Systemic fungal infections are much rarer than other illnesses, but they are potentially deadly, with limited options for treatment. In fact, fungi are becoming increasingly resistant to the few drugs that are available, and infections are growing more common. A cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, details how scientists are working to improve our antifungal arsenal.
At present, there are only four types of antifungal drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and some infections are resistant to those drugs, making surgery the only option for treatment, writes Senior Correspondent Bethany Halford. Fungi can be found almost everywhere, but only a few hundred species are able to infect humans, and most people’s immune systems can fight them off. However, people with compromised immune systems (for instance, cancer patients being treated with certain chemotherapies) are at a higher risk for developing fungal infections. The FDA has not approved a drug from a new antifungal class in 20 years, and the ones available all have downsides, including drug resistance and kidney toxicity. This dearth of treatments has doctors concerned that the problem will only get worse as time goes on.
Creating a new antifungal drug is challenging because of the biological similarities between humans and fungi. Many molecules that are harmful to fungi are also harmful to people. Experts say that exploiting the differences between humans and fungi is key to developing new treatments; for example, fungal cells have walls, but human cells do not. In addition to developing new treatments, pharmaceutical researchers are working to improve established antifungal drugs to make them more potent and have fewer side effects. Although scientists and doctors are hopeful that new antifungals will be approved, establishing clinical trials has proven challenging because most of the people who get fungal infections are already very sick. However, the COVID-19 pandemic could change how pharmaceutical companies think about therapies for infectious diseases, prioritizing them in the future.
###
The article, “The Fight Against Fungi,” is freely available here.
For more of the latest research news, register for our upcoming meeting, ACS Spring 2021. Journalists and public information officers are encouraged to apply for complimentary press registration by emailing us at newsroom@acs.org.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder® and STN®), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
