Valopicitabine

**Semantic type:** Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** The 3-O-valine ester prodrug of the nucleoside analog 2'-C-methylcytidine with anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity. Upon administration, valopicitabine is converted into 2'-C-methylcytidine; upon phosphorylation into its 5-triphosphate form, this metabolite inhibits viral RNA chain elongation and viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity. This blocks viral production of HCV RNA and thus viral replication.

**Synonyms:** - VALOPICITABINE