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Micafungin in a nutshell: state of affairs on the pharmacological and clinical aspects of the novel echinocandin

Fedja Farowski, Jorg J Vehreschild, Oliver A Cornely and Maria JGT Vehreschild

Micafungin is one of three echinocandin antifungals approved by the US FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Like all echinocandin antifungals, micafungin inhibits the synthesis of 1,3‑b‑d‑glucan, a main component of the cell wall of many medically important fungi; thus, exerting fungicidal activity against most Candida spp., as well as fungistatic activity against many Aspergillus spp. Micafungin displays linear pharmacokinetics over the therapeutic range with a long half-life, allowing once-daily intravenous administration. Steady state serum concentrations are achieved after 3 days. Since therapeutic concentrations of micafungin are achieved after the administration of a standard dose there is no need for a loading dose. Interactions of micafungin with the cytochrome P450 (CYP3A4) system are marginal; and, consequently, no severe drug–drug interactions have been reported so far. Furthermore, micafungin exhibited favorable profiles for tolerability and safety; no dose-limiting toxicity has been established yet. However, despite its favorable characteristics, these are no unique features among the echinocandins. Nevertheless, micafungin is the only echinocandin that has been approved for the prophylaxis of Candida spp. infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.