The studies, presented at the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology meeting in Paris, show that BAL8557 had no significant impact on the pharmacokinetics of ciclosporin and a relatively modest effect on tacrolimus. Ciclosporin and tacrolimus are frequently used and important immunosuppressant drugs in transplant medicine. In addition, BAL8557 did not affect the kinetics of warfarin, a widely used anticoagulant drug.
Drug-drug interaction and safety profile are important aspects of new antifungal therapies as hospitalized patients requiring systemic antifungal therapies, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer or transplant patients, often have comprimed immune systems and receive multi-drug medications.
“BAL8557 has the potential to be a leading antifungal drug for the treatment of severe invasive fungal infections with its intravenous and oral formulations, a broad-spectrum and a promising drug-drug interaction profile,” said Dr Rienk Pypstra, chief development officer at Basilea.
BAL8557 was recently granted fast track designation by the FDA.