Foscarnet
chemical compound
Foscarnet (phosphonomethanoic acid), known by its brand name Foscavir, is an antiviral medication which is primarily used to treat viral infections involving the Herpesviridae family. It is classified as a pyrophosphate analog DNA polymerase inhibitor. Foscarnet is the conjugate base of a chemical compound with the formula HO2CPO3H2 (Trisodium phosphonoformate).
Foscarnet was approved for medical use in 1991. It is available as a generic medication.
Medical use
This phosphonic acid derivative (marketed by Clinigen as foscarnet sodium under the trade name Foscavir) is an antiviral medication used to treat herpes viruses, including drug-resistant cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2). It is particularly used to treat CMV retinitis. Foscarnet can be used to treat highly treatment-experienced patients with HIV as part of salvage therapy.
In cases of herpes simplex encephalitis where the HSV is resistant to acyclovir, the addition of foscarnet may be considered for off-label use.
Mechanism of action
Foscarnet is a structural mimic of the anion pyrophosphate that selectively inhibits the pyrophosphate binding site on viral DNA polymerases at concentrations that do not affect human DNA polymerases.
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This entry incorporates text from “Foscarnet” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.