Mycamine has low AEs in premature infants

New research published in the September edition of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal demonstrates that Astellas' Mycamine (micafungin) delivers high success rates in the treatment of premature infants, babies up to four weeks old and children. According to the Japanese drug major, the study also shows significantly less adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation with Mycamine compared to liposomal amphotericin B therapy.

The research is the largest comparative assessment of therapies for the treatment of invasive candidiasis and candidemia in pediatric patients to date and supports Mycamine as a new treatment option for pediatric patients with life-threatening Candida infections.

Astellas noted that this is particularly important given the increasing prevalence of invasive candidiasis in premature babies and seriously ill children, with reported mortality rates in these groups of around 25%, rising to around 37% in more difficult to treat types of Candida. The new research demonstrates that Mycamine had significantly fewer adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation compared to liposomal amphotericin B (3.8% versus 16.7%; p=0.05), which suggests a safety advantage for Mycamine in this population, the firm stated.