APX001A In Vitro Activity against Contemporary Blood Isolates and Candida auris Determined by the EUCAST Reference Method

Abstract

APX001A is the active moiety of the first-in-class drug candidate APX001. So far, most susceptibility testing studies have examined ≤30 isolates/species, and only one used the EUCAST method. Here, we investigated the in vitro activity of APX001A and five comparators against 540 candidemia and 122 C. auris isolates. Isolates (17 Candida and 3 yeast species) were identified using CHROMagar, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and, when needed, internal transcribed space (ITS) sequencing. EUCAST E.Def 7.3.1 susceptibility testing included APX001A, amphotericin B, anidulafungin, micafungin, fluconazole, and voriconazole. Wild-type upper limits (WT-UL) were established following the EUCAST principles for epidemiological cutoff value setting for APX001A, allowing classification as wild type (WT) or non-WT. APX001A MIC50 values (mg/liter) were as follows: Candida albicans, Candida dubliniensis, and Candida tropicalis, 0.004 to 0.008; Candida parapsilosis and Candida auris, 0.016; Candida glabrata, 0.06; and Candida krusei, >0.5. APX001A MICs against the rare species varied from ≤0.0005 (C. pelliculosa) to >0.5 (Candida norvegensis). APX001A was equally or more active in vitro than the comparators against all species except C. krusei and C. norvegensis. Four isolates were APX001A non-WT; all were fluconazole resistant. A correlation was observed between APX001A and fluconazole MICs across all species except Candida guilliermondii and C. auris, and when comparing high and low fluconazole MIC isolates of C. albicans, C. dubliniensis, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. auris. APX001A showed promising in vitro activity against most Candida and other yeast species, including C. auris, compared to five comparators. WT-UL were suggested for the common species, and a new and unexplained correlation to fluconazole susceptibility was observed.