It was produced in 1961 by Merck Laboratories by bonding 2 vitamin B6 compounds (pyridoxine) together with a disulfide bridge.

Since the early 1990s it has been sold as a nootropic dietary supplement in the United States.

It is approved for "symptomatic treatment of chronically impaired brain function in dementia syndromes" and for "supportive treatment of sequelae of craniocerebral trauma" in various European countries, including Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, and Greece.

In France it is also approved for rheumatoid arthritis as a disease modifying drug, on the basis of the results of clinical trials.

In many countries it is available over the counter and is widely advertised on the internet as being for "memory disturbances.