U-50488 is a drug which acts as a highly selective κ-opioid agonist, but without any μ-opioid antagonist effects.

[1] It has analgesic, diuretic and antitussive effects,[2] and reverses the memory impairment produced by anticholinergic drugs.

[3] U-50488 was one of the first selective kappa agonists invented and research on its derivatives has led to the development of a large family of related compounds.

[4][5] This compound has never received FDA approval and there are no reported human cases in the literature involving an U-50488 overdose.

This analgesic-related article is a stub.