Synthesis of oxycodone
Síntesis de la oxicodona
- Date
- 1916 · confidence high
- Place
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Credited to
- Martin Freund and Edmund Speyer (University of Frankfurt)
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
Seeking alternatives to morphine and heroin with less addictive potential, Freund and Speyer synthesise oxycodone from thebaine, an opium alkaloid.
Its first documented clinical use dates from 1917, one year after its synthesis.
What it led to
- Clinical use as an opioid analgesic from 1917
- Family of semisynthetic opioids derived from thebaine
- Public health crisis from prescription opioid use and misuse