metapramine metapramine metapramine (brand names prodastene, timaxel) is a tricyclic antidepressant (tca) developed by rhone poulenc that was introduced for the treatment of depression in france in 1984. in addition to its efficacy against affective disorders, it also has analgesic properties, and may be useful in the treatment of pain. metapramineclinical datatrade namesprodastene, timaxelroutes ofadministrationoralatc codenonelegal statuslegal status in general: ℞ (prescription only) pharmacokinetic dataelimination half-life7–8 hoursidentifiers iupac name (±)-10,11-dihydro-n,5-dimethyl-5h-dibenzazepin-10-amine cas number21730-16-5pubchem cid65700chemspider59127unii303954m7yfchemical and physical dataformulac16h18n2molar mass238.334 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive imagechiralityracemic mixture smiles cnc1cc2=c(c=cc=c2)n(c)c3=cc=cc=c31 metapramine has desipramine-like effects, acting as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor without affecting the reuptake of serotonin or dopamine. it has also been shown to act as a low-affinity nmda receptor antagonist. metapramine's direct effects on serotonin, histamine, and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors have not been assayed, but uniquely among most tcas, it has anecdotally been reported to lack anticholinergic effects.