Description

Remimazolam is an ultra short-acting benzodiazepine used in the induction and maintenance of sedation during short (<30 minute) procedures. Recent trends in anesthesia-related drug development have touted the benefits of so-called "soft drugs" - these agents, such as [remifentanil], are designed to be metabolically fragile and thus susceptible to rapid biotransformation and elimination as inactive metabolites. These "soft drugs" are useful in the context of surgical procedures, wherein a rapid onset/offset is desirable, enabling anesthesiologists to manipulate drug concentrations as needed. Remimazolam was the first "soft" benzodiazepine analog to be developed and was approved for use by the FDA in July 2020 under the brand name Byfavo.