Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Xanomeline

Xanomeline (1) is an orthosteric muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) agonist, often referred to as M₁/M₄-preferring, that received widespread attention for its clinical efficacy in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Despite the compound's promising initial clinical results, dose-limiting side effects limited further clinical development. While xanomeline, and related orthosteric muscarinic agonists, have yet to receive approval from the FDA for the treatment of these CNS disorders, interest in the compound's unique M₁/M₄-preferring mechanism of action is ongoing in the field of chemical neuroscience. Specifically, the promising cognitive and behavioral effects of xanomeline in both schizophrenia and AD have spurred a renewed interest in the development of safer muscarinic ligands with improved subtype selectivity for either M₁ or M₄. This Review will address xanomeline's overall importance in the field of neuroscience, with a specific focus on its chemical structure and synthesis, pharmacology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), and adverse effects.