Abstract

A DETAILED REVIEW ON ANTIFUNGAL AGENT

Wasim J. Bagwan*, Ravi U. Kurhade, Neha B. Bayas, Shivani S. Chelkar, Shabana A. Patel, Nikita D. Kamble

ABSTRACT

Invasive fungal infections are becoming an increasingly important cause of human mortality and morbidity, particularly for immunocompromised populations. The fungal pathogens Candida albicans, coccus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus collectively contribute to over 1 million human deaths annually. Hence, the importance of safe and effective antifungal therapeutics for the practice of modern medicine has never been greater. Given that fungi are eukaryote like their human host, the number of unique molecular targets that can be exploited for drug development remains limited. Only three classes of molecules are currently approved for the treatment of invasive mycosis. The efficacy of these agents is compromised by host toxicity, fungistatic activity, or the emergence of drug resistance in pathogen populations. Here we describe our current arsenal of antifungal and highlight current strategies that are being employed to improve the therapeutic safety and efficacy of these drugs. We discuss state-of-the-art approaches to discover novel chemical matter with antifungal activity and highlight some of the most promising new targets for antifungal drug development. We feature the benefits of combination therapy as a strategy to expand our current repertoire of antifungal and discuss the antifungal combinations that have shown the greatest potential for clinical development. 

Keywords: Antifungal agent, Amphotericin B; flucytosine; triazol;echinocandis; invasive fungal infection; resistance sidarphores.