methoxyethyl etomidate

Methoxyethyl etomidate (ET-26) is a novel ester-based analog of the intravenous anesthetic etomidate. It was developed to preserve the desirable properties of etomidate—namely, its rapid onset of action and excellent hemodynamic stability—while mitigating its most significant clinical drawback: prolonged adrenocortical suppression caused by the inhibition of 11β-hydroxylase. ET-26 is designed as a "soft drug," incorporating a methoxyethyl ester group that is rapidly hydrolyzed by non-specific tissue and plasma esterases into an inactive carboxylic acid metabolite. This metabolic pathway ensures a short duration of action and minimizes the time the drug spends in the systemic circulation, thereby reducing its impact on cortisol synthesis. The drug acts as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor and is primarily being investigated for induction of general anesthesia and procedural sedation during diagnostic interventions such as gastroscopy and colonoscopy.

Other names

methoxyethyl etomidate hydrochloridemethoxyetomidate hydrochloridemethoxetomidate hydrochloridemetoetomidate hydrochloride