By: Liz Do
17 Feb, 2026
CIFAR Fungal Kingdom sparks new antifungal drug partnership
February 17, 2026
A new drug collaboration highlights how CIFAR’s Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities program is accelerating the translation of research into societal impact.
Invasive fungal infections are a rapidly emerging global health threat, particularly for immunocompromised populations. CIFAR’s Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities program is helping translate bold research into solutions that could address this growing challenge.
Earlier this month, pharmaceutical company Basilea announced a collaboration with Prokaryotics, an antibacterial discovery organization, to advance a novel antifungal drug toward clinical development. The partnership traces its origins to CIFAR’s Antifungal Drug Development Summits, which convene leading researchers alongside stakeholders from government, public health, funding agencies, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical sector to address invasive fungal infections.
Terry Roemer, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of Prokaryotics, has been a core participant in four of the five summits held to date. It was through these CIFAR-led convenings that Roemer engaged directly with Basilea leadership, helping to lay the groundwork for the partnership announced this month.
The collaboration will focus on antifungal molecules with a novel mode of action, targeting life-threatening invasive infections caused by Candida, Aspergillus and rare molds. These fungal pathogens can invade the bloodstream, lungs and internal organs, most often affecting people with weakened immune systems. At the same time, resistance to existing antifungals is increasing, further limiting options for patients.
Following the selection of a clinical candidate, Basilea will lead clinical development and global commercialization, marking a significant step toward addressing an urgent need for innovative research and development of new antifungal treatments.
“This collaboration between Basilea and Prokaryotics is a very exciting advance in the development of a much-needed, broad-spectrum antifungal drug for the treatment of deadly invasive fungal infections,” said Leah Cowen, Co-Director of CIFAR’s Fungal Kingdom program.
“With early engagement of leadership from Basilea and Prokaryotics at the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities Antifungal Drug Development Summits, this is an example of the incredible outcomes that result from convening exceptional and highly collaborative people focused on translation of great science and discoveries into actionable outcomes to advance antifungal drug development,” added Cowen.
The summits have also helped bring major public-sector partners into the antifungal space, including the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a government agency that funds the development of critical medical treatments. That engagement has supported hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in antifungal drugs now entering late-stage clinical trials.
“The Antifungal Summit series is a strategic and effective way to translate ideas into societal impact,” said Joseph Heitman, Co-Director of the Fungal Kingdom program. “By engaging stakeholders across sectors, CIFAR is helping to overcome long-standing barriers in antifungal drug development and move promising discoveries closer to patients.”
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