Abstract
The synthesis of penciclovir and famciclovir and data leading to their progression to clinical trials against herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus infections are summarized. The spectra of antiviral activity and potency of penciclovir and acyclovir in cell culture are similar, but penciclovir treatment results in a much more persistent suppression of virus replication. This is attributable to the rapid formation and stability of its triphosphate derivative in infected cells. As a consequence of this persistent activity, penciclovir is more active than acyclovir when administered as a single daily dose in some animal infection models. The biotransformation of famciclovir to penciclovir following oral administration is discussed. Famciclovir is very well absorbed and efficiently converted to the antiviral acyclonucleoside in mice, rats and humans and it is therefore being clinically evaluated as an orally active, selective anti-herpesvirus agent.
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Harnden, M.R. (1992). Penciclovir and Famciclovir, Selective Anti-Herpesvirus Agents. In: Shugar, D., Rode, W., Borowski, E. (eds) Molecular Aspects of Chemotherapy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02740-0_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02740-0_15
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