MDR-652 is a highly specific and efficacious agonist of nonpungent transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) with Ki value of 11.4 nM and 23.8 nM for hTRPV1 and rTRPV1 respectively and EC50s for hTRPV1 and rTRPV1 are 5.05 and 93 nM respectively. MDR-652 is a potent topical analgesic.

MDR-652 (0.5 and 5 mg/kg) displays a dose-dependent decrease of body temperature, supporting that MDR-652 displays TRPV1 agonism in the intact animal[1]. Potent analgesic activity was observed in models of neuropathic pain, and MDR-652 blocked capsaicin induced allodynia, showing dermal accumulation with little transdermal absorption. MDR-652 (5-10 mg/kg; i.p. and s.c.) blocks the neuropathic pain completely, indicating 100% maximum possible effect (MPE) [1]. MDR-652 has a promising topical pharmacokinetic profile[1]. MDR-652 displays weak systemic toxicity and is negative in assays of genotoxicity. In a single-dose toxicity study, the LD50 of MDR-652 is higher than 200 and 2000 mg/kg in i.p. and p.o. administration, respectively[1].

MDR-652 (0.5 and 5 mg/kg; Administered intraperitoneally; 7 hours; ICR mouse) decreased body temperature in a dose-dependent manner. MDR-652 (1, 2, 5, and 10 mg/kg; Administered intraperitoneally and subcutaneously; 24 hours; Rats with spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model)The i.p. administration exhibited an excellent and dose dependent analgesic profile with an ED50 of 0.5-2 mg/kg. The subcutaneous injection (sc) also displayed an excellent analgesic outcome with maximum effect at 30 min after administration.