Brands, Medical Use, Clinical Data
Drug Category
Dosage Forms
- Injection (50 mg vials to be reconstituted prior to injection)
Brands / Synonyms
Eraxis; Eraxis
Indications
For use in the treatment of the following fungal infections: Candidemia and other forms of Candida infections (intra-abdominal abscess, and peritonitis) and esophageal candidiasis.
Pharmacology
Anidulafungin is a semi-synthetic lipopeptide synthesized from a fermentation product of Aspergillus nidulans. Anidulafungin is an echinocandin, a class of antifungal drugs that inhibits the synthesis of 1,3-β-D-glucan, an essential component of fungal cell walls. Anidulafungin is active in vitro against Candida albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis.
Mechanism of Action
Anidulafungin is a semi-synthetic echinocandin with antifungal activity. Anidulafungin inhibits glucan synthase, an enzyme present in fungal, but not mammalian cells. This results in inhibition of the formation of 1,3-β-D-glucan, an essential component of the fungal cell wall.
Absorption
Not Available
Toxicity
During clinical trials a single 400 mg dose of anidulafungin was inadvertently administered as a loading dose. No clinical adverse events were reported. The maximum non-lethal dose of anidulafungin in rats was 50 mg/kg, a dose which is equivalent to 10 times the recommended daily dose for esophageal candidiasis (50mg/day).
Biotrnasformation / Drug Metabolism
Hepatic metabolism of anidulafungin has not been observed. Anidulafungin is not a clinically relevant substrate, inducer, or inhibitor of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isoenzymes. Anidulafungin undergoes slow chemical degradation at physiologic temperature and pH to a ring-opened peptide that lacks antifungal activity.
Contraindications
Anidulafungin is contraindicated in persons with known hypersensitivity to anidulafungin, any component of anidulafungin, or other echinocandins.
Drug Interactions
No clinically relevant drug-drug interactions have been observed with drugs likely to be co-administered with anidulafungin.
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