Taribavirin

Taribavirin
Ball-and-stick model of the taribavirin molecule
Clinical data
Other names1-(β-D-Ribofuranosyl)-
1,2,4-triazole-3-carboximide
Pregnancy
category
  • X
Routes of
administration
Oral capsules)
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • In Phase III drug trials
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability9%
MetabolismMetabolized to 5'phosphates, de-riboside, and deriboside carboxylic acid
Elimination half-life12 days - Multiple Dose; 120-170 hours - Single Dose
Excretion10% fecal, remainder in urine (30% unchanged, remainder metabolites)
Identifiers
  • 1-[(2R,3R,4S,5R)- 3,4-dihydroxy-5- (hydroxymethyl)oxolan-2-yl]- 1,2,4-triazole-3-carboximidamide
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
NIAID ChemDB
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC8H13N5O4
Molar mass243.223 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • n1c(nn(c1)[C@@H]2O[C@@H]([C@@H](O)[C@H]2O)CO)C(=[N@H])N
  • InChI=1S/C8H13N5O4/c9-6(10)7-11-2-13(12-7)8-5(16)4(15)3(1-14)17-8/h2-5,8,14-16H,1H2,(H3,9,10)/t3-,4-,5-,8-/m1/s1 checkY
  • Key:NHKZSTHOYNWEEZ-AFCXAGJDSA-N checkY
 ☒NcheckY (what is this?)  (verify)

Taribavirin (rINN; also known as viramidine, codenamed ICN 3142) is an antiviral drug in Phase III human trials, but not yet approved for pharmaceutical use. It is a prodrug of ribavirin, active against a number of DNA and RNA viruses. Taribavirin has better liver-targeting than ribavirin, and has a shorter life in the body due to less penetration and storage in red blood cells. It is expected eventually to be the drug of choice for viral hepatitis syndromes in which ribavirin is active. These include hepatitis C and perhaps also hepatitis B and yellow fever.