Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Incyclinide

Incyclinide is a chemically modified tetracycline antibiotic that was investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of rosacea, various tumours, allergic and inflammatory diseases and a number of other conditions.

Last revised
Jun 12, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
208 w
Citations
5
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Incyclinide
Clinical data
Trade namesMetastat (proposed)
ATC code
  • none
Legal status
Legal status
  • Abandoned?
Identifiers
  • (4aS,5aR,12aS)-3,10,12,12a-Tetrahydroxy-1,11-dioxo-1,4,4a,5,5a,6,11,12a-octahydronaphthacen-2-carboxamide
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEMBL
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC19H17NO7
Molar mass371.345 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • c1cc2c(c(c1)O)C(=O)C3=C([C@]4([C@@H](C[C@@H]3C2)CC(=C(C4=O)C(=O)N)O)O)O
  • InChI=1S/C19H17NO7/c20-18(26)14-11(22)6-9-5-8-4-7-2-1-3-10(21)12(7)15(23)13(8)16(24)19(9,27)17(14)25/h1-3,8-9,21-22,24,27H,4-6H2,(H2,20,26)/t8-,9-,19-/m0/s1
  • Key:ZXFCRFYULUUSDW-OWXODZSWSA-N

Incyclinide (proposed trade name Metastat) is a chemically modified tetracycline antibiotic that was investigated in clinical trials for the treatment of rosacea,1 various tumours, allergic and inflammatory diseases and a number of other conditions.23

Data from animal studies suggest that centrally infused incyclinide attenuates microglial mediated neuroinflammation in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and sympathetic activation in angiotensin II-induced hypertension. This was also associated with unique changes in gut microbial communities and profound attenuation of gut pathology in animal models of hypertension.4

Mechanism of action

Like other tetracyclines, incyclinide inhibits matrix metalloproteinases. In contrast to traditional tetracyclines, it lacks antibiotic properties.5

References

References

  1. Reuters: CollaGenex says incyclinide ineffective for rosacea
  2. Spreitzer H (2 July 2007). "Neue Wirkstoffe - Incyclinid". Österreichische Apothekerzeitung (in German) (14/2007): 655.
  3. ClinicalTrials.gov: Incyclinide
  4. Sharma RK, Yang T, Oliveira AC, Lobaton GO, Aquino V, Kim S, et al. (March 2019). "Microglial Cells Impact Gut Microbiota and Gut Pathology in Angiotensin II-Induced Hypertension". Circulation Research. 124 (5): 727–736. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.313882. PMC 6395495. PMID 30612527.
  5. Viera MH, Perez OA, Berman B (2007). "Incyclinide". Drugs of the Future. 32 (3): 209–214. doi:10.1358/dof.2007.032.03.1083308.