Antiviral prodrugs - the development of successful prodrug strategies for antiviral chemotherapy

Following the discovery of the first effective antiviral compound (idoxuridine) in 1959, nucleoside analogues, especially acyclovir (ACV) for the treatment of herpesvirus infections, have dominated antiviral therapy for several decades. However, ACV and similar acyclic nucleosides suffer from low aqueous solubility and low bioavailability following oral administration. Derivatives of acyclic nucleosides, typically esters, were developed to overcome this problem and valaciclovir, the valine ester of ACV, was among the first of a new series of compounds that were readily metabolized upon oral administration to produce the antiviral nucleoside in vivo, thus increasing the bioavailility by several fold. Concurrently, famciclovir was developed as an oral formulation of penciclovir. These antiviral 'prodrugs' thus established a principle that has led to many successful drugs including both nucleoside and nucleotide analogues for the control of several virus infections, notably those caused by herpes-, retro- and hepatitisviruses. This review will chart the origins and development of the most important of the antiviral prodrugs to date.

Valaciclovir:development, clinical utility and potential

Valaciclovir (Valtrex, Zelitrex), the L-valine ester of aciclovir, increases aciclovir bioavailability by 3- to 5-fold over that achievable with oral aciclovir. It addresses many unmet needs of currently available anti-herpesvirus therapies. Valaciclovir extends the efficacy of aciclovir in the treatment of herpes zoster and genital HSV infections, using less frequent dose regimens but retaining the highly acceptable safety profile established for aciclovir. The potential for valaciclovir in CMV prophylaxis has now been proven, and further refining to identify the optimal dose regimen is ongoing. After oral administration, valaciclovir is rapidly absorbed and extensively converted to aciclovir and L-valine, the essential amino acid. The mode of action and spectrum of antiviral activity of valaciclovir are thus identical to aciclovir. The bioavailability of aciclovir after valaciclovir, characterised from studies in healthy adult volunteers, is similar in a wide range of patient populations, including the elderly, those with advanced HIV disease, patients with impaired liver or renal function, or undergoing bone marrow transplantation. No clinically significant drug interactions with valaciclovir have so far been identified. Dosage reductions in clinical use of valaciclovir are only necessary when renal function is severely impaired. In controlled clinical trials in herpes zoster, valaciclovir (1000 mg three times daily) is superior to aciclovir in speeding the resolution of zoster-associated pain and post-herpetic neuralgia. It is as effective as aciclovir in hastening rash healing. In patients with ophthalmic zoster, no differences were evident between valaciclovir and aciclovir treatment on zoster-associated pain or the occurrence of ocular complications. The safety profiles of valaciclovir, aciclovir and placebo were not different in this study programme. In a series of controlled, randomised trials of valaciclovir, aciclovir and placebo for the acute treatment of genital HSV infections in approximately 3000 patients, twice daily valaciclovir was proven as effective as the standard 5 times daily aciclovir regimen in resolving the clinical signs and symptoms of lesional disease. Early patient-initiated valaciclovir therapy (500 mg twice daily) of recurrent genital herpes episodes was shown significantly to increase the chance of prevention of vesicular or ulcerative lesions, a valuable clinical advantage not prospectively proven for aciclovir. When used for periods of up to one year, valaciclovir (500 mg once daily) effectively suppresses genital herpes recurrences. Long-term studies of valaciclovir for HSV suppression, evaluating doses of up to 1000 mg daily in approximately 3000 patients, about 25% of whom were HIV seropositive (CD+ > 100 cells/microl), revealed a highly acceptable clinical tolerability profile for valaciclovir that did not differ from aciclovir or placebo. There were no cases resembling thrombotic microangiopathy in these long-term studies. The aciclovir safety heritage and pharmacokinetic rationale for the development of valaciclovir have been realised through the clinical research programmes in the zoster and HSV indications. Further studies in these and related areas, including CMV prophylaxis, are in progress and aim to expand further the clinical potential of valaciclovir in the future.

Safety and efficacy of Virend for topical treatment of genital and anal herpes simplex lesions in patients with AIDS

Virend (SP-303), a new topical antiviral agent with activity against herpesvirus, was evaluated in a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study for safety and effectiveness against recurrent genital herpes lesions in patients with AIDS. The primary endpoints of this study were complete healing of lesions and time to healing. Patients had a history of recurrent genital or anogenital herpes with at least one lesion and positive HSV culture at enrollment. Participants received Virend (15% ointment; 24 patients) or matching placebo (21 patients) three times a day for 21 days. Excluding two patients in the Virend group who received an initial treatment but were lost to follow-up, 9 of 22 (41%) patients treated with Virend experienced complete healing of their lesions compared with three (14%) patients in the placebo group (P = 0.053). Viral culture revealed that 50% of Virend-treated patients and 19% of placebo-treated patients became culture-negative during treatment (P = 0.06). Based on these preliminary clinical findings, further evaluation of Virend for topical treatment of genital herpes in patients with AIDS is planned.