Candida auris is resistant to various antifungal drugs. Echinocandin drugs, such as caspofungin, have been used to treat C. auris; however, drug-resistant strains that have emerged in recent years make treatment difficult in many cases. Biofilm formation is one of the causes of drug resistance in C. auris. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new anti-C. auris drugs. This study explored compounds among currently used drugs that exhibited anti-C. auris activity. Fluphenazine (fluphenazine dihydrochloride) was found to be a candidate when docking simulations with various pharmaceuticals were performed using heat shock protein 90 of Candida albicans as the target protein (docking system: SeeSAR10). Therefore, the anti-C. auris activity of fluphenazine was examined in vitro. Additon of 10 mM fulphenazine to the medium completely inhibited C. auris growth, indicating its potential for treating C. auris infections. C. auris biofilm formation was suppressed in a soybean casein digest medium containing 2.5 mM fluphenazine. Furthermore, C. auris growth was suppressed when 2.5 mM fluphenazine and 2.5 mM miconazole were added to the medium. In conclusion, fluphenazine exhibits potential for C. auris treatment. However, future studies will need to investigate the cytotoxicity, in vivo effects, and toxicity of fluphenazine to determine its feasibility.
