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Synthetic

AZD-1940

A peripheral CB1/CB2 agonist from AstraZeneca; no analgesic efficacy in two trials, then studied under the code ART27.13.

Unscheduled
Level of detail

Harm-reduction warning

No characterised human dose: animal / in vitro data only. Effect profile, safety margin and acute toxicity are not documented in human clinical practice. Extremely potent compound: severe effects, seizures and deaths reported in the literature.

C₂₀H₂₉F₂N₃O₂S

CAS 881413-29-2

Family
Synthetic CB receptor agonistResearch ligand or medicine
Molar mass
413.50 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

AZD-1940 is a laboratory molecule, unrelated to hemp, designed by a pharmaceutical company to act on the body's cannabinoid receptors while avoiding the brain. In two pain trials, it did not reduce pain compared with placebo and dizziness on standing was frequent; it is being studied in other trials and is authorised nowhere as a medicine.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB2AgonistKi = 0.9 nM · humanfrom ChEMBL (Leleu-Chavain et al. 2019), comparison compound; described as a full agonist by Noone et al. 2023
  • Activates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to AZD-1940: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.

Where these targets live

Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of AZD-1940.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

CB2CB2 found in 5 regions of the body

  1. SpleendenseHighly abundant in the spleen1
  2. Immune cellspresentMainly B cells and natural killer cells1
  3. SkinpresentKeratinocytes, mast cells and nerve fibres2
  4. GutpresentImmune cells of the colonic mucosa3
  5. BonepresentPresent on osteoclasts4

Map sources

  1. Galiègue S et al. Expression of central and peripheral cannabinoid receptors in human immune tissues and leukocyte subpopulations. Eur J Biochem, 1995 (new tab)
  2. Ständer S et al. Distribution of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) on sensory nerve fibers and adnexal structures in human skin. J Dermatol Sci, 2005 (new tab)
  3. Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)
  4. Rossi F et al. The endovanilloid/endocannabinoid system in human osteoclasts: possible involvement in bone formation and resorption. Bone, 2009 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. CB2AgonistKi = 0.9 nM · human84 out of 100

    Leleu-Chavain et al., Eur J Med Chem 2019 (values from ChEMBL, document CHEMBL4480384) (new tab) · from ChEMBL (Leleu-Chavain et al. 2019), comparison compound; described as a full agonist by Noone et al. 2023

  2. CB1AgonistKi = 11.7 nM · human66 out of 100

    Leleu-Chavain et al., Eur J Med Chem 2019 (values from ChEMBL, document CHEMBL4480384) (new tab) · from ChEMBL (Leleu-Chavain et al. 2019), comparison compound; described as a full agonist by Noone et al. 2023

Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Pharmacology

AZD-1940, also known under the codes NEO-1940 and ART27.13, is a benzimidazole sulfonamide agonist of the CB1 and CB2 receptors, with higher affinity for CB2 (Ki 0.87 nM) than for CB1 (Ki 11.7 nM) according to ChEMBL (Leleu-Chavain et al. 2019). Its brain penetration is low: at most 0.7% of the injected radioactivity found in the monkey brain in positron emission tomography after carbon-11 labelling (Schou et al. 2013). The peripheral restriction aimed at analgesia without central effects; the two published clinical trials on pain showed no efficacy. In a capsaicin model in 44 healthy volunteers (single oral doses of 400 and 800 µg), AZD1940 did not significantly reduce pain or hyperalgesia compared with placebo (Kalliomäki et al. 2013). After wisdom-tooth extraction (151 patients, 800 µg orally), it did not reduce post-operative pain, whereas naproxen did (Kalliomäki et al. 2013, Scand J Pain). Mild central effects were nonetheless measured, with increased subjective « high » and « sedated » scores, and frequent adverse events (postural dizziness in 80% of patients, nausea in 26%, hypotension in 21%, headache in 13%). The molecule was then taken up under the code ART27.13: a phase 1/2 trial in cancer anorexia and weight loss (CAReS, ISRCTN15607817) and a phase II trial on intraocular pressure (DREAM, ISRCTN10996483) are registered, and an in vitro study reports that ART27.13 protected human myotubes from degeneration induced by conditioned media from tumour cells (Noone et al. 2023). Clinical efficacy is not established in any of these indications.

Key sources.

History

Source
A laboratory molecule: a synthetic drug candidate, developed by AstraZeneca then taken up under the code ART27.13 by Artelo Biosciences (Noone et al. 2023). It is known neither in hemp nor in any other organism.

Origin

Laboratory synthesis

No biosynthesis: an entirely synthetic molecule, absent from hemp and from any living organism. It is a benzimidazole carrying a tert-butyl group, a 4,4-difluorocyclohexylmethyl ring and an ethanesulfonamide function.

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Synthetic CB receptor agonist › Research ligand or medicine

Class

benzimidazole-sulfonamide

Verification

Classification, sources and binding values checked on 20 October 2026; text read against its sources and Wikipedia.

Wikipedia (English)

AZD-1940 (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

References

  1. Kalliomäki J et al. Evaluation of the analgesic efficacy and psychoactive effects of AZD1940, a novel peripherally acting cannabinoid agonist, in human capsaicin-induced pain and hyperalgesia. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol, 2013 (new tab)PMID 23324098
  2. Kalliomäki J et al. Evaluation of the analgesic efficacy of AZD1940, a novel cannabinoid agonist, on post-operative pain after lower third molar surgical removal. Scand J Pain, 2013 (new tab)PMID 29913883
  3. Schou M et al. Radiolabeling of the cannabinoid receptor agonist AZD1940 with carbon-11 and PET microdosing in non-human primate. Nucl Med Biol, 2013 (new tab)PMID 23352602
  4. Noone J et al. Cancer-cachexia-induced human skeletal muscle myotube degeneration is prevented via cannabinoid receptor 2 agonism in vitro. Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2023 (new tab)PMID 38004445
  5. Leleu-Chavain N et al. Benzo[d]thiazol-2(3H)-ones as new potent selective CB2 agonists with anti-inflammatory properties. Eur J Med Chem, 2019 (new tab)PMID 30583970
  6. Registries: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00659490 and NCT00689780 (AstraZeneca, 2008); ISRCTN15607817 (CAReS, ART27.13, EudraCT 2020-000464-27); ISRCTN10996483 (DREAM, intraocular pressure) (new tab)
  7. PubChem, AZD-1940, CID 11675994 (identifiers and properties) (new tab)

Identifiers

Names

IUPAC name
N-[2-tert-butyl-1-[(4,4-difluorocyclohexyl)methyl]benzimidazol-5-yl]ethanesulfonamide
Other names
AZD1940 · AZD 1940 · ART27.13 · ART-27.13 · NEO-1940 · NEO1940

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₀H₂₉F₂N₃O₂S
CAS
881413-29-2
PubChem CID
11675994(new tab)
InChIKey
ZAGGGZCIFUQHOH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CCS(=O)(=O)NC1=CC2=C(C=C1)N(C(=N2)C(C)(C)C)CC3CCC(CC3)(F)F

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.