Evaluation of the efficacy of rezafungin, a novel echinocandin, in the treatment of disseminated Candida auris infection using an immunocompromised mouse model

BACKGROUND: Multiple cases of Candida auris infection have been reported with high mortality rates owing to its MDR nature. Rezafungin (previously CD101) is a novel echinocandin with enhanced stability and pharmacokinetics that achieves high plasma drug exposure and allows for once weekly dose administration. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the efficacy of rezafungin in the treatment of disseminated C. auris infection using a mouse model of disseminated candidiasis. METHODS: Mice were immunosuppressed 3 days prior to infection and 1 day post-infection. On the day of infection, mice were inoculated with 3 × 10(7)C. auris blastospores via the tail vein. Mice were randomized into four groups (n = 20): rezafungin at 20 mg/kg, amphotericin B at 0.3 mg/kg, micafungin at 5 mg/kg and a vehicle control. Treatments were administered 2 h post-infection. Rezafungin was given additionally on days 3 and 6 for a total of three doses, while the remaining groups were treated every day for a total of seven doses. Five mice from each group were sacrificed on days 1, 4, 7 and 10 of the study. Kidneys were removed from each mouse to determine the number of cfu for each respective day. RESULTS: Rezafungin had significantly lower average log(10) cfu/g of tissue compared with amphotericin B- and vehicle-treated mice on all days when kidneys were harvested. Additionally, rezafungin-treated mice had significantly lower average log(10) cfu/g of tissue compared with micafungin-treated mice on day 10. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that rezafungin possesses potent antifungal activity against C. auris in a disseminated model of candidiasis.