'Gamechanger' drug for deadly disease rising in Calif can help sickest

Key Points:

• Researchers have found a promising experimental antifungal drug, olorofim, that helped over 70% of patients with disseminated Valley fever, a severe form of the disease that spreads beyond the lungs.
• The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, involved 41 patients who had exhausted traditional treatments or experienced severe side effects; many showed significant symptom improvement after receiving olorofim.
• Valley fever cases in California have surged nearly tenfold over two decades, with over 10,000 cases expected in 2025, and current first-line azole treatments can be ineffective or cause harmful side effects in some patients.
• Olorofim, not yet FDA-approved, works by blocking fungal RNA and DNA synthesis, leading to cell death, but it does not eradicate the fungus, requiring ongoing treatment to manage symptoms.
• Experts emphasize the urgent need for new treatments as Valley fever cases continue to rise, affecting even healthy individuals, and researchers are planning further studies to evaluate olorofim's effectiveness when administered earlier.