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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 27.
Published in final edited form as: Recent Pat Antiinfect Drug Discov. 2012 Apr;7(1):8–18. doi: 10.2174/157489112799829765

Table 1. Summary of the Existing Drugs for the Treatment of CMV Retinitis.

Existing Antiviral Agents Mechanism of Action Mode of Delivery Side Effects
Ganciclovir Inhibits viral DNA synthesis Intravenous formulation-Cytovene-
IV® (Roche)

Oral formulation-Cytovene®
(Roche)

Intraocular implant-Vitrasert®
(Bausch & Lomb)
Hematological abnormalities

Poor oral bioavailability (5%) leading
to insufficient viral suppression

Infection in the contralateral eye and
risk of retinal detachment
Valganciclovir Inhibits viral DNA synthesis Oral formulation-Valcyte® (Roche) Myelosuppression
Foscarnet Blocks the cleavage of pyrophosphate
from the terminal nucleoside triphosphate
Intravenous formulation-Foscavir®
AstraZeneca LP)
Renal impairment
Cidofovir Inhibits viral DNA synthesis Intravenous formulation-Vistide®
(Gilead Sciences)
Severe renal toxicity
Fomivirsen Inhibits translation of early CMV proteins Intravitreal injection-Vitravene®
(Isis Pharmaceuticals)
Adverse ocular side effects such as
uveitis