Dexfenfluramine

Dexfenfluramine, marketed as dexfenfluramine hydrochloride under the name Redux, is a serotonergic anorectic drug: it reduces appetite by increasing the amount of extracellular serotonin in the brain.[1] It is the d-enantiomer of fenfluramine and is structurally similar to amphetamine, but lacks any psychologically stimulating effects.

Dexfenfluramine
Clinical data
MedlinePlusa682088
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Pharmacokinetic data
Protein binding36%
Elimination half-life17–20 hours
Identifiers
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC12H16F3N
Molar mass231.262 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
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Dexfenfluramine was, for some years in the mid-1990s, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the purposes of weight loss. However, following multiple concerns about the cardiovascular side-effects of the drug,[1] the FDA withdrew the approval in 1997.[2] After it was removed in the US, dexfenfluramine was also pulled out in other global markets. It was later superseded by sibutramine, which, although initially considered a safer alternative to both dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine, was likewise removed from the US market in 2010.[3]

The drug was developed by Interneuron Pharmaceuticals, a company co-founded by Richard Wurtman, aimed at marketing discoveries by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists.[4] Interneuron licensed the patent to Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories.[5] Although at the time of its release, some optimism prevailed that it might herald a new approach, there remained some reservations amongst neurologists, twenty-two of whom petitioned the FDA to delay approval. Their concern was based on the work of George A. Ricaurte, whose techniques and conclusions were later questioned.[6]

See also

References
  1. Fox SI (2011). Human Physiology (Twelfth ed.). McGraw Hill. p. 665.
  2. FDA September 15, 1997. FDA Announces Withdrawal Fenfluramine and Dexfenfluramine (Fen-Phen)
  3. "Abbott Pulls Diet Drug Meridia Off US Shelves". Wall Street Journal. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010.
  4. Lemonick MD, Dowell W, Nash JM, Ramirez A, Reid B, Ressner J (23 September 1996). "The New Miracle Drug?". Time. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  5. Lemonick MD, Nash JM, Park A, Thompson D (29 September 1997). "The Mood Molecule". Time. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  6. "DEA Accedes to Ecstasy Test". Wired. 2 March 2004.
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