Drinabant ( INN; AVE-1625) is a

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

that acts as a selective CB₁ receptor

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Sanofi-Aventis Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. The corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merg ...

as a treatment for

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, and nicotine dependence. Though initially studied as a potential treatment for a variety of different

medical condition A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function (biology), function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical condi ...

s, Sanofi-Aventis eventually narrowed down the therapeutic indications of the compound to just appetite suppression. Drinabant reached phase IIb

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s for this purpose in the treatment of obesity but was shortly thereafter discontinued, likely due to the observation of severe psychiatric

side effect In medicine, a side effect is an effect of the use of a medicinal drug or other treatment, usually adverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal and traditional medicines also have side effects. A drug or procedure usually use ...

s including

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...

, depression, and thoughts of suicide in patients treated with the now- withdrawn rimonabant, another CB₁ antagonist that was also under development by Sanofi-Aventis. In late 2018, the drug was licensed by Opiant Pharmaceuticals, which intends to develop it for the treatment of acute cannabinoid overdose (ACO) as an injectable for administration in an emergency department setting. Opiant claims that ACO is most frequently linked to the ingestion of edibles containing large quantities THC and synthetic cannabinoids that are more potent and less expensive than marijuana. Edibles, sold as brownies, cookies and candies, pose particular risks for children, who often consume these by accident. There are currently no approved treatments for ACO. Rimonabant was also a cannabinoid developed for prescription drug use that triggered severe psychiatric side effects and was withdrawn from the market.

References

{{Cannabinoid receptor modulators Anorectics Azetidines Cannabinoids CB1 receptor antagonists 4-Chlorophenyl compounds Fluoroarenes Hallucinogen antidotes Sulfonamides

See also

References