
==== Front
bioRxiv
BIORXIV
bioRxiv
2692-8205
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

10.1101/2024.08.29.610379
preprint
1
Article
Analogues of the anti-malaria drug mefloquine have broad spectrum antifungal activity and are efficacious in a model of disseminated Candida auris infection
Guin Soumitra
Montoya Marhiah C.
Wang Xiaoyu
Zarnowski Robert http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6343-1500

Andes David R. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7927-9950

Meyers Marvin J.
Williams Noelle S.
Krysan Damian J. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6330-3365

30 8 2024
2024.08.29.610379https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2024.08.29.610379
nihpp-2024.08.29.610379.pdf
Abstract

Only three classes of antifungal drugs are currently in clinical use. Here, we report that derivatives of the malarial drug mefloquine have broad spectrum antifungal activity including difficult to treat molds and endemic fungi. Pharmacokinetic and efficacy studies of NSC-4377 indicate it penetrates the central nervous system and is active against Candida auris in vivo. These data strongly support the further development of mefloquine analogs as a potentially new class of antifungal molecules.
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pmc
