ABSTRACT
Idoxuridine (C9H11IN2O5; 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine; IUdR; IDU) is an analog of the pyrimidine nucleoside thymidine. It was synthesized in 1959 by William Prusoff (1959) as a possible antitumor agent and was later shown to inhibit replication of herpes simplex and vaccinia viruses in cell culture (Herrman, 1961). Subsequently, clinical trials by Kaufman (1962) documented idoxuridine’s beneficial effects in patients with herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis, and this remains idoxuridine’s only clinical indication. Even for this limited indication, the use of idoxuridine is diminishing, as other drugs (e.g. aciclovir), also delivered topically, are more effective and potentially less toxic (Balderson, 2015).
