Clobazam

Clinical dataTrade namesFrisium, Onfi, othersOther namesClobazepamAHFS/Drugs.comMonographMedlinePlusa612008License dataPregnancy
categoryDependence
liabilityHighAddiction
liabilityHighRoutes of
administrationBy mouth, sublingualDrug classBenzodiazepine, AnticonvulsantATC codeLegal statusLegal statusPharmacokinetic dataBioavailabilityRapidly and extensively absorbed; 87%–95% (oral)Protein binding80–90%MetabolismLiverMetabolitesOnset of action0.5–4 hoursElimination half-lifeExcretionIdentifiersCAS NumberPubChemCIDIUPHAR/BPSDrugBankChemSpiderUNIIKEGGChEBIChEMBLCompTox Dashboard(EPA)ECHA InfoCard100.040.810Chemical and physical dataFormulaC₁₆H₁₃ClN₂O₂Molar mass300.74 g·mol3D model (JSmol)

Clobazam, sold under the brand names Frisium and Onfi, among others, is a long-acting benzodiazepine medication primarily used as an anxiolytic and anticonvulsant. Clobazam is a 1,5-benzodiazepine with uniquepharmacological characteristics that was patented in 1968. Clobazam was first synthesized in 1966 and first published in 1969. It was approved in Australia in 1970 and France in 1974 for short-term anxiety management. Clobazam is solely approved for use in the United States as a treatment for Lennox–Gastaut syndrome, but the drug is available in other countries as an anti-anxiety agent for the short-term treatment of persistent and debilitating forms of anxiety. It has shown a distinct profile and addictive potential compared to the more common benzodiazepines. Clobazam is the only 1,5‑benzodiazepine that has been marketed for clinical use, making it the sole representative of this structural class of benzodiazepines.

The drug has been approved by Health Canada as an add-on therapy for generalized tonic–clonic, myoclonic, and focal impaired awareness seizures.

In 2011, Lundbeck markets the drug in the United States as Onfi, an adjunctive therapy for seizures associated with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome in patients who are at least two years old.