Brivudine

A thymidine analog and inhibitor of HSV-1 and VZV replication; incorporated into viral DNA following conversion to a 5’-triphosphate form by viral kinases, inhibiting viral DNA polymerases and inducing strand breakage; inhibits VZV replication in primary human fibroblasts at 0.02-0.04 µg/ml; inhibits cytopathogenic effects of the KOS HSV-1 strain in a panel of cell lines (MIC50s = 0.007-0.4 µg/ml); selectively inhibits cytopathogenicity induced by HSV-1 strains over HSV-2, vaccinia virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, or deoxythymidine kinase-deficient HSV-1 strains in E6SM cells (MIC50s = 0.02, 2-10, 7, >400, and 40 µg/ml, respectively); increases survival in a mouse model of disseminated HSV-1 infection at 5 and 15 mg/kg twice per day