Tavaborole, sold under the brand name Kerydin, is a

topical A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

antifungal medication An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as cry ...

for the treatment of

onychomycosis Onychomycosis, also known as tinea unguium, is a fungal infection of the nail. Symptoms may include white or yellow nail discoloration, thickening of the nail, and separation of the nail from the nail bed. Fingernails may be affected, but it is ...

, a

fungal infection Fungal infection, also known as mycosis, is a disease caused by fungi. Different types are traditionally divided according to the part of the body affected: superficial, subcutaneous, and systemic. Superficial fungal infections include common ...

of the nail and nail bed with a complete clearance rate of 6-7% and partial clearance rate of 23-24% in individuals whose “infection border does not reach the cuticle at the base of the large toenail.” Tavaborole was approved by the US FDA in July 2014. The medication inhibits an essential fungal

enzyme An enzyme () is a protein that acts as a biological catalyst by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different mol ...

leucyl-tRNA synthetase Leucyl-tRNA synthetase, cytoplasmic is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''LARS'' gene. Function This gene encodes a cytosolic leucine-tRNA synthetase, a member of the class I aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase family. The encoded enzyme catal ...

, that is required for

protein synthesis Protein biosynthesis, or protein synthesis, is a core biological process, occurring inside cells, balancing the loss of cellular proteins (via degradation or export) through the production of new proteins. Proteins perform a number of critica ...

. The inhibition of protein synthesis leads to termination of

cell growth Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...

and then

cell death Cell death is the event of a biological cell ceasing to carry out its functions. This may be the result of the natural process of old cells dying and being replaced by new ones, as in programmed cell death, or may result from factors such as di ...

, eliminating the fungal infection.

Medical uses

Tavaborole is used in the treatment of

. In clinical trials, tavaborole was more effective than the vehicle (ethyl acetate and propylene glycol) alone in curing onychomycosis. In two studies, fungal infection was eliminated using tavaborole in 6.5% of the cases vs. 0.5% using the vehicle alone, and 27.5% vs. 14.6% using the vehicle alone.

Side effects

Application site exfoliation, erythema (rash), and irritation are possible side effects, and may occur in less than 5% of individuals.

Pharmacology

Tavaborole acts as an inhibitor of fungal

Pharmacokinetics

Tavaborole, when prepared with a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and propylene glycol, has the ability to fully penetrate through the human nail. In studies with cadaver fingernails, a 5% solution of tavaborole penetrated the nail an average of 524.7 mcg/cm² after two weeks of daily use. Tavaborole is detectable in the blood at a level of 3.54 ng/mL after a single use of 0.2 mL of the 5% solution. Tavaborole has an

elimination half-life Biological half-life (elimination half-life, pharmacological half-life) is the time taken for concentration of a biological substance (such as a medication) to decrease from its maximum concentration ( Cmax) to half of Cmax in the blood plasma. ...

of 28.5 hours, a maximum concentration of 5.17 ng/mL after two weeks of daily use, and takes 8 days to reach the maximum concentration.

Society and culture

Economics

Tavaborole began phase III

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s in December 2010 and was approved by the US FDA in July 2014. Originally developed by Anacor, it is now marketed in the United States by

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical company, pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by re ...

subsidiary

Sandoz Sandoz Group AG is a Swiss company that focuses on generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Prior to October 2023, it was part of a division of Novartis that was established in 2003, when Novartis united all of its generics businesses under the ...

. Anacor was paid and also entered into a

profit sharing Profit sharing refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses which provide direct or indirect payments to employees, often depending on the company's profitability, employees' regular salaries, and bonuses. In publicly traded compa ...

scheme for future sales.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar , Medicine American inventions Antifungals Fluoroarenes Boronate esters Drugs developed by Pfizer Oxaboroles