Captisol Aids in Fight of Fungal Infections

In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave marketing clearance for both oral and in­travenous formulations of Pfizer's Vfend® (voriconazole) for the treat­ment of deadly fungal infections. Vfend® is formulated with Captisol®, a product developed and manufac­tured by HBC spin-off Cydex, Inc.

Vfend® is indicated for primary treatment of acute invasive as­pergillosis and salvage therapy for rare but serious fungal infections caused by the pathogens Scedo­sporium apiospermum and Fusarium spp. In the largest clinical trial of its kind, Vfend® demonstrated superior efficacy and a survival benefit vs. the current treatment standard, amphot­ericin B, for primary treatment of in­vasive aspergillosis, a deadly fungal infection occurring in immune-com­promised patients. Pfizer's new an­tifungal compound is meant to

complement the clinical profile of their drug Diflucan, the world's top-­selling antifungal agent.

The number of patients at risk for serious fungal infections is growing as more patients undergo bone mar­row and solid organ transplants as well as aggressive chemotherapy for cancer. Fungal infections in these immuno-suppressed patients are as­sociated with high morbidity and mortality and require prompt and ef­fective treatment.

Results from the largest prospec­tive comparative clinical trial in in­vasive aspergillosis ever conducted showed that 53 percent of patients who received Vfend® had a success­ful response at 12 weeks of treat­ment, compared to 32 percent of those who received amphotericin B. The survival rate of the Vfend®-treated patients was 71 percent vs. 58 percent of those in the amphot­ericin B arm of the study.

Vfend® can be administered both orally and intravenously, unlike most current available treatments. This allows for flexibility in patient care with Vfend®, permitting step-down therapy, an important consideration when treating invasive fungal infec­tions. •