Letermovir

Letermovir
Clinical data
Trade namesPrevymis
Other namesAIC246; MK-8228
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa618006
License data
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: B3
Routes of
administration		By mouth, intravenous
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability37% (estimate)
Protein binding98.2%
Metabolismglucuronidation (UGT1A1/1A3) to a minor extent
Elimination half-life12 hours
Excretion93.3% via feces, <2% via kidneys
Identifiers
  • {(4S)-8-Fluoro-2-[4-(3-methoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]-3-[2-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-3,4-dihydro-4-quinazolinyl}acetic acid
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEMBL
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
ECHA InfoCard100.232.644 Edit this at Wikidata
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC29H28F4N4O4
Molar mass572.561 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • COc1cccc(N2CCN(C3=Nc4c(F)cccc4[C@H](CC(=O)O)N3c3cc(C(F)(F)F)ccc3OC)CC2)c1
  • InChI=1S/C29H28F4N4O4/c1-40-20-6-3-5-19(16-20)35-11-13-36(14-12-35)28-34-27-21(7-4-8-22(27)30)23(17-26(38)39)37(28)24-15-18(29(31,32)33)9-10-25(24)41-2/h3-10,15-16,23H,11-14,17H2,1-2H3,(H,38,39)/t23-/m0/s1
  • Key:FWYSMLBETOMXAG-QHCPKHFHSA-N

Letermovir (INN; brand name Prevymis) is an antiviral drug for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. It has been tested in CMV infected patients with allogeneic stem cell transplants and may also be useful for other patients with a compromised immune system such as those with organ transplants or HIV infections.[3] The drug was initially developed by the anti-infective division at Bayer, which became AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG through a spin-out and progressed the development to end of Phase 2 before the project was sold to Merck & Co for Phase 3 development and approval.[4]

The drug was granted fast track status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and orphan drug status by the European Medicines Agency.[3] It is approved for prevention of CMV infection and disease in recipients of an allogeneic stem cell transplant.[5]

The FDA considers it to be a first-in-class medication.[6]

  1. ^ "Product monograph brand safety updates". Health Canada. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Immune system health". Health Canada. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Neues Virostatikum Letermovir" (in German). Deutsche Apothekerzeitung. 29 August 2011.
  4. ^ Masangkay EG (29 July 2014). "Merck Kicks Off Phase 3 Study Of CMV Drug Letermovir". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  5. ^ "FDA Approves Letermovir for CMV Prophylaxis Post-Transplantation". onclive.com. 9 November 2017.
  6. ^ New Drug Therapy Approvals 2017 (PDF). U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Report). January 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2020.