Fasedienol

Fasedienol
Clinical data
Other namesPH94B; Aloradine; 4-Androstadienol; 3β-Androsta-4,16-dien-3-ol, Androsta-4,16-dien-3β-ol; Androstadienol
Routes of
administration		Intranasal
Drug classVomeropherine
ATC code
  • None
Identifiers
  • (3S,8S,9S,10R,13R,14S)-10,13-Dimethyl-2,3,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15-decahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-ol
CAS Number
PubChem CID
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC19H28O
Molar mass272.432 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • C[C@]12CC[C@H]3[C@H]([C@@H]1CC=C2)CCC4=C[C@H](CC[C@]34C)O
  • InChI=1S/C19H28O/c1-18-9-3-4-16(18)15-6-5-13-12-14(20)7-11-19(13,2)17(15)8-10-18/h3,9,12,14-17,20H,4-8,10-11H2,1-2H3/t14-,15-,16-,17-,18-,19-/m0/s1
  • Key:NYVFCEPOUVGTNP-DYKIIFRCSA-N

Fasedienol (INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name; developmental code names PH94B and Aloradine), also known as 4-androstadienol or as 4,16-androstadien-3β-ol, is a pherine which is under development by VistaGen Therapeutics in a nasal spray formulation used as needed(PRN) for the acute treatment of social anxiety disorder. It is also being investigated by VistaGen Therapeutics for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The pherine is a positional isomer of the endogenous pheromone androstadienol (5-androstadienol or 5,16-androstadien-3β-ol). Fasedienol failed to show effectiveness in phase 3 clinical trials.

Fasedienol lacks affinity for steroid hormone receptors and has instead been found to directly activate isolated human vomeronasal receptor cells at nanomolar concentrations (EC50 = 200 nM).

The closely related pheromone androstenol (5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol) has been found to act as a potent positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor, and it has been proposed that this action may mediate its pheromone effects. It produces anxiolytic-like effects in animals. Androstadienol, androstadienone, and androstenone, all of which are also pheromones, have been found to be converted into androstenol, and as such, it may be responsible for their pheromone effects. As fasedienol is very closely related structurally to androstadienol, it might be converted into androstenol similarly and hence potentiation of the GABAA receptor could contribute to its mechanism of action.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "VistaGen Therapeutics Acquires Worldwide License of Phase 3-Ready CNS Drug Candidate from Pherin Pharmaceuticals for As-Needed Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder :: VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VTGN)". VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  2. ↑ Al Idrus A (13 September 2018). "VistaGen nabs phase 3-ready social anxiety drug from Pherin". FierceBiotech. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  3. ↑ Murphy J (10 December 2019). "FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to PH94B for Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder". Pharmacy Times. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  4. ↑ Griebel G, Holmes A (September 2013). "50 years of hurdles and hope in anxiolytic drug discovery" (PDF). Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery. 12 (9): 667–87. doi:10.1038/nrd4075. PMC 4176700. PMID 23989795.
  5. ↑ Monti-Bloch L, Jennings-White C, Dolberg DS, Berliner DL (1994). "The human vomeronasal system". Psychoneuroendocrinology. 19 (5–7): 673–86. doi:10.1016/0306-4530(94)90049-3. PMID 7938363. S2CID 36129626.
  6. ↑ Rolls ET (November 2013). Emotion and Decision Making Explained. Oxford University Press. pp. 356–. ISBN 978-0-19-965989-0.
  7. ↑ BioScan. Oryx Press. 2009.
  8. 1 2 Liebowitz MR, Salman E, Nicolini H, Rosenthal N, Hanover R, Monti L (June 2014). "Effect of an acute intranasal aerosol dose of PH94B on social and performance anxiety in women with social anxiety disorder". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 171 (6): 675–82. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.12101342. PMID 24700254. S2CID 38510058.
  9. ↑ US patent 8722652, Louis Monti-Bloch, "Acute Treatment of Social Phobia", published 13 November 2012, assigned to Pherin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
  10. ↑ "Generalized Anxiety Disorder :: VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VTGN)". VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  11. ↑ "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder :: VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (VTGN)". VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  12. ↑ Walters, Jessica (23 December 2025). "Fasedienol for Social Anxiety Disorder Does Not Demonstrate Significant Improvement in Phase 3 Study". Psychiatric Times. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  13. ↑ Kansteiner, Fraiser (17 December 2025). "Vistagen phase 3 study sees placebo surprise, putting future of social anxiety asset into question: analyst". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Kaminski RM, Marini H, Ortinski PI, Vicini S, Rogawski MA (May 2006). "The pheromone androstenol (5 alpha-androst-16-en-3 alpha-ol) is a neurosteroid positive modulator of GABAA receptors". The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 317 (2): 694–703. doi:10.1124/jpet.105.098319. PMID 16415088. S2CID 95393004.