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Seletracetam

Emerging

Discontinued UCB Pharma research compound. | Pharmaceutical · Oral

Aliases (3)
UCB-44212 · UCB 44212 · (2S)-2-[(4S)-4-(2,2-difluorovinyl)-2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl]butanamide
TYPICAL DOSE
—
ROUTE
Oral (tablet)
CYCLE
Per prescriber
STORAGE
Room temp; original container
✎
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▸Brand options2 known
UCB-44212UCB 44212

StatusNever approved, never scheduled — investigational only, development discontinued

▸ Overview TL;DR

Discontinued UCB Pharma research compound. Was the third in line of UCB's SV2A-binder pipeline (Keppra → Briviact → seletracetam) and intended as a more potent epilepsy successor to levetiracetam. UCB ran two Phase 2 epilepsy trials in 2007-2008, then in 2008-2009 chose to advance brivaracetam instead and quietly killed seletracetam. No human nootropic data exists, no published trials beyond Phase 2, no sourcing path. Included in this wiki only for completeness so someone searching the SV2A racetam family doesn't waste time tracking it down. For Dylan: NOT-RELEVANT, NOT-AVAILABLE — see brivaracetam if interested in the SV2A-binder family.

▸ Pharmacokinetics No data
Pharmacokinetics data not available for this compound.
No half-life mentions found in the source notes.
▸Quality indicators4 checks
✓
FDA-approved manufacturer
NDC code on the bottle matches FDA registration. Generic OK; backyard not OK.
✓
Brand vs generic listed
Pharmacy fills should disclose substitution. AB-rated generics are bioequivalent.
✓
Tamper-evident packaging
Pharmacy seal intact, lot number + expiry visible on the bottle and the box.
!
Schedule labeling correct
C-II / C-IV warnings on label match the medication; report any mismatch to the pharmacist.
▸ What to expect Generic
  1. 1
    Day 1
    PK-driven acute peak per administration. Verify dose tolerated.
  2. 2
    Week 1
    Steady-state reached for most daily-dosed pharma.
  3. 3
    Week 2-4
    Therapeutic effect established; titration window if needed.
  4. 4
    Long-term
    Periodic monitoring per drug class (labs, BP, ECG as applicable).
▸ Side effects + safety

Unknown beyond what would be inferred from the SV2A class. Levetiracetam and brivaracetam share a class profile of irritability/aggression ("Keppra rage" — well documented for levetiracetam, milder for brivaracetam), somnolence, fatigue, and dose-dependent cognitive slowing. Seletracetam would be expected to share this profile. Whether the higher affinity translates to worse or better neuropsychiatric tolerability is unanswered and will remain so.

▸References3 sources

Seletracetam — DrugBank

basic chemistry, listed status as discontinued investigational.

go.drugbank.comView →

Matagne et al. (2010) — Levetiracetam and seletracetam compared (Epilepsia/Curr Pharm Des era reviews)

2010

pre-discontinuation medicinal-chemistry context for the SV2A pipeline.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govView →

UCB Pharma pipeline disclosures, 2007-2009 archived annual reports

2007

public record of the development decision (no longer prominently featured post-discontinuation).

ucb.comView →
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Related compounds

Cross-referenced from Seletracetam
Levetiracetam
NOT-RELEVANT
Anticonvulsant racetam — SV2A ligand (mechanistically distinct from cognitive racetams; the "racetam" suffix is a structural-family label, not a pharmacology indicator). FDA-approved AED, not a nootropic.
HIGH
Brivaracetam
NOT-RELEVANT
Racetam-family anticonvulsant — high-affinity SV2A (synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A) ligand. Third-generation antiepileptic drug (AED). Designed by UCB Pharma as a structurally optimized, higher-affinity successor to levetiracetam.
HIGH
Piracetam
OPTIONAL-ADD
Racetam — parent / prototype 2-pyrrolidone (cyclic GABA-derivative pharmacophore that defines the entire racetam family)
HIGH

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