Antifungal Drug Development: Rearview and the Horizon

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019)

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Next Tech Solutions, LLC, Cleveland, OH 44122, USA
Interests: drug development; fungal biology and pathogenesis; immune response; biofilms; systems biology; microbiome and mycobiome; metabolomics; proteomics; lipidomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Special Issue “Antifungal Drug Development: Rearview and the Horizon”. The overarching goal of this Special Issue is to create a fresh outlook on the current status of antifungals drug development. We will review the exciting findings in this area in the recent past, and also layout the targets and agents that have high likelihoods of advancing to the next stage of drug development in the near future. There is considerable excitement regarding the potential of some new molecules as antifungal agents, along with a renewed stress on the repurposing of drugs already approved for non-fungal infections and other indications. In addition, investigators are pursuing the development of antifungal drugs based on systems biology analysis, including next-generation sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics, and leveraging combination regimens and computational networking to identify novel agents. We will focus on different preclinical assays available for testing the activity of antifungals and designing robust clinical trials in the pursuance of regulatory approval. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive view of antifungal drug development, from basic science investigations in the microbiology laboratory, through preclinical testing, clinical trials, and market launch. It is my belief that this issue will be an important resource for future and current scientists, and will contribute to successful antifungal drug development programs. I invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, with articles highlighting your achievements in different areas of antifungal drug development.

Dr. Pranab K. Mukherjee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • drug development
  • antifungals
  • structure-activity-relationship
  • fungal biology
  • immune response
  • biofilms
  • antifungal peptides
  • biochemistry
  • molecular biology
  • systems biology
  • microbiome
  • mycobiome
  • metabolomics
  • proteomics
  • regulatory submissions

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

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11 pages, 744 KiB  
Review
Aspiring Antifungals: Review of Current Antifungal Pipeline Developments
by Thomas J. Gintjee, Monica A. Donnelley and George R. Thompson
J. Fungi 2020, 6(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof6010028 - 25 Feb 2020
Cited by 152 | Viewed by 15129
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and their management is restricted to a variety of agents from five established classes of antifungal medication. In practice, existing antifungal agents are often constrained by dose-limiting toxicities, drug interactions, and the routes [...] Read more.
Invasive fungal infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and their management is restricted to a variety of agents from five established classes of antifungal medication. In practice, existing antifungal agents are often constrained by dose-limiting toxicities, drug interactions, and the routes of administration. An increasing prevalence of invasive fungal infections along with rising rates of resistance and the practical limitations of existing agents has created a demand for the development of new antifungals, particularly those with novel mechanisms of action. This article reviews antifungal agents currently in various stages of clinical development. New additions to existing antifungal classes will be discussed, including SUBA-itraconazole, a highly bioavailable azole, and amphotericin B cochleate, an oral amphotericin formulation, as well as rezafungin, a long-acting echinocandin capable of once-weekly administration. Additionally, novel first-in-class agents such as ibrexafungerp, an oral glucan synthase inhibitor with activity against various resistant fungal isolates, and olorofim, a pyrimidine synthesis inhibitor with a broad spectrum of activity and oral formulation, will be reviewed. Various other innovative antifungal agents and classes, including MGCD290, tetrazoles, and fosmanogepix, will also be examined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antifungal Drug Development: Rearview and the Horizon)
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8 pages, 412 KiB  
Brief Report
Sweet Relief: Determining the Antimicrobial Activity of Medical Grade Honey Against Vaginal Isolates of Candida albicans
by Renée Hermanns, Niels A.J. Cremers, John P. Leeming and Esther T. van der Werf
J. Fungi 2019, 5(3), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof5030085 - 9 Sep 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5852
Abstract
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is predicted to increase to almost 158 million cases annually by 2030. Extensive self-diagnosis and easily accessible over-the-counter (OTC) fungistatic drugs contribute to antifungal-resistance, illustrating the need for novel therapies. Honey possesses multiple antimicrobial mechanisms, and there is no [...] Read more.
Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is predicted to increase to almost 158 million cases annually by 2030. Extensive self-diagnosis and easily accessible over-the-counter (OTC) fungistatic drugs contribute to antifungal-resistance, illustrating the need for novel therapies. Honey possesses multiple antimicrobial mechanisms, and there is no antimicrobial resistance towards honey reported. We evaluated the susceptibility of five clinical isolates of Candida albicans and a control strain to regular honey and a medical grade honey (MGH) gel formulation (L-Mesitran, containing 40% honey and vitamins C and E) using an adapted version of the EUCAST protocol at pH 5.2, 4.6, and 4.0. 40% regular honey did not kill or inhibit C. albicans. In contrast, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of L-Mesitran was 25%–50%, while fungicidal effects occurred at a 50% concentration (MBC) of the MGH formulation, except for one strain which was not killed at pH 4.0. Overall, pH had little effect on antimicrobial activity. MGH formulation L-Mesitran has antimicrobial activity against C. albicans over a relevant pH range. The vitamin supplements or other components of L-Mesitran may enhance the antifungal activity of the honey. This study supports performing clinical trials for conditions, such as RVVC, to find an alternative to available OTC fungistatic drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antifungal Drug Development: Rearview and the Horizon)
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