What is "rivanicline"

Rivanicline (TC-2403, RJR-2403, (E)-metanicotine) is a drug which acts as a partial agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It is subtype-selective, binding primarily to the α4β2 subtype. It has nootropic effects and was originally developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but a second action that was subsequently found was that it inhibits the production of Interleukin-8 and thus produces an antiinflammatory effect, and so it has also been developed as a potential treatment for ulcerative colitis. Rivanicline also has stimulant and analgesic actions which are thought to be mediated through stimulation of noradrenaline release, and so it could potentially also have other applications.