Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
NIH Websites Are Changing
Per Executive Order 14434, federal agencies are now using "Super Intelligence" (SI) in place of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI). You may see both terms across NIH content during this transition.

emtricitabine

A synthetic fluoro derivative of thiacytidine with potent antiviral activity. Emtricitabine is phosphorylated to form emtricitabine 5'-triphosphate within the cell. This metabolite inhibits the activity of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase both by competing with the natural substrate deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate and by incorporation into viral DNA causing a termination of DNA chain elongation (due to the lack of the essential 3'-OH group).
Check for active clinical trials using this agentView this agent in the NCI Thesaurus
Synonym:coviracil
FTC
US brand name:Emtriva
Chemical structure:(-)-2'-deoxy-5-fluoro-3'-thiacytidine
2(1H)-pyrimidinone, 4-amino-5-fluoro-1-(2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-oxathiolan-5-yl)-,(2R-cis)-
Search NCI's Drug Dictionary
Please enter up to 30 characters for your search