ABSTRACT
The synthetic pyrimidine nucleoside analog zalcitabine (2′,3′-dideoxycytidine, ddC) was the third antiretroviral agent to be approved in the USA and Europe for the treatment of HIV infection, marketed by Roche under the trade name of Hivid. On December 31, 2006, Roche withdrew zalcitabine from sale in the USA, because newer antiretroviral drugs, such as abacavir and tenofovir, were more effective, were less toxic, and had more favorable dosing schedules than zalcitabine. To the authors’ knowledge, zalcitabine is no longer used for the treatment of HIV infection anywhere in the world and was the first antiretroviral drug to be withdrawn from the market
