In chemical structure idoxuridine closely approximates the configuration of thymidine, one of the four building blocks of DNA (the genetic material of the Herpes virus). As a result, idoxuridine is able to replace thymidine in the enzymatic step of viral replication or "growth". The consequent production of faulty DNA results in a pseudostructure which cannot infect or destroy tissue. In short, by pre-empting a vital building block in the genetic material of the Herpes simplex virus, Herplex-D topical solution destroys the infective and destructive capacity of the viral material. The virus infected cell may only be attacked during the period of active synthesis of DNA. This occurs early in the development of the Herpes simplex lesion, but at different times in different cells. Therefore, ideally, the affected area should remain saturated with the antiviral agent.

Mechanism of action

Idoxuridine acts as an antiviral agent by inhibiting viral replication by substituting itself for thymidine in viral DNA. This in turn inhibits thymidylate phosphorylase and viral DNA polymerases from properly functioning. The effect of Idoxuridine results in the inability of the virus to reproduce or to infect/destroy tissue.

Target	Actions	Organism
ADNA	other	Humans
UThymidine kinase	unknown	HHV-1

Absorption

Systemic absorption is unlikely following ocular administration even when nasolacrimal secretions are swallowed, since vidarabine is rapidly deaminated in the gastrointestinal tract.

Volume of distribution

Not Available

Protein binding

Not Available

Metabolism

Idoxuridine is rapidly inactivated by deaminases or nucleotidases.

Route of elimination

Not Available

Half-life

Not Available

Clearance

Not Available

Adverse Effects

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Toxicity

Hypersensitivity or increased sensitivity of eyes to light. LD₅₀=3080 mg/kg (orally in mice).

Affected organisms

Herpes simplex virus

Pathways

Not Available

Pharmacogenomic Effects/ADRs

Not Available

Interactions

Drug Interactions: This information should not be interpreted without the help of a healthcare provider. If you believe you are experiencing an interaction, contact a healthcare provider immediately. The absence of an interaction does not necessarily mean no interactions exist.
Not Available
Food Interactions: Not Available

Products

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International/Other Brands

Herpid (Astellas) / Herpidu (Ciba Vision) / Idulea (Elea) / Idustatin (Sanofi) / Keresid (GlaxoSmithKline) / Oftan IDU (Santen) / Virexen (Viñas)

Brand Name Prescription Products

Name	Dosage	Strength	Route	Labeller	Marketing Start	Marketing End
Dendrid	Solution / drops	1 mg/1mL	Ophthalmic	ALCON LABORATORIES, INC.	1963-06-28	1995-12-31
Herplex	Solution / drops		Ophthalmic	Allergan	1963-12-31	2011-08-04
Herplex D	Liquid		Topical	Allergan	1967-12-31	2011-08-04

Generic Prescription Products

Name	Dosage	Strength	Route	Labeller	Marketing Start	Marketing End	Region	Image
Sandoz Idoxuridine	Liquid		Topical	Sandoz Canada Incorporated	1999-02-15	2019-08-01

Chemical Identifiers

UNII: LGP81V5245
CAS number: 54-42-2
InChI Key: XQFRJNBWHJMXHO-RRKCRQDMSA-N
InChI: InChI=1S/C9H11IN2O5/c10-4-2-12(9(16)11-8(4)15)7-1-5(14)6(3-13)17-7/h2,5-7,13-14H,1,3H2,(H,11,15,16)/t5-,6+,7+/m0/s1
IUPAC Name: 1-[(2R,4S,5R)-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]-5-iodo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-2,4-dione
SMILES: OC[C@H]1O[C@H](C[C@@H]1O)N1C=C(I)C(=O)NC1=O

References

Synthesis Reference

British Patent 1,024,156.

General References

Seth AK, Misra A, Umrigar D: Topical liposomal gel of idoxuridine for the treatment of herpes simplex: pharmaceutical and clinical implications. Pharm Dev Technol. 2004 Aug;9(3):277-89. [PubMed:15458233]
Otto SE: Radiopharmaceuticals (Strontium 89) and radiosensitizers (idoxuridine). J Intraven Nurs. 1998 Nov-Dec;21(6):335-7. [PubMed:10392098]
Fauth E, Zankl H: Comparison of spontaneous and idoxuridine-induced micronuclei by chromosome painting. Mutat Res. 1999 Apr 6;440(2):147-56. [PubMed:10209337]

External Links

Human Metabolome Database: HMDB0014394
KEGG Drug: D00342
PubChem Compound: 5905
PubChem Substance: 46507573
ChemSpider: 5694
BindingDB: 50370388
RxNav: 5653
ChEBI: 147675
ChEMBL: CHEMBL788
ZINC: ZINC000003834173
Therapeutic Targets Database: DAP000997
PharmGKB: PA164781019
PDBe Ligand: ID2
Drugs.com: Drugs.com Drug Page
Wikipedia: Idoxuridine

AHFS Codes

84:04.06 — Antivirals
52:04.20 — Antivirals

PDB Entries

1ki7

MSDS

Download (73.5 KB)

Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials

Phase	Status	Purpose	Conditions	Count
2	Unknown Status	Treatment	Leukemias	1

Pharmacoeconomics

Manufacturers

Glaxosmithkline
Alcon laboratories inc
Allergan pharmaceutical

Packagers

Medisca Inc.

Dosage Forms

Form	Route	Strength
Solution / drops	Ophthalmic	1 MG/ML
Solution / drops	Ophthalmic	1 mg/1mL
Solution	Topical	5 g
Solution / drops	Ophthalmic
Liquid	Topical
Ointment	Ophthalmic	5 G
Ointment	Ophthalmic	3 G
Cream	Topical	3 %
Ointment	Ophthalmic	1.5 %
Solution	Topical	40 %

Prices

Unit description	Cost	Unit
Idoxuridine powder	273.88USD	g

DrugBank does not sell nor buy drugs. Pricing information is supplied for informational purposes only.

Patents

Not Available

Properties

State

Solid

Experimental Properties

Property	Value	Source
melting point (°C)	193	British Patent 1,024,156.
water solubility	2000 mg/L (at 25 °C)	MERCK INDEX (1996)
logP	-0.96	NARURKAR,MM & MITRA,AK (1988)

Predicted Properties

Property	Value	Source
Water Solubility	23.4 mg/mL	ALOGPS
logP	-0.7	ALOGPS
logP	-0.53	ChemAxon
logS	-1.2	ALOGPS
pKa (Strongest Acidic)	8.46	ChemAxon
pKa (Strongest Basic)	-3	ChemAxon
Physiological Charge	0	ChemAxon
Hydrogen Acceptor Count	5	ChemAxon
Hydrogen Donor Count	3	ChemAxon
Polar Surface Area	99.1 Å²	ChemAxon
Rotatable Bond Count	2	ChemAxon
Refractivity	64.4 m³·mol^-1	ChemAxon
Polarizability	26.17 Å³	ChemAxon
Number of Rings	2	ChemAxon
Bioavailability	1	ChemAxon
Rule of Five	Yes	ChemAxon
Ghose Filter	No	ChemAxon
Veber's Rule	No	ChemAxon
MDDR-like Rule	No	ChemAxon

Predicted ADMET Features

Property	Value	Probability
Human Intestinal Absorption	+	0.8129
Blood Brain Barrier	+	0.6502
Caco-2 permeable	-	0.8707
P-glycoprotein substrate	Non-substrate	0.7139
P-glycoprotein inhibitor I	Non-inhibitor	0.8735
P-glycoprotein inhibitor II	Non-inhibitor	0.8719
Renal organic cation transporter	Non-inhibitor	0.8943
CYP450 2C9 substrate	Non-substrate	0.7834
CYP450 2D6 substrate	Non-substrate	0.8656
CYP450 3A4 substrate	Non-substrate	0.5445
CYP450 1A2 substrate	Non-inhibitor	0.9045
CYP450 2C9 inhibitor	Non-inhibitor	0.9108
CYP450 2D6 inhibitor	Non-inhibitor	0.9231
CYP450 2C19 inhibitor	Non-inhibitor	0.9093
CYP450 3A4 inhibitor	Non-inhibitor	0.8932
CYP450 inhibitory promiscuity	Low CYP Inhibitory Promiscuity	0.8505
Ames test	Non AMES toxic	0.9132
Carcinogenicity	Non-carcinogens	0.7699
Biodegradation	Not ready biodegradable	0.9542
Rat acute toxicity	2.0879 LD50, mol/kg	Not applicable
hERG inhibition (predictor I)	Weak inhibitor	0.9356
hERG inhibition (predictor II)	Non-inhibitor	0.8113

ADMET data is predicted using admetSAR, a free tool for evaluating chemical ADMET properties. (23092397)

Spectra

Mass Spec (NIST)

Not Available

Spectra

Spectrum	Spectrum Type	Splash Key
Predicted GC-MS Spectrum - GC-MS	Predicted GC-MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Positive (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Positive (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Positive (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 10V, Negative (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 20V, Negative (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available
Predicted MS/MS Spectrum - 40V, Negative (Annotated)	Predicted LC-MS/MS	Not Available

Targets

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Details1. DNA

Kind

Nucleotide

Organism

Humans

Pharmacological action

Yes

Actions

Other

DNA is the molecule of heredity, as it is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. It is a polynucleic acid that carries genetic information on cell growth, division, and function. DNA consists of two long strands of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and held together by hydrogen bonds. The sequence of nucleotides determines hereditary characteristics. Each strand serves as the template for subsequent DNA replication and as a template for mRNA production, leading to protein synthesis via ribosomes.

References

Komissarova NV, Tiunova AA, Anokhin KV: Selective impairments to memory consolidation in chicks produced by 5'-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine. Neurosci Behav Physiol. 2010 Feb;40(2):215-23. doi: 10.1007/s11055-009-9237-0. Epub 2009 Dec 22. [PubMed:20033312]
Komissarova NV, Tiunova AA, Anokhin KV: [Selective disruption of memory consolidation in chicks produced by 5'-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine]. Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova. 2008 Nov-Dec;58(6):700-10. [PubMed:19178072]

Details2. Thymidine kinase

Kind: Protein
Organism: HHV-1
Pharmacological action: Unknown
Actions: Unknown

General Function: Thymidine kinase activity
Specific Function: In latent infection, may allow the virus to be reactivated and to grow in cells lacking a high concentration of phosphorylated nucleic acid precursors, such as nerve cells that do not replicate the...
Gene Name: TK
Uniprot ID: Q9QNF7
Uniprot Name: Thymidine kinase
Molecular Weight: 40896.475 Da

References

Wild K, Bohner T, Folkers G, Schulz GE: The structures of thymidine kinase from herpes simplex virus type 1 in complex with substrates and a substrate analogue. Protein Sci. 1997 Oct;6(10):2097-106. [PubMed:9336833]

Drug created on June 13, 2005 13:24 / Updated on March 04, 2021 11:02

Idoxuridine

Identification

Structure for Idoxuridine (DB00249)

Pharmacology

Interactions

Products

Categories

Chemical Identifiers

References

Clinical Trials

Pharmacoeconomics

Properties

Spectra

Targets

References

References