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# Viamet Pharma Gains Orphan Status for Valley Fever Drug
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/viamet-pharma-gains-orphan-status-for-valley-fever-drug/
- Published: 2016-05-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T21:05:20.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5135768

FDA has granted Viamet Pharmaceuticals an orphan drug designation for VT-1598 for treating coccidioidomycosis (also known as Valley Fever). VT-1598 is a selective, orally available inhibitor of fungal CYP51 that the company says has demonstrated high potency in preclinical studies against *Coccidioides* species, the fungal pathogens responsible for Valley Fever. The lung infection common in the southwestern U.S. affects about 150,000 people in the U.S. annually. “While current therapies are effective in some patients, they are often poorly tolerated and morbidity and mortality remain significant,” the company says.

In preclinical studies, VT-1598 demonstrated significantly greater potency against *Coccidioides* clinical isolates than fluconazole, an antifungal therapy commonly used as the primary treatment for Valley Fever, Viamet says. “In preclinical models, the therapy was also found to be highly effective in treating disease localized to the central nervous system, the most difficult to treat site of dissemination in humans.”