UA’s potential valley fever cure gets FDA boost
by Citizen Staff Report on Apr. 11, 2006, under Education, Local, SpecialA UA-owned drug that is a potential cure for valley fever moved a step closer to human testing after receiving key federal approval.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated nikkomycin z an orphan drug, which allows the federal government to assist in its development through tax credits, fee waivers, grants and regulatory guidance, according to a news release from the University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute.
“BIO5′s mission emphasizes moving research from the labs to commercial application for the public benefit,” BIO5 Director Vicki L. Chandler said in the release. “Nikkomycin z is a great example of that process.”
Valley fever is considered an orphan, or rare, disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people a year. But it is a serious health problem in the Southwest, with about 150,000 new infections each year. More than 1,000 cases of valley fever have been reported in Arizona in the first two months of 2006.
The spores of the valley fever fungus are found in soil. Windstorms or the disruption of soil associated with construction may increase the chances of infection.
Nikkomycin z kills valley fever fungus in mice, while current treatments only help a patient’s immune system control the disease, the release said.
With the orphan drug designation, “if you can entice a drug company to develop the drug, no other company can produce or market the drug for the same purpose for seven years,” said Dr. Raymond Woosley, CEO of Critical Path Institute, the Tucson-based nonprofit that worked with BIO5 to pursue development of nikkomycin z.
