A manufacturable technology for the production of an antiviral composition containing phosphonoacetic acid, involing РН-alkylation of dimethyl phosphite with methyl chloroacetate under phasetransfer conditions and subsequent in situ hydrolysis of the intermediate product, was developed. The composition showed expressed antiviral effect against herpesviral infections caused by herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus. The composition in the effective concentration range was found to exhibit no cytotoxic effect on VERO green monkey kidney and М-19 human diploid cell cultures. The resulting data suggest potential uses of the composition as an antiviral agent in practical medicine and as an antiviral additive to synthetic detergents for sanitation in health care and food production facilities.