barusiban

Barusiban is a potent and selective non-peptide oxytocin receptor antagonist developed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals. It was investigated primarily as a tocolytic agent for the treatment of preterm labor, aiming to inhibit uterine contractions by blocking the action of oxytocin on its receptor. Barusiban demonstrated high affinity and selectivity for the oxytocin receptor, with approximately 300 times greater affinity than for vasopressin receptors, and was found to be three to four times more potent than atosiban in preclinical studies. Despite its promising pharmacological profile—including long duration of action and reversibility—barusiban failed to demonstrate sufficient clinical efficacy in trials for preterm labor and development was discontinued. It has also been studied in clinical trials related to infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment[1][2][3][4].