Femoxetine (

INN Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

; tentative brand name Malexil; developmental code name FG-4963) 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 ...

related to

paroxetine Paroxetine ( ), sold under the brand name Paxil among others, is an Antidepressant, antidepressant medication of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, o ...

that was being developed as an

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathi ...

by Danish

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry is a Medicine, medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or Self-medicate, self-administered b ...

Ferrosan in 1975 before acquisition of the company by

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...

. It acts as a

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs primarily work by blo ...

(SSRI). Development was halted to focus attention on

instead, as femoxetine could not be administered as a daily pill. Both femoxetine and paroxetine were invented in the 1970s. Jørgen Anders Christensen's name is on the patents and Jorgen Buus-Lassen's name is on the pharmacology

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

. After Ferrosan's acquisition, femoxetine died from neglect. In a separate patent, Ferrosan stated that Femoxetine could be used as an appetite suppressant, using ten times the dosage than for paroxetine, 300 - 400mg daily. Femoxetine has the same stereochemical properties as

Nocaine (+)-CPCA (nocaine, 3α-carbomethoxy-4β-(4-chlorophenyl)-''N''-methylpiperidine aka CTDP 31,446) is a stimulant drug similar in structure to pethidine (an opioid that possesses NDRI actions) and to RTI-31, but nocaine lacks the two-carbon brid ...

, another agent with a similar structure claimed to have been synthesized using

arecoline Arecoline is a cholinergic agent, stimulant, and natural product, naturally occurring alkaloid found in areca nut, areca (betel) nuts of the areca palm (''Areca catechu'') found in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. Its effects, depending on ...

as the starting alkaloid.

Analogs

#Addition of the ''para''-fluoro atom results in a different compound that is a hybrid of femoxetine & paroxetine named FG 7080, which has a separate patent. According to the patent tables, incorporation of the fluorine atom potentiated the 5-HT affinity considerably. #Pfizer made some similar analogs E.g. a Viloxazine type of catechol ether is used, but 4-phenyl instead of based on a morpholine ring. #NNC-63-0780. binds to ORL1 instead of SERT. * NNC 09-0026

References

Antidepressants Muscarinic antagonists 4-Methoxyphenyl compounds 4-Phenylpiperidines Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Abandoned drugs {{nervous-system-drug-stub

Analogs

See also

References