 It is also found in many synthetic compounds such as barbiturates and the HIV drug, zidovudine.Although pyrimidine derivatives such as uric acid and alloxan were known in the early 19th century, a laboratory synthesis of a pyrimidine was not carried out until 1879, when Grimaux reported the preparation of barbituric acid from urea and malonic acid in the presence of phosphorus oxychloride.The systematic study of pyrimidines began in 1884 with Pinner,
who synthesized derivatives by condensing ethyl acetoacetate with amidines.