KP-1461 is a carbamate prodrug of the active nucleoside, KP-1212. KP-1212 is incorporated into the proviral DNA. After multiple rounds of replication, KP-1212 increases the high inherent mutation rate of HIV beyond the threshold of viability, a process called "viral decay acceleration". KP-1212 is unique from conventional nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in that it inserts mutations randomly across the entire 10,000 nucleotide HIV genome and does not exert selective pressure by targeting a specific viral or cellular process, thus potentially avoiding drug resistance.