Abstract: A method for modifying the cyclic peptide ring system of Echinocandin-type compounds to produce new analogs having antifungal activity is provided. The inventive process comprises opening the cyclic peptide ring, cleaving the terminal ornithine unit, inserting at least one new amino acid or other synthetic unit and closing the ring to produce a new cyclic peptide ring structure. The process allows one to incorporate features such as water-solubility into the cyclic peptide ring nucleus, sites for further modification, increase or decrease the number of amino acid or peptide units within the ring nucleus, and increase or decrease the total number of members within the ring. The invention further provides novel Echinocandin type compounds and their use as antifungal or anti-parasitic agents.