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| Other names | 18-MC; Zolunicant; MM-110; MM110 |
| Routes of administration | Oral |
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| Formula | C22H28N2O3 |
| Molar mass | 368.477 g·mol−1 |
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18-Methoxycoronaridine (18-MC; developmental code name MM-110), also known aszolunicant (INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name), is a derivative ofibogaine invented in 1996 by the research team around the pharmacologist Stanley D. Glick from theAlbany Medical College and the chemists Upul K. Bandarage and Martin E. Kuehne from theUniversity of Vermont. In animal studies it has proven to be effective at reducing self-administration ofmorphine,cocaine,methamphetamine,nicotine, andsucrose.[1][2] It has also been shown to produceanorectic effects in obese rats, most likely due to the same actions on thereward system which underlie its anti-addictive effects against drug addiction.[3]
18-MC was originally developed by Savant HWP and later acquired byMindMed in 2019 for development as a treatment for opioid use disorder.[4] A Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers was completed in 2022 with favorable safety and tolerability.[5] Due to strategic reprioritization, MindMed discontinued active development of MM-110 in 2023 and has been seeking non-dilutive funding or partners to potentially restart the program; as of 2025 the program remains shelved.[6][7] A separate Phase 2 trial in Brazil for cutaneousleishmaniasis (initiated 2017) has unknown status with no published results.[8]
18-MC is aα3β4nicotinic antagonist and, in contrast to ibogaine, has no affinity at theα4β2 subtype nor atNMDA-channels nor at theserotonin transporter,[9] and has significantly reduced affinity forsodium channels and for theσ receptor, but retains modest affinity forμ-opioid receptors where it acts as an agonist,[10] andκ-opioid receptors.[11] The sites of action in the brain include themedial habenula,interpeduncular nucleus,[12][13][14] dorsolateraltegmentum andbasolateral amygdala.[2] (±)-18-MC competitively inhibits α9α10nAChRs with potencies higher than that at α3β4 and α4β2 nAChRs and directly blocksCaV2.2.[15]
A number of derivatives of 18-MC have been developed, with several of them being superior to 18-MC itself, the methoxyethyl congenerME-18-MC being more potent than 18-MC with similar efficacy, and the methylamino analogue18-MAC being more effective than 18-MC with around the same potency. These compounds were also found to act as selectiveα3β4 nicotinic acetylcholine antagonists, with little or no effect on NMDA receptors.[16][17]
