Filorexant
Filorexant
Chemical compound
Filorexant (INN , USAN ; developmental code name MK-6096) is an orexin antagonist which was under development by Merck for the treatment of insomnia, depression, diabetic neuropathy, and migraine.[2][3] It is a dual antagonist of the orexin OX1 and OX2 receptors.[4][5] It has a relatively short elimination half-life of 3 to 6 hours.[1] However, it dissociates slowly from the orexin receptors and may thereby have a longer duration.[6] Possibly in relation to this, filorexant shows next-day somnolence similarly to suvorexant.[6] In phase 2 clinical trials, filorexant was found to be effective in the treatment of insomnia,[7] but was not effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder,[8][9][10] painful diabetic neuropathy,[11][12] or migraine.[13] As of May 2015[update], filorexant was no longer listed on Merck's online development pipeline and hence development of the drug appears to have been discontinued.[14][1][2] Development of filorexant may have been discontinued due to lack of differentiation from suvorexant (which was also developed by Merck).[6]