A potent inhibitor of Hepatitis C virus replication

-Azido-2 0 -deoxy-2 0 -methylcytidine (14) is a potent nucleoside inhibitor of the HCV NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, displaying an EC50 value of 1.2 lM and showing moderate in vivo bioavailability in rat (F = 14%). Here we describe the synthesis and biological evaluation of 4 0 -azido-2 0 -deoxy-2 0 -methylcytidine and prodrug derivatives thereof.