered less frequently but still has the same positive effects. 

“Rezafungin is administered once a week, either back in the hospital or in an outpatient infusion clinic, or at home with an infusion nurse,” said Stein. “Most patients will need one or two doses, one in the hospital and a second or final dose upon discharge.” 

Currently in Phase 3 trial for treatment of invasive fungal infections, results are expected towards the end of this year.