Word: acyclovir
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...targeting these cells and microbes with drugs that interfere with replication, they established an approach that led to new drug therapies for many diseases, including leukemia and malaria. In 1957 Elion and Hitchings developed the drug, azathioprine, that controlled rejection in organ transplants. That led to the development of acyclovir for the treatment of herpes and AZT, the only drug approved by the Federal Government for AIDS...
Using these engineering techniques, scientists hope to engineer a new line of antiviral agents to combat AIDS to supplement the engineered drug acyclovir already in use. Other synthetic drugs in use today include cyclosporin, a drug used in transplant patients and aspirin, Corey said...
...headline on the New York Post screamed U.S. APPROVES HERPES SUPER-DRUG. While that description was exaggerated, the approval of oral acyclovir capsules last week by the Food and Drug Administration marked a big step forward in the treatment of genital herpes. Though the drug will not cure the pesky venereal disease, which afflicts some 5 million to 20 million Americans, it can reduce both the severity and the frequency of recurring attacks...
...Acyclovir, developed by the Burroughs Wellcome Co. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., works against herpes infections by inhibiting the ability of the virus to replicate. In 1982 the company was given permission to market the drug in the U.S. in two forms, both under the name Zovirax. As an ointment, the medication somewhat reduced the pain and duration of the outbreaks. In a more potent intravenous solution, it could be administered to patients hospitalized with severe cases. For those sufferers, the drug offered some respite from continual outbreaks and the flu-like symptoms that often accompany major herpes attacks...
...there will be another restraint: price. A five-day regimen of the capsules will cost from $15 to $18; the tag for six months of use will be a hefty $360. Despite the costs and the limitations as a treatment, health officials are enthusiastic about the new form of acyclovir. "It is a very useful tool," says Mary Guinan, an associate director at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. "We welcome it as part of our armamentarium in our war against sexually transmitted diseases...