What is the mechanism of action of Valcyte/Valganciclovir?

Valganciclovir/Vansevir (Valcyte) is a deoxynucleoside analogue cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA polymerase inhibitor, suitable for the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and the prevention of cytomegalovirus disease in high-risk kidney, heart and kidney-pancreas transplant patients.

Valganciclovir is the L-valyl ester of ganciclovir (prodrug) and exists as a mixture of two diastereoisomers. After oral administration, both diastereomers are rapidly converted to ganciclovir by intestinal and hepatic esterases. Ganciclovir is a synthetic analog of2'-deoxyguanosine that inhibits human cytomegalovirus replication in cell culture and in vivo. In CMV-infected cells, ganciclovir is initially phosphorylated to ganciclovir monophosphate by the viral protein kinase pUL97. Further phosphorylation by cellular kinases produces ganciclovir triphosphate, which is then slowly metabolized intracellularly(half-life18 hours). Since phosphorylation is primarily dependent on viral kinases, phosphorylation of ganciclovir occurs preferentially in virus-infected cells. The viral inhibitory activity of ganciclovir is due to the inhibitory effect of ganciclovir triphosphate on viralDNApolymerasepUL54.

ValganciclovirCommon side effects are abdominal pain, headache, insomnia, nausea, fever and low blood cell count. Other side effects include infertility and kidney failure. Some animals have developed birth defects when this drug was used during pregnancy. The retail price of the Turkish version of the original drug in pharmacies0.45g*60tablets2 is more than a thousand. The retail price of original medicine in India is about 0.45g*60 tablets4 around one thousand. If you want to get more high-quality information, you can contact YaDE. YaDE will do its best to learn more about high-quality overseas drugs for you.