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One of the most widely used prescription medications of the past decade, modafinil includes an intriguing history. Created in France in the late 1980s as an experimental therapy for narcolepsy, modafinil was authorized for prescription use by the FDA in 1998. But it was not until the mid-naughts that the medication really caught on in America. What happened?
Marketed as a sleep disorder medication by pharmaceutical maker Cephalon and available under the brand-name Provigil, sales of modafinil were simply twenty five dolars million in 1999. 8 years that are short later (2007), revenues topped $800 million — so that it is much more profitable than Adderall or Viagra. Although sales would afterwards decline due to generic erosion, Provigil remains probably the most famous wakefulness promoting agent (or perhaps eugeroic) sold by prescription. Ironically, it’s the basic fact that modafinil is generally used off-label that’s behind the stunning success of its in the States.Soon fame
Vastly greater than amphetamines as well as amphetamine like stimulants since it doesn’t lead to addiction, jitteriness, crashing, as well as other adverse effects, modafinil was famously worn by U.S. troops who had to remain awake for days on end when fighting in Iraq. Tales of its efficacy shortly reached the house front, as well as sales of Provigil steadily rose.Unlimited and beyond
In the 2011 movie Limitless, a character played by actor Bradley Cooper exponentially increases the brainpower of his by taking an experimental nootropic drug called NZT 48. Because art often imitates life, there is powerful evidence that the fictional mind lab pro for anxiety (Highly recommended Reading) booster was based on modafinil. How can we understand?
By the time the movie was in production, modafinil must have been a poorly kept secret of the rich and powerful. Extremely popular on Wall Street, it was believed to increase concentration, mental acuity, and productivity. Labelled an intelligent drug (or maybe nootropic) as it reputedly enhanced 1 or more facets of cognitive function, it was the stuff of legend for any person who was looking to get ahead. It is not surprising that the prescription drug is discovered in the medicine cabinets of one-percenters the world over. But what about the majority of us?Limiting the limitless