Cidofovir
- Date
- c. 1987 · confidence medium
- Place
- Prague, Czechia
- Credited to
- Antonín Holý
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
An injectable antiviral drug, an acyclic nucleotide phosphonate analogue, used mainly against cytomegalovirus retinitis in AIDS patients. Approved in 1996, it opened a family of antivirals (including tenofovir) developed by Holý with Erik De Clercq.
Synthesised by Antonín Holý (Czech Academy of Sciences) in collaboration with Erik De Clercq (Leuven); approved by the FDA in 1996.
What it led to
- a family of acyclic nucleotide analogues against DNA viruses
- the later development of tenofovir, key to HIV treatment
- injectable antiviral treatments for immunocompromised patients