What new drugs are being tested for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis?
There are several drugs in clinical trials that have activity against Aspergillus. Two of these are triazoles and are related to Sporanox (itraconazole) – a drug already used to treat aspergillosis. These are voriconazole made by Pfizer and posaconazole made by Schering Plough. Both these drugs can be given orally, are better tolerated by patients when compared with Sporanox and there is some evidence to suggest they are more potent. Three of the new drugs are candins – a completely new class of drug. These are Cancidas made by Merck and two other drugs developed by Versicor and Fujisawa. All these drugs are given intravenously. A lipid preparation of nystatin (Nyotran) is also undergoing trials. Nystatin has been used topically to treat fungal skin infections for 30 years, but is very toxic when administered intravenously. The lipid preparation is less toxic.
