Lirequinil (Ro41-3696) is 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 ...
hypnotic
Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...
drug which binds to benzodiazepine sites on the
GABAA 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 ...
. In human
clinical trials
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 ...
, lirequinil was found to have similar efficacy to
zolpidem
Zolpidem, sold under the brand name Ambien, among others, is a medication primarily used for the short-term treatment of sleeping problems. Guidelines recommend that it be used only after cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and behaviora ...
, with less side effects such as clumsiness and memory impairment. However it was also much slower acting than zolpidem, with peak plasma concentrations not reached until 2.5 hours after oral administration, and its O-desethyl metabolite Ro41-3290 is also active with a half-life of 8 hours.
This meant that while effective as a hypnotic, lirequinil failed to prove superior to zolpidem due to producing more next-day sedation, and it has not been adopted for clinical use. It was developed by a team at Hoffmann-La Roche in the 1990s.
[US Patent 5561233 Process for the preparation of an intermediate of a benzo uinolizinone derivative]
References
{{GABAAR PAMs
Sedatives
GABAA receptor positive allosteric modulators