In vitro activities of ravuconazole (BMS-207147) against 541 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans

The in vitro activities of the new triazole, ravuconazole (BMS-207147), were compared to those of fluconazole and itraconazole against 541 clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans. Isolates were obtained from cerebrospinal fluid (396), blood (116), and miscellaneous clinical specimens (29). Overall, ravuconazole (MIC at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited [MIC90], 0.25 mu g/ml) was more active than either itraconazole (MIC90, 0.5 mu g/ml) or fluconazole (MIC90, 8 mu g/ml). Among the isolates inhibited by greater than or equal to 16 mu g of fluconazole/ml, 90.2% were inhibited by less than or equal to 1 mu g of ravuconazole/ml. On the basis of our findings and the favorable pharmacokinetic properties of ravuconazole, we suggest that ravuconazole may be useful for the treatment of infectious diseases due to C. neoformans and that further clinical studies to confirm these promising in vitro results are warranted.