prazepam prazepam prazepam is a benzodiazepine derivative drug developed by warner-lambert in the 1960s. it possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. prazepam is a prodrug for desmethyldiazepam which is responsible for the therapeutic effects of prazepam. not to be confused with prazepine. prazepamclinical dataother names9-chloro-2-(cyclopropylmethyl)-6-phenyl-2,5-diazabicycloundeca-5,8,10,12-tetraen- 3-oneahfs/drugs.commicromedex detailed consumer informationmedlineplusa601036routes ofadministrationoralatc coden05ba11 (who) legal statuslegal status ca: schedule iv de: prescription only (anlage iii for higher doses) us: schedule iv pharmacokinetic datametabolismhepaticelimination half-life36–200 hoursexcretionrenalidentifiers iupac name 7-chloro-1-(cyclopropylmethyl)-5-phenyl-1,3-dihydro-2h-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one cas number2955-38-6 ypubchem cid4890iuphar/bps7275drugbankdb01588 ychemspider4721 yuniiq30vcc064mkeggd00470 ychemblchembl969 ycomptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid4021181 echa infocard100.019.069 chemical and physical dataformulac19h17cln2omolar mass324.81 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles clc4cc\1c(n(c(=o)c/n=c/1c2ccccc2)cc3cc3)cc4 inchi inchi=1s/c19h17cln2o/c20-15-8-9-17-16(10-15)19(14-4-2-1-3-5-14)21-11-18(23)22(17)12-13-6-7-13/h1-5,8-10,13h,6-7,11-12h2 ykey:mwqchhacwwaqlj-uhfffaoysa-n y (verify) indications prazepam is indicated for the short-term treatment of anxiety. after short-term therapy, the dose is usually gradually tapered-off to reduce or avoid any withdrawal or rebound effects. desmethyldiazepam, an active metabolite, has a very long half-life of 29 to 224 hours, which contributes to the therapeutic effects of prazepam. side effects side effects of prazepam are less profound than with other benzodiazepines. excessive drowsiness and with longer-term use, drug dependence, are the most common side effects of prazepam. side effects such as fatigue or "feeling spacey" can also occur but less commonly than with other benzodiazepines. other side effects include feebleness, clumsiness or lethargy, clouded thinking and mental slowness. tolerance, dependence and withdrawal