Amphotericin B

Amphotericin B is an antifungal medicine used for serious fungal infections and for leishmaniasis. The infections it treats include mucormycosis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis and cryptococcosis, and it is sometimes a last resort drug for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. It is typically given intravenously and belongs to the polyene class, working in part by interfering with the fungal cell membrane. Fever, chills and headache soon after a dose are common, as are kidney problems, and a lipid formulation carries a lower risk of side effects. It was isolated in 1955 at the Squibb Institute for Medical Research from a streptomycete found on the Orinoco river bed in Venezuela, entered medical use in 1958 and appears on the World Health Organization List of Essential Medicines.