SCH-221510 is an experimental opioid drug. It has potential as an analgesic and as a treatment to addiction of certain drugs.
Mechanism of action
Most opioid analgesics act through delta, mu, and kappa opioid receptors; however, SCH-221510 is instead an agonist at the nociceptin receptor.
Analgesic effects
Classical opioid analgesics (such as morphine) usually have effects such as constipation, hypoventilation and addiction. However, by acting through a different receptor, SCH-221510 seems to be lacking the undesirable effects of morphine at equianalgesic doses. This suggests that SCH-221510 could be a better opioid than the currently available opioid pain medications, by having less side effects.
Treatment of drug addiction
SCH-221510 might be an option in the treatment of certain drug addictions: it is able to decrease ethanol self-administration and was able to decrease self-administration of remifentanil, a fentanyl analogue, in a study,
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