NGD-4715 is a drug developed by Neurogen, which acts as a selective, non-peptide

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

at the melanin concentrating hormone

receptor Receptor may refer to: * Sensory receptor, in physiology, any structure which, on receiving environmental stimuli, produces an informative nerve impulse *Receptor (biochemistry), in biochemistry, a protein molecule that receives and responds to a ...

MCH₁. In animal models it has anxiolytic,

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...

, and anorectic effects, and it has successfully passed Phase I

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

s in humans. Neurogen was acquired by

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California. Founded in 1987 as Progenix Inc., the company went public in 1992. Initially focused on developing its own drugs, a period of turbulence in the early 2000s cul ...

in August, 2009, and NGD-4715 was not listed among its key assets. All four laboratories were closed and sold, and no employees were retained. The structure of NGD-4715 has been confused with for example 1-(5-bromo-6-methoxypyridin-2-yl)-4-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)piperazine.

References

Antidepressants Anxiolytics Anorectics Pyridines Phenol ethers Abandoned drugs {{anxiolytic-stub