 Systemic
or deep seated fungal infections pose an enormous clinical and
economic burden in the immunocompromised (e.g. those with congenital
primary immunodeficiencies, patients receiving chemotherapy,
transplant recipients, HIV positive patients), and in high-dependency
patients. Catheters, central venous and arterial lines and respiratory
tubes and drains provide an ideal vehicle of entry for life-threatening
infectious agents such as Candida, Aspergillus and Cryptococcus.
There is an immediate need therefore to provide a solution to
this massive clinical problem.
 Survival rates for those who have developed Systemic Aspergillus or Candida infections are as low as 20% and 40% respectively.
Systemic Cryptococcus infection is the second or third most common
opportunistic infection in HIV/AIDS. Conventional first-line
fungicidal treatments for systemic fungal infections are not
always successful and are associated with a range of serious
and potentially fatal complications and side-effects. Total real
costs incurred in treating deep seated fungal infections can
run to tens of thousands of pounds per patient, with no guarantee
of the treatment’s success.
“Currently antifungal research is under-resourced……there
is a critical need for development of Antifungal Agents”
NIH Antifungal Working Group, 2004
NovaBiotics’ systemic antifungal peptide has demonstrated
fungicidal activity (NP339 technology summary) against type strains
and clinical isolates of all major clinically relevant Candida species (albicans, glabrata, krusei, parapsilosis, tropicalis),
including those resistant (innate or acquired) to conventional
systemic antifungal therapies.
 NovaBiotics’ technology is also active against Aspergillus
niger and Cryptococcus neoformans. The Antifungal potential of
NovaBiotics’ peptides against other relevant systemic fungal
pathogens such as Aspergillus spp and Fusarium
spp etc. is currently
under investigation.
The biological and physicochemical properties of NovaBiotics’ systemic
antifungal peptide technology makes the compounds ideal candidates
for intravenous administration but there is also the potential
for an oral formulation in parallel (a major USP over the insoluble
echinocandins).
“Current antifungal treatments are hampered by
not being rapidly fungicidal, having limited spectrum, toxicity
concerns and emerging resistance”
NIH Antifungal Working Group, 2004
|
