18-Methoxycoronaridine

18-Methoxycoronaridine (18-MC, or MM-110), also known as zolunicant, is a derivative of ibogaine invented in 1996 by the research team around the pharmacologist Stanley D. Glick from the Albany Medical College and the chemists Upul K. Bandarage and Martin E. Kuehne from the University of Vermont. In animal studies it has proved to be effective at reducing self-administration of morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine and sucrose. It has also been shown to produce anorectic effects in obese rats, most likely due to the same actions on the reward system which underlie its anti-addictive effects against drug addiction.

18-MC was in the early stages of human testing by the California-based drug development company Savant HWP before being acquired by MindMed, a Canadian pharmaceutical company newly listed on the NASDAQ in April 2021. In 2002 the research team began raising funds for human trials, but were unable to secure the estimated $5 million needed. In 2010, Obiter Research, a chemical manufacturer in Champaign, Illinois, signed a patent license with Albany Medical College and the University of Vermont, allowing them the right to synthesize and market 18-MC and other congeners. In 2012 the National Institute on Drug Abuse gave a $6.5 million grant to Savant HWP for human trials. In 2017 it went into Phase-II trials in Brazil for treatment of Leishmaniasis at the Evandro Chagas Institute, but not for approval for use as a treatment for drug addiction. A phase 2a study of MM-110 treatment in patients experiencing opioid withdrawal is set to commence in Q2 2022.