The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7244 p507
12 April 2003

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Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (more)

New antifungal for oesophageal candidiasis

An antifungal agent in development, anidulafungin, is as effective as fluconazole in the treatment of oesophageal candidiasis, new data show. Anidulafungin, which is being developed by Vicuron Pharmaceuticals, belongs to a class of antifungals known as echinocandins.

The company says that, in preclinical studies, anidulafungin has been shown to destroy more than 99 per cent of candida, including fluconazole-resistant strains.

In a phase III trial, researchers randomly assigned around 600 patients to receive one of two regimens: anidulafungin 100mg intravenously plus oral placebo on day one followed by anidulafungin 50mg intravenously plus oral placebo daily for 14 to 21 days; or fluconazole 200mg orally with intravenous placebo on day one followed by fluconazole 100mg with intravenous placebo daily for 14 to 21 days.

Oesophageal candidiasis was cleared in 97.2 per cent of patients treated with anidulafungin (n=249) and in 98.8 per cent of patients treated with fluconazole (n=255). However, a higher relapse rate occurred in patients treated with anidulafungin than in those treated with fluconazole.

Vicuron Pharmaceuticals plans to file for a licence in the United Kingdom, as part of European approval, during the second half of this year.