Crop spray could lead to mass resistance in new-generation antifungal treatments

An agricultural fungicide approved in the US and currently under consideration by authorities worldwide could have a devastating effect on a new drug for one of world's deadliest infectious diseases, show University of Manchester scientists. Their Wellcome Trust funded study, published in Nature Microbiology could spell disaster for patients with aspergillosis - a dangerous fungal disease responsible for the deaths of millions of people worldwide. With few treatment options for patients, aspergillus has developed widespread drug resistance to one class of drugs, known as the azoles. The resistance is caused by the use of fungicides in agriculture, known as DMIs, increasing the risk of mortality from aspergillosis from 40% to up to 80%. However, F2G Ltd - a spin out company from The University of Manchester - invested more than £250 million over 20 years on a new antifungal drug called olorofim, which is in late-stage clinical trials and aims to be clinically deployed within the next few years. The scientists argue that because olorofim works against azole resistant infections it could save many lives of affected patients. However, a newly developed fungicide crop spray called ipflufenoquin has been approved for use in the USA, under the trade name Kinoprol, and could severely impact on the new drug because it has the same biological target and kills the fungi the same way as olorofim.