Take a Pass on Pfizer's Anti-Fungal Voriconazole

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Wednesday January 23, 5:00 pm Eastern Time

Study compares two fungus therapies

By Gene Emery

BOSTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A new study comparing two drugs designed to fight

persistent fungal infections has shown that an experimental Pfizer Inc.

(NYSE:PFE - news) drug, voriconazole, works as well, if not better, than an

older medicine, but may carry some disturbing side effects.

Voriconazole was just as effective as the drug liposomal amphotericin B,

according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of

Medicine. The study, paid for by Pfizer, included 837 volunteers from 73

medical centers.

The authors, led by Dr. Walsh of the National Cancer Institute, found

that the rate of ``breakthrough infections,'' which are fungal infections

that occur in spite of treatment, was 1.9 percent when patients received

voriconazole, compared with 5 percent for the people getting the older

treatment.

Although voriconazole was less toxic to the kidneys, it had its drawbacks.

Twenty-two percent reported vision changes and 4.3 percent reported

hallucinations, compared to people getting liposomal amphotericin B, which

caused vision changes in just 1 percent of the recipients and hallucinations

in just 0.5 percent of the cases.

Fungus infections are a major problem faced by people receiving chemotherapy

or bone marrow transplants, and doctors are always looking for a better

treatment. The infections usually appear as a persistent fever and a

reduction in the number of white blood cells, known as neutrophils.

Walsh's team said their findings show that voriconazole ``is a suitable

alternative'' to amphotericin B, which is made by several manufacturers.