Pharmacodynamics of a Long-Acting Echinocandin, CD101, in a Neutropenic Invasive-Candidiasis Murine Model Using an Extended-Interval Dosing Design

Abstract

ABSTRACT Echinocandins are important in the prevention and treatment of invasive candidiasis but limited by current dosing regimens that include daily intravenous administration. The novel echinocandin CD101 has a prolonged half-life of approximately 130 h in humans, making it possible to design once-weekly dosing strategies. The present study examined the pharmacodynamic activity of CD101 using the neutropenic invasive candidiasis mouse model against select Candida albicans ( n = 4), C. glabrata ( n = 3), and C. parapsilosis ( n = 3) strains. The CD101 MIC ranged from 0.03 to 1 mg/liter. Plasma pharmacokinetic measurements were performed using uninfected mice after intraperitoneal administration of 1, 4, 16, and 64 mg/kg. The elimination half-life was prolonged at 28 to 41 h. Neutropenic mice were infected with each strain by lateral tail vein injection, treated with a single dose of CD101, and monitored for 7 days, at which time the organism burden was enumerated from the kidneys. Dose-dependent activity was observed for each organism. The pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) index of the area under the concentration-time curve over 24 h in the steady state divided by the MIC (AUC/MIC index) correlated well with efficacy ( R 2 , 0.74 to 0.93). The median stasis 24-h free-drug AUC/MIC targets were as follows: for C. albicans , 2.92; for C. glabrata , 0.07; and for C. parapsilosis , 2.61. The PK/PD targets for 1-log 10 kill endpoint were 2- to 4-fold higher. Interestingly, the aforementioned PK/PD targets of CD101 were numerically lower for all three species than those of other echinocandins. In summary, CD101 is a promising, novel echinocandin with advantageous pharmacokinetic properties and potent in vivo pharmacodynamic activity.