This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Other Versions of this Article: AAC.01512-07v1 52/4/1396    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Guinea, J. Articles by Bouza, E. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Guinea, J. Articles by Bouza, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2008, p. 1396-1400, Vol. 52, No. 4
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01512-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Vitro Antifungal Activities of Isavuconazole (BAL4815), Voriconazole, and Fluconazole against 1,007 Isolates of Zygomycete, Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Scedosporium Species

Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain,¹ CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBER RES CD06/06/0058)²

Received 22 November 2007/ Returned for modification 29 December 2007/ Accepted 12 January 2008

Isavuconazole (BAL4815) is a promising novel broad-spectrum triazole in late-stage clinical development that has proven active in vitro against Aspergillus and Candida species. We compared the in vitro activities of this agent with those of voriconazole and fluconazole by the CLSI (formerly NCCLS) M38-A and M27-A2 procedures against a large collection of 1,007 relevant opportunistic fungi collected from 1986 to 2007: Aspergillus spp. (n = 702), Candida spp. (n = 218), Zygomycetes (n = 45), Scedosporium spp. (n = 22), and Fusarium spp. (n = 20). All Candida isolates were from patients with candidemia. For isavuconazole, these techniques were also compared with the Etest. Isavuconazole and voriconazole had MICs at which 50% and 90% of isolates were inhibited (MIC₅₀ and MIC₉₀), respectively, of 1 and 1 µg/ml and 0.5 and 1 µg/ml against Aspergillus spp. and of 0.015 and 0.03 µg/ml and 0.25 and 0.125 µg/ml against Candida spp. (including fluconazole-resistant strains). The MIC₅₀ partial and complete inhibition end points of isavuconazole and voriconazole against the non-Aspergillus molds were as follows: 1 and 2 µg/ml and 16 and >16 µg/ml against Zygomycetes; 1 and 4 µg/ml and 0.25 and 0.5 µg/ml against Scedosporium apiospermum; 4 to 16 and >16 µg/ml and 4 to 8 and 16 to >16 µg/ml (ranges) against Scedosporium prolificans; and 16 and 16 µg/ml and 4 and 4 µg/ml against Fusarium spp. Isavuconazole showed minimal fungicidal concentrations for 50% and 90% of the isolates of 1 and 1 µg/ml against Aspergillus, 16 and >16 µg/ml against Candida, and 4 and >16 µg/ml against Zygomycetes, respectively, and >16 µg/ml against the remaining molds. The Etest proved to be a suitable alternative method for determining the antifungal activities of isavuconazole against Aspergillus and Candida; the Etest results showed 96% and 93% agreement with the results of the CLSI M38-A and M27-A2 methods, respectively.

Published ahead of print on 22 January 2008.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Guinea, J., Recio, S., Pelaez, T., Torres-Narbona, M., Bouza, E. (2008). Clinical Isolates of Aspergillus Species Remain Fully Susceptible to Voriconazole in the Post-Voriconazole Era. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52: 3444-3446 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Thompson, G. R. III, Fothergill, A. W., Wiederhold, N. P., Vallor, A. C., Wickes, B. L., Patterson, T. F. (2008). Evaluation of Etest Method for Determining Isavuconazole MICs against Cryptococcus gattii and Cryptococcus neoformans. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52: 2959-2961 [Abstract] [Full Text]