Vfend

Product Overview

About Vfend

Vfend is an antifungal medicine that contains the active substance voriconazole. It is available as tablets (50 mg or 200 mg), as an oral suspension (40 mg/ml) and as a powder to be made up into a solution for infusion (drip into a vein).

What it is used for

Vfend is used for the treatment of adults and children over the age of two years who have the following fungal infections: invasive aspergillosis (a type of fungal infection due to Aspergillus); candidaemia (another type of fungal infection due to Candida) in patients with a normal white blood cell count; serious invasive Candida infections when the fungus is resistant to fluconazole (another antifungal medicine); serious fungal infections caused by Scedosporium or Fusarium (two different types of fungus). When used for treatment of fungal infections, Vfend is intended mainly for patients with worsening and possibly life-threatening infections. Vfend is also used to prevent invasive fungal infections in patients who have had undergone haematopoietic (blood) stem-cell transplant (a transplant of a type of stem cells that can develop into blood cells) and are at high risk of infection. The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription.

How it is used

Vfend is given twice a day at least one hour before or one hour after a meal. The dose of Vfend to use depends on the weight of the patient and on which formulation of the medicine is used. When used to treat fungal infections, patients need to receive an initial higher dose (loading dose) on the first day. The aim of the loading dose is to reach stable blood levels. The loading dose is then followed by a maintenance dose that can be adjusted according to the patient’s response. The dose may be increased or decreased according to how the patient responds and the side effects experienced respectively. Treatment duration should be as short as possible. Treatment beyond 180 days requires careful assessment to ensure that the benefits continue to outweigh the risk for the patient. In adults, both the loading and the maintenance doses can be given by infusion or by mouth using either the tablets or the suspension, but in children it is recommended to start treatment with the infusion and to consider switching to the suspension if an improvement is seen. The tablets and suspension are to be taken at least one hour before or after a meal. When used to prevent infections in patients who have had blood stem-cell transplantation, Vfend is given on the day of the transplantation and for up to 100 days after. Preventive treatment should last for as short a time as possible. It may be continued for a further 80 days but only if the patient’s immune system is still suppressed or if they develop graft-versus-host disease (when the transplanted cells start attacking the body’s own cells). Treatment should be stopped if patients experience treatment-related side effects.

How it works

The active substance in Vfend, voriconazole, belongs to the ‘triazole’ class of antifungal medicines. It works by disrupting the formation of ergosterol, which is an important component of fungal cell membranes. Without a functional cell membrane, the fungus is killed or prevented from spreading.

Active substance: voriconazole

Source: EMA EPAR