Tracking a new high

In the 1950s, Swiss company CIBA Pharmaceuticals developed a class of synthetic opioids known as Nitazenes.

- NIRMAL JOVIAL

Designed to target -μ-opioid receptors in the brain, they were intended as next-generation painkillers with greater efficacy than morphine. However, their extreme potency and high risk of respiratory depression led to their rejection for medical use.

For nearly six decades, Nitazenes remained confined to academic research as “tool drugs” for studying opioid receptor pharmacology. That changed in 2019 when illicit labs began producing analogues (a drug that shares structural or pharmacological similarities with an existing drug) based on historical pharmacological research. These powerful compounds quickly infiltrated drug markets, particularly in Europe and North America, with little public awareness compared to heroin or MDMA. Nitazenes soon became a significant addition to the evolving landscape of “new psychoactive substances” (NPS).