Thiopental

Summary

Thiopental (CHEMBL441) is an approved small-molecule intravenous anaesthetic (ATC N01AF03) targeting KCNC4; indicated across 4 conditions including toxic shock syndrome and brain injury.

At a glance

• Status: Approved (max clinical phase 4)
• Modality: Small molecule
• ATC class: N01AF03 (+1 more)
• Targets: 1 (KCNC4)
• Indications: 4 conditions
• Clinical trials: 15
• Chemistry: 242.34 Da · C11H18N2O2S

Identifiers

Drug identity and classification

Field	Value
ChEMBL ID	CHEMBL441
Name	Thiopental
Type	Small molecule
Max phase	4
FDA approved	no
PubChem CID	3000715
ChEBI	CHEBI:102166
ATC	N01AF03, N05CA19
Molecular formula	C11H18N2O2S
Molecular weight	242.34
InChIKey	IUJDSEJGGMCXSG-UHFFFAOYSA-N

SMILES: CCCC(C)C1(C(=O)NC(=S)NC1=O)CC

IUPAC name: 5-ethyl-5-pentan-2-yl-2-sulfanylidene-1,3-diazinane-4,6-dione

ChEBI definition: A barbiturate, the structure of which is that of 2-thiobarbituric acid substituted at C-5 by ethyl and sec-pentyl groups.

Pharmacological roles (ChEBI): intravenous anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, sedative, drug allergen.

Other ChEBI roles (chemical / environmental): environmental contaminant, xenobiotic.

Also known as: Thiopental, Thiopental ciii, SID29215503, thiopental, THIOPENTAL

Parent form; salt/anhydrous children: CHEMBL738

Patent coverage: 18 distinct patent families (58 SureChEMBL compound mentions), from 2 matched compound structure(s). One matched structure accounts for 52 (90%) of the total. Mentions count patents naming the compound (not distinct inventions), so promiscuous / reference molecules inflate the mention figure — families are the dedup metric.

Targets

Targets

Primary targets (GtoPdb curated mechanism): the Cancer dependency column is the DepMap CRISPR fitness signal (% of screened cell lines dependent on the target).

Gene	Target	Action	pAffinity	Cancer dependency	UniProt
KCNC4	Kv3.4		4	4.4%	Q03721

Broader ChEMBL bioactivity targets: 4 (assay-derived). Sample: Prelamin-A/C, Ferritin light chain, GABA-A receptor; anion channel, Voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel subunit alpha-1C.

Bioactivity

ChEMBL activities: 2 potent at pChembl ≥ 5 of 4 total. Top 100 by potency (10 = 0.1 nM, 6 = 1 µM):

Target	pChembl	Type	Value	Unit	Activity ID
O35505	6.55	IC50	280	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_15777550
LMNA	6.45	Potency	354.8	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_3662607

Target pathways

Aggregated over 1 target gene(s): KCNC4.

Top Reactome pathways

3 total, by targets touching each:

Pathway	Targets	Genes
Neuronal System	1	KCNC4
Potassium Channels	1	KCNC4
Voltage gated Potassium channels	1	KCNC4

Dominant GO biological processes

GO term	Targets
action potential	1
potassium ion transport	1
chemical synaptic transmission	1
protein homooligomerization	1
potassium ion transmembrane transport	1
monoatomic ion transport	1
monoatomic ion transmembrane transport	1
transmembrane transport	1

Indications & clinical

Indications

3 diseases in clinical trials (phase 1–3, investigational — not approved indications). Highest ChEMBL trial phase per disease; a non-cancer approved use is occasionally logged at phase 3 here.

Disease (in trials)	Phase	MONDO	EFO
toxic shock syndrome	3	MONDO:0001881	EFO:0006834
brain injury	3	MONDO:0043510	MONDO:0043510
strabismus	2	MONDO:0003432	HP:0000486

1 further indication record had no mapped disease name (EFO/MeSH-only) or were duplicates, and are omitted.

Clinical trials

Total trials: 15.

Phase distribution

Phase	Trials
Not specified	6
PHASE4	3
PHASE3	3
PHASE2	2
PHASE1/PHASE2	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT00504894	PHASE4	TERMINATED	Neuroimaging the Effects of Intravenous Anesthetic on Amygdala Dependent Memory Processes
NCT00965107	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Onset Time of Thiopental Versus Propofol in the Elderly
NCT02377778	PHASE4	COMPLETED	Comparative Effect of Theipoental and Propofol in IVF Outcome
NCT00265616	PHASE3	TERMINATED	Treatment of Refractory Status Epilepticus
NCT00622570	PHASE3	TERMINATED	Comparison of Effectiveness of Pentobarbital and Thiopental in Patients With Refractory Intracranial Hypertension
NCT03104140	PHASE3	COMPLETED	Ketamine Versus Low Dose Thiopental for Induction of Anesthesia in Septic Shock
NCT00478907	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Prevention of Complications of Eye Surgery
NCT01140100	PHASE2	COMPLETED	A Comparative Study of Depth of Anesthesia Monitored by Bispectral Index (BIS) Values
NCT01318044	PHASE1/PHASE2	UNKNOWN	Thiopental Versus Propofol During Magnetic Resonance Imagining in Children: Something Old, Something New
NCT00379886	Not specified	UNKNOWN	Comparison of Thiopental and Propofol as Anaesteticum During ECT
NCT00611767	Not specified	COMPLETED	GABA Mechanisms Underlying the Vulnerability to Alcohol Dependence
NCT00767767	Not specified	COMPLETED	The Effect of Intravenous Anesthetics on Fear Learning and Memory
NCT02486926	Not specified	COMPLETED	The Effects of Remifentanil and Remifentanil-Alfentanil Administration in Children
NCT06485388	Not specified	COMPLETED	The Effects of Propofol and Thiopental on Nitric Oxide Production and Release in Erythrocytes
NCT07596095	Not specified	COMPLETED	Induction Agents in ECT: Effects on Seizure Duration, Quality, and Recovery

Clinical evidence (CIViC)

No CIViC predictive evidence (expected for non-precision-medicine drugs).

Pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics

No CPIC/DPWG dosing guideline or drug-level clinical/variant annotations in PharmGKB for this molecule.

Related molecules

Related molecules

No competitor molecules sharing a primary target (ChEMBL phase ≥2 or PubChem drug-class).