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Farampator (CX-691 / Org 24448) is an investigational ampakine, a positive allosteric modulator of AMPA-type glutamate receptors, advanced through the Cortex Pharmaceuticals / Organon program. It slows AMPA-receptor deactivation and desensitization to strengthen fast excitatory transmission and long-term potentiation, and in animals it raises hippocampal and prefrontal acetylcholine, prefrontal dopamine, and hippocampal BDNF mRNA. It is best known for a single, unusually instructive human trial in which one 500 mg dose improved short-term memory yet impaired episodic memory in healthy elderly volunteers.
- Improved short-term/working memory at a single 500 mg dose in one small elderly RCT
- Preclinically reverses scopolamine- and temporally-induced memory deficits
- Raises hippocampal and prefrontal acetylcholine and prefrontal dopamine (animal data)
- Elevates hippocampal BDNF mRNA after sub-chronic dosing (animal data)
- Headache
- Somnolence
- Nausea
- Impaired episodic memory at higher plasma levels
- In its only published human trial, a single 500 mg dose improved short-term memory yet impaired episodic memory in healthy elderly volunteers ; a vivid reminder that AMPA potentiation is not uniformly pro-cognitive.
- Volunteers who reported side effects had higher plasma farampator levels and actually performed worse on memory tasks than those without side effects.
- Its three development codes ; farampator, CX-691, and Org 24448 ; trace a shared Cortex Pharmaceuticals and Organon lineage.
Mechanism
-receptor positive modulator: it slows receptor deactivation/desensitization to enhance fast transmission and . Preclinically it raises in the dorsal and medial prefrontal , increases prefrontal , elevates hippocampal mRNA after sub-chronic dosing, and increases regional cerebral glucose utilization.
receptor fingerprint
(GluA)Positive allosteric modulation
Upregulation of hippocampal mRNA (sub-chronic)
Increased hippocampal and prefrontal release
Increased prefrontal release
Evidencehow good the literature is
One human randomized controlled trial (double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover, n=16 healthy elderly) plus solid preclinical work. In humans a single 500 mg dose improved short-term memory but impaired episodic memory; side effects (headache, somnolence, nausea) tracked higher plasma levels, and volunteers with side effects performed worse on memory tasks. Animal studies show reversal of scopolamine- and temporally-induced deficits, increased cholinergic and dopaminergic tone, and elevated hippocampal BDNF mRNA.
Dosingtypical ranges, not medical advice
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Safetyrisks and cautions, not medical advice
In the small human study the main adverse effects were headache, somnolence, and nausea, which increased with plasma drug levels and were associated with worse memory performance. It remains an understudied investigational compound with no long-term or consumer safety data.
History
Farampator originated in Cortex Pharmaceuticals' ampakine platform (development code CX-691) and was carried forward by Organon under the code Org 24448, explored for the cognitive deficits of Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. It never reached approval and development did not progress beyond early human study.
Reputation
Within nootropic and neuroscience circles farampator is remembered less as a usable enhancer than as a teaching case: the ampakine whose human RCT captured AMPA potentiation's double edge, improving one memory domain while impairing another. It is not marketed and has essentially no standardized grey-market presence.
Subjective profileweighing the evidence above
An investigational research compound with no approved indication. Scientifically fascinating for its dose- and domain-specific effects, but its only published human study showed bidirectional memory results, short-term memory up, episodic memory down, so it is not a clean cognitive enhancer and should not be treated as a proven nootropic.
Resources
This entry is here for reference.
Research
- 2005first citedRegionally selective and dose-dependent effects of the ampakines Org 26576 and Org 24448 on loc…
- 2012most recentDifferential effects of AMPA receptor potentiators and glycine reuptake inhibitors on antipsych…
- 1.Acute effects of the ampakine farampator on memory and information processing in healthy elderly volunteers.
- 2.Evaluation of the pro-cognitive effects of the AMPA receptor positive modulator, 5-(1-piperidinylcarbonyl)-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (CX691), in the rat.
- 3.Regionally selective and dose-dependent effects of the ampakines Org 26576 and Org 24448 on local cerebral glucose utilisation in the mouse as assessed by 14C-2-deoxyglucose autoradiography.
- 4.Differential effects of AMPA receptor potentiators and glycine reuptake inhibitors on antipsychotic efficacy and prefrontal glutamatergic transmission.
4 listed here; entry last updated August 2026
Reviews
My notesprivate to this device
FAQ
Is farampator an approved cognitive enhancer?
No. It is an investigational research compound with no approved indication anywhere, and its only published human study showed mixed results.
Did it improve memory in humans?
Only partly. A single 500 mg dose improved short-term memory but impaired episodic memory in a 16-person elderly crossover trial; a bidirectional effect, not a clean benefit.
Can I buy it as a supplement?
No. There is no consumer product or standardized dose; grey-market material is unstandardized and unsupported by positive human efficacy data.
Adverse effects
- Headache
- Somnolence
- Nausea
- Impaired episodic memory at higher plasma levels