Amphotec Role Examined In New Studies

According to a retrospective analysis of aspergillosis patients,treatment with Sequus' Amphotec (amphotericin B colloidal dispersion for injection) resulted in higher patient response and survival rates than treatment with standard amphotericin B. The study, conducted by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Center in the USA, is published in the April 1997 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Of 343 patients, 49% responded to Amphotec compared to 23% of amphotericin B patients. Survival rates were 50% among Amphotec-treated patients against 28% of amphotericin B-treated patients. In addition, the Amphotec group developed kidney dysfunction less frequently than the amphotericin B recipients (8% versus 43%). The authors concluded that Amphotec has a role as a second-line agent in the treatment of aspergillosis, but that its safety and efficacy as a first-line therapy needs to be established.

Sequus has itself reported results of a preclinical study in which Amphotec was compared to amphotericin B as well as the lipid-based amphotericin B formulations, The Liposome Company's Abelcet (amphotericin B lipid complex injection) and NeXstar Pharmaceuticals' AmBisome (liposomal amphotericin B), in a murine model of Cryptococcus neoformans fungal infection. Sequus says that Amphotec was significantly more effective than either amphotericin B or Abelcet, and that AmBisome was approximately equivalent to Amphotec.