{"entity":{"id":"dronabinol","kind":"drug","name":"Dronabinol","aka":["Synthetic THC","Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol"],"tldr":"Dronabinol is synthetic THC in a capsule, approved in 1985 for chemotherapy nausea and vomiting that other antiemetics have failed to control, and later for appetite loss in AIDS; it sits well behind the 5-HT3 and NK1 antagonists in today's guidelines.","summary":"Dronabinol, the principal psychoactive component of cannabis made synthetically, was approved by the FDA in May 1985 for nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy in patients who had not responded adequately to conventional antiemetics, and in 1992 for anorexia with weight loss in AIDS. Trials in the 1970s and 1980s showed it beat placebo and matched prochlorperazine, but the 5-HT3 antagonists from 1991 and the NK1 antagonists from 2003, with dexamethasone and olanzapine, are far more effective and better tolerated, so cannabinoids are a later-line option in ASCO and NCCN guidance. Dizziness, euphoria or dysphoria and sedation limit its use, especially in older patients. Syndros is an oral solution approved in 2016.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-08","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dronabinol","links":[{"label":"Drugs@FDA NDA018651","url":"https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/index.cfm?event=overview.process&ApplNo=018651"},{"label":"Label (DailyMed)","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=dronabinol"},{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dronabinol"}],"tags":["gap-fill","chembl-universe"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":["cnr1"],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"notes":[],"brand":"Marinol / Syndros","modality":"Oral small-molecule synthetic cannabinoid","mechanism":"Activates CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brainstem's emetic circuitry and in appetite centres.","approvals":[{"region":"US","year":1985,"indication":"Nausea and vomiting from cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed conventional antiemetics"}],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/dronabinol/","neighbours":{"target":[{"id":"cnr1","kind":"target","name":"Cannabinoid receptor 1","route":"/targets/cnr1/"}]}}