What is "brotizolam"

n. A thienodiazepine drug with anxiolytic, anticonvulsant and sedative properties.

Brotizolam (marketed under brand name Lendormin) is a sedative- hypnotic thienotriazolodiazepine drug which is a benzodiazepine analog. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties, and is considered to be similar in effect to short-acting benzodiazepines such as triazolam. It is used in the short-term treatment of severe or debilitating insomnia. Brotizolam is an extremely potent drug and has shown anti-anxiety activity at doses as low as 0.08 to 0.1 milligrams, but the usual hypnotic dose of brotizolam is 0.125 to 0.25 milligrams, and it is rapidly eliminated with an average half-life of 4.4 hours (range 3.6–7.9 hours).

The drug was developed by a team led by T Nishiyama while working for Takeda Chemical Industries in 1976 in Japan.

Brotizolam is not approved for sale in the UK, United States or Canada. It is approved for sale in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Israel, Italy, Taiwan and Japan.