Spotlight on tavaborole for the treatment of onychomycosis

Abstract

Onychomycosis is a fungal nail plate infection that has been increasing in prevalence. A variety of oral and topical anti-fungal agents are currently available but their use is limited by their adverse effect profile, drug–drug interactions, and limited efficacy. Therefore, there is a great need for newer anti-fungal agents. Tavaborole is one of these newer agents and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2014 for the topical treatment of mild to moderate toenail onychomycosis. Tavaborole is a novel, boron-based anti-fungal agent with greater nail plate penetration than its predecessors, due to its smaller molecular weight. It has proven through several Phase II and III trials that it can be a safe and effective topical agent for the treatment of mild to moderate toenail onychomycosis without the need for debridement. In this paper, we review the landscape of topical and systemic treatment of onychomycosis, with particular attention to the pharmacokinetics, safety, and efficacy of topical tavaborole.

Pharmacy Technicians and Improving Onychomycosis Treatment Outcomes

“…Only one study evaluated community pharmacy personnel, including pharmacy technicians, and their views on managing dermatological issues. 7 Twentythree articles concerned the diagnosis and/or treatment of onychomycosis, [1][2][3][4][5][6][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] including 1 guideline. 24 Three articles focused on risk factors and prevention of recurrent infection.…”

“…4 Although several treatments are available for onychomycosis, poor treatment adherence (<25%) and long treatment durations often result in poor outcomes such as relapse and reinfection. 5,6 Pharmacy technicians can improve onychomycosis outcomes by referring patients to the pharmacist for treatment selection and educating patients on treatment expectations. Technicians can also reinforce treatment adherence when patients come to the pharmacy for medication refills.…”

Novos Avanços no Tratamento da Onicomicose

“…4 Efinaconazol e tavaborol são tratamentos na vanguarda, com indicação para a onicomicose subungueal disto-lateral ligeira a moderada do pé provocada por Trichophyton rubrum e Trichophyton interdigitale. 6,7 Para além da libertação transungueal, os novos antifúngicos formulados como soluções ao invés de vernizes, podem também utilizar a via subungueal para alcançar o local de infeção (Fig. 1).…”

Development and Elucidation of a Novel Fluorescent Boron-Sensor for the Analysis of Boronic Acid-Containing Compounds

“…For example, in the field of pharmacology, boronic acid-containing compounds have been developed as boron carriers for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) [ 7 ], and as antibacterial agents, protease inhibitors, sugar sensors, and cell-penetrating peptides. In addition, new boron-containing drugs, including p -borono-L-phenylalanine (L-BPA, for BNCT), L-BPA-fructose complex (L-BPA-Fc) [ 8 , 9 , 10 ], bortezomib (for the treatment of multiple myeloma) [ 11 , 12 ], and tavaborole (an antifungal drug for the treatment of onychomycosis) [ 13 ] have been suggested as a new class of pharmaceuticals [ 14 , 15 ] ( Figure 1 ).…”