Infectious Disease Specialists Surveyed on What Drives Prescribing in Severe Candida Infections in the Hospital Setting

Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), a provider of market intelligence for the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries, finds that the most important drug attributes surveyed infectious disease specialists seek in a drug to treat severe Candida infections in the hospital setting are activity against Candida albicans and non-albicans species and fungicidal activity.

Candida albicans is the most common species involved in these invasive fungal infections, but the prevalence of non-albicans species has been rising.

"Given the severity of severe Candida infections, surveyed physicians expressed the need for drugs with fungicidal activity against Candida strains that can eradicate the infection and prevent the condition from worsening," said analyst Lisa Arias. "Additionally, because treatment for severe Candida infections is largely empiric, physicians need agents that possess potent, broad-spectrum activity against suspected pathogens. Timely, appropriate empiric therapy plays a significant role in the successful treatment of these infections."

The new report, “Hospital Anti-Infectives Insight Series: Severe Candida Infections,” said the infectious disease specialists who were surveyed anticipate several events that could influence the treatment of severe Candida infections in the future. Nearly all surveyed specialists believe there will be a significant increase in azole-resistant Candida infections, which emphasizes the need for novel drugs to treat resistant Candida strains. They also expect a rise in bloodstream infections caused by Candida. These events will likely impact prescribing trends and result in increased use of newer antifungals, such as Pfizer's Vfend and the echinocandins (such as Merck's Cancidas, Astellas's Mycamine and Pfizer's Eraxis) in order to target infections due to resistant Candida strains.