Description
Sorivudine is an orally-active antiviral nucleoside analog. It has potent and selective
activity against herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV). In a
cutaneous model infection of mice with HSV-1, oral administration of sorivudine at dose of
20 mg/kg resulted in a significant increase in the survival rate. Five percent sorivudine cream
is also useful in the topical treatment of cutaneous HSV-1 infection, including
immunocompromised patients. It has been suggested that its antiviral activity may be
mediated by inhibition of DNA synthesis in virus infected cells.
Since the metabolite of sorivudine inhibits the enzyme for pyrimidine catabolism,
caution should be taken not to use sorivudine in combination with fluorouracil drugs in order to
avoid hematological disorders.
