Fomivirsen Sodium

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

**Definition:** The sodium salt form of fomivirsen, an antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) with potent antiviral property. Fomivirsen is a 21-nucleotide ODN complementary to mRNA of the immediate-early region 2 of human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Hybridization of this antisense ODN to CMV mRNA prevents RNA transcription from the immediate-early region 2 gene, thereby inhibiting viral replication. In addition, this agent inhibits adsorption of CMV into host cells via a sequence-independent mechanism. Overall, fomivirsen inhibits viral propagation via inhibiting viral replication and viral uptake by host cells, hence delaying progression of CMV-associated retinitis.

**Synonyms:** - FOMIVIRSEN SODIUM - ISIS 2922 - Vitravene