Is Nemifitide legal in Canada?

A pentapeptide antidepressant injected daily for 5 to 10 days, tested in three small placebo controlled trials (52, 55 and 81 people) between 2000 and 2006 whose positive findings rest on post hoc plasma level groupings, a single post-treatment timepoint and a severity subgroup. No confirmatory trial was published and development stopped.

Nemifitide is a synthetic five amino acid peptide, a modified analogue of melanocyte inhibiting factor (MIF-1), developed by Innapharma as a rapid acting antidepressant given by subcutaneous injection in short courses. It was called INN 00835 in early papers and briefly netamiftide.

Mechanism: In people, the only mechanistic measurement is a 1999 study reporting a change in platelet serotonin uptake in treated patients, and the pharmacokinetics: rapid absorption, a half-life of 15 to 30 minutes, dose proportional exposure and no accumulation over five daily doses. How a peptide that is gone from the blood within an hour would produce a mood effect lasting weeks was never established.

Regulatory history: Not FDA approved. Development ceased after phase 2; no trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov; no regulatory submission located.

Authorises drugs for sale through a Notice of Compliance and Drug Identification Number. A compound that is not authorised for sale cannot lawfully be sold for human use, and personal importation of prescription drugs is limited.

The classification above is the The Longevity Archive reading of Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch listings for Nemifitide at the reviewed date, not a legal opinion. Rules change, and importing, prescribing and possessing a compound can each be treated differently. Check the regulator directly before acting on anything here.