Adipiplon (developmental code name NG2-73) is an

anxiolytic An anxiolytic (; also antipanic or antianxiety agent) is a medication or other intervention that reduces anxiety. This effect is in contrast to anxiogenic agents which increase anxiety. Anxiolytic medications are used for the treatment of anxiet ...

drug developed by Neurogen Corporation. It has similar effects to

benzodiazepine Benzodiazepines (BZD, BDZ, BZs), sometimes called "benzos", are a class of depressant drugs whose core chemical structure is the fusion of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring. They are prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, ...

drugs, but is structurally distinct and so is classed as a

nonbenzodiazepine Nonbenzodiazepines (), sometimes referred to colloquially as Z-drugs (as many of their names begin with the letter "z"), are a class of psychoactive drugs that are very benzodiazepine-like in nature. They are used in the treatment of sleep proble ...

anxiolytic. Adipiplon is a

subtype Subtype may refer to: * Viral subtypes, such as Subtypes of HIV * Subtyping In programming language theory, subtyping (also subtype polymorphism or inclusion polymorphism) is a form of type polymorphism in which a subtype is a datatype that is ...

- selective GABA_A receptor

partial agonist In pharmacology, partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. They may also be considered ligands which display both agonistic and antagonis ...

, which binds preferentially to the α₃ subtype. This is significant as while several previous nonbenzodiazepine drugs have been developed that are selective for α_2/3 over the other subtypes, adipiplon is one of the first drugs selected for clinical development which is able to discriminate between α₂ and α₃, as well as showing little affinity for the α₁ or α₅ subtypes -

alpidem Alpidem (Ananxyl) is an anxiolytic drug from the imidazopyridine family, related to the more well known sleeping medication zolpidem. Unlike zolpidem however, alpidem does not produce sedative effects at normal doses, and is instead used specific ...

is selective for α₃ over α₂, but still has moderate affinity for α₁, whereas adipiplon is highly α₃-selective with little affinity for either α₁, α₂ or α₅. Adipiplon is being researched as a potential medication for the treatment of

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

and

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

, and in 2008 it was being used in Phase IIb trials. These trials were suspended after significant next-day side effects were discovered.Neurogen Announces Suspension of Insomnia Study with Adipiplon
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References

Anxiolytics Triazolopyrimidines Imidazoles Pyridines Fluoroarenes GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators {{anxiolytic-stub

See also

References