Famciclovir

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Famvir

Pharmacological Mechanism

Diacetyl-6-deoxy-penciclovir prodrug — converted to penciclovir, which is phosphorylated by viral thymidine kinase (HSV / VZV) to triphosphate competitive-substrate / chain-terminator. Same indications as valacyclovir; alternative when patient tolerance differs.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 2.5h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 500 mg (Range: 125–1500 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• immune-hematologic

Pathways It Modulates

• Viral polymerase inhibition (inhibitor) — HSV/VZV DNA polymerase (prodrug → penciclovir)

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 3324
• Formula: C14H19N5O4
• Molecular weight: 321.34 g/mol
• InChIKey: GGXKWVWZWMLJEH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES: CC(=O)OCC(CCN1C=NC2=CN=C(N=C21)N)COC(=O)C

References

• PMID 7738216