Semax — pharmacology
Molecular targets, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and interactions as characterised in humans.
§2Pharmacology
§2.1Molecular targets
Table 2. Molecular targets recorded for Semax, with the character of the interaction and the potency where the Institute holds it.
| Target | Interaction | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism partially characterised | Melanocortin-independent | Reported effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor expression, and on dopaminergic and serotonergic transmission. No primary receptor has been identified |
§2.2Mechanism of action
Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor TrkB in rodent hippocampus, and to modulate monoaminergic transmission. Its approved Russian indications are ischaemic stroke and cognitive disorders. The Institute assesses the underlying evidence as predominantly published in Russian-language journals with methodology and reporting that do not permit the risk-of-bias assessment its framework requires, and grades accordingly — this is a statement about assessability, not an assertion that the compound is ineffective.[1,2]
§2.3Pharmacokinetics
- Terminal half-life
- reported as under 30 min in plasma after intranasal administration
- Time to maximum concentration
- rapid
- Volume of distribution
- not published
- Plasma protein binding
- not published
- Clearance
- not published
- Bioavailability
- intranasal administration is used on the premise of direct nose-to-brain transport; the extent of that transport in humans is not established
Peptidase degradation. The Pro-Gly-Pro extension slows but does not prevent it.
§2.4Interactions
- Not characterised
References cited on this page
References are numbered in order of first citation in this document. Each superscript in the text links to its entry below.
- D’Hondt M, Bracke N, Taevernier L, Gevaert B, Verbeke F, Wynendaele E, De Spiegeleer B. Related impurities in peptide medicines. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 2014;101:2–30. doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2014.06.012 · PMID 25044089
- Manning MC, Chou DK, Murphy BM, Payne RW, Katayama DS. Stability of protein pharmaceuticals: an update. Pharmaceutical Research 2010;27(4):544–575. doi:10.1007/s11095-009-0045-6 · PMID 20143256
Identifiers are reproduced only where the Institute holds them. Where a digital object identifier or PubMed identifier is not shown, the Institute has recorded the journal and year and has not constructed an identifier.