# Nabilone

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/nabilone/  
OnCo record `nabilone` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Nabilone is a synthetic cannabinoid capsule approved in 1985 for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting that standard drugs cannot control; like dronabinol it is a later-line option because of its effects on mood and balance.

## Summary

Nabilone was developed by Eli Lilly and approved by the FDA in December 1985 for nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments; it is also approved in Canada and the United Kingdom. Randomised trials showed it superior to prochlorperazine and placebo, but the serotonin and neurokinin antagonists that followed are more effective. Drowsiness, vertigo, dry mouth and euphoria are common, and it is a controlled substance. It has been studied off label for chronic pain and appetite.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: gap-fill; chembl-universe
- Brand: Cesamet
- Modality: Oral small-molecule synthetic cannabinoid
- Mechanism: A synthetic THC analogue that activates CB1 receptors in the brain's vomiting centres.
- Approvals: US 1985: Nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed conventional antiemetics

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabilone
- Drugs@FDA NDA018677: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=018677
- Label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=nabilone
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabilone

## Connected records

- targets: [Cannabinoid receptor 1](https://onco.cc/targets/cnr1/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/nabilone.json