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Routes of administration | Oral |
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Elimination half-life | 7–27 hours |
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Formula | C20H25NO2 |
Molar mass | 311.425 g·mol−1 |
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Femoxetine (INN; tentative brand name Malexil; developmental code name FG-4963) is a drug related to paroxetine that was being developed as an antidepressant by Danish pharmaceutical company Ferrosan in 1975 before acquisition by Novo Nordisk. It acts as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Development was halted to focus attention on paroxetine instead, given femoxetine's inability to be administered as a daily pill.
Both femoxetine and paroxetine were invented in the 1970s by Jorgen Buus-Lassen (Jørgen Anders Christensen name on the patents though).[1][2] Jorgen Buus-Lassen's name is on the pharmacology paper, however.[3]
After Ferrosan's acquisition, femoxetine died from neglect.[4][clarification needed]
In a separate patent, Ferrosan stated that Femoxetine could be used as an appetite suppressant.[5] The dosage was 10 times more highly generous than for paroxetine, i.e. 300 - 400mg / day.
Femoxetine still does possess the same stereochemical properties as Nocaine, another agent claimed to have been synthesized using arecoline as the starting alkaloid.[citation needed]