Ganciclovir Sodium

**Semantic type:** Nucleic Acid, Nucleoside, or Nucleotide|Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** The sodium salt form of ganciclovir, a synthetic, antiviral, purine nucleoside analog with antiviral activity, especially against cytomegalovirus (CMV). Ganciclovir sodium is a prodrug that is phosphorylated and subsequently converted into its triphosphate form, the active metabolite ganciclovir-5-triphosphate (ganciclovir-TP), in the infected cells by cellular kinases. Ganciclovir-TP competes as a substrate with nucleotide triphosphates for viral DNA polymerase. Once it gets incorporated into DNA strand, it prevents further polymerization of DNA, thereby interfering with viral DNA replication.

**Synonyms:** - 9-((2-Hydroxy-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethoxy)methyl)guanine, Monosodium Salt - BIOLF-62 - BW-759 - BW-759U - Cymevene - Cytovene - Cytovene-IV - DHPG Sodium - DHPG sodium - Denosine - GANCICLOVIR SODIUM - GCV Sodium - GCV sodium - Ganciclovir sodium - RS-21592 Sodium