Cryer Internal: Project Noctambule

[Petitioner]

Cryer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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Project Noctambule is a novel endeavor to predictively meet the unaddressed needs of clients who operate in hostile stellar environments. Following the accommodating attitude of House governments towards the distribution of Stabiline in Cardamine-dependent populations, and the resultant surplus cashflow, opportunity analysis specialists in our marketing department have identified economic potential in safe and well-tested performance enhancement products marketed toward the aforementioned entities.

ACCESS: This file is open to the Board of Directors; corporate researchers with backgrounds in stimulants, depressants, cardiac abnormalities, and metabolism upregulation; select marketing personnel; select investors.
AIMS: Develop and bring to market a novel drug for use as performance enhancement in space combat scenarios and to enhance the duration for which a pilot can effectively operate under the physical stresses of spaceflight, enabling longer sorties.
BUDGET: ₵13,700,000,000
STRUCTURE: We will begin with an overview of relevant pharmaceuticals; their names, histories, applications, costs, chemical structures, biomechanics and pharmacokinetics, ease of chemical modification, etc. After this, we will attempt various syntheses of the substances. Animal and human trials will be conducted, and the most promising formulations will have their production chain analyzed for potential efficiency gains. The final product will go through the patent process, and marketing will reach out to potentially interested clients to organize active trials and secure long-term supply contracts.

§ 1.0 Relevant Pharmaceuticals

§ 1.1 Modafinil (diphenylmethyl-sulfinylacetamide)
Diphenylmethyl-sulfinylacetamide, better known as modafinil, is a central nervous system stimulant primarily used to treat narcolepsy and shift-work sleep disorder. It is frequently prescribed to factory workers and long-haul transport pilots, and sees heavy use in the armed forces of all four Sirian houses as a safer and less addictive alternative to amphetamines. Despite being a controlled substance in every House, restrictions are light, and it is frequently utilized as a nootropic and focus aid by academics and technical personnel, especially in Liberty. Its use by pilots in the Border and Edge Worlds is not unheard of, although it is unlikely most have legitimate prescriptions by qualified medical personnel. Health and addiction risks are low. In some populations, use may cause Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), but evidence for this is weak. Due to its popularity and relative ease of manufacture, costs are generally low.

Modafinil functions primarily as an atypical selective dopamine reuptake inhibitor and indirectly stimulates production of orexin (the primary "wakefulness hormone"). As a medication, it is generally formulated to include both the (S)- and (R)-enantiomers in a 50:50 ratio, with esmodafinil having an effect summarizable as more immediate but less pronounced than armodafinil. Some users report esmodafinil-containing formulations to be less effective than pure armodafinil and/or as causing intestinal issues, but this is uncommon. Elimination half-life for 50:50 formulations varies between 10~12 hours depending on genetics and other factors, with peak concentrations being achieved between 2~3 hours post-administration. Modafinil is almost unique in that it can be effectively used to sustain extended periods of wakefulness up to around 32 hours with no apparent need for compensatory sleep. This combined with its focus-enhancing properties makes its popularity among combat pilots and transport crews fairly self-explanatory.

Modafinil inhibits amygala activity and thus decreases fear response. This trait, assessed in conjunction with its general pro-arousal properties, can increase all-around performance in users, however care should be taken to keep in mind the Yerkes-Dodson relationship; beyond a certain level of arousal and fear inhibition modafinil, like many other stimulants, exhibits not only diminishing returns but a counter-productive/"bell-curve" effect wherein performance may actually decrease below baseline. This poses a serious limitation, albeit not one that we expect to be unable to find a workaround for.

There are numerous derivatives of and structural analogues to modafinil. Investigation of modafinil, its analogues, and its derivatives for use in Project Noctambule should center around decreasing half-life and absorption times, as most variants can be easily combined with other chemicals. Potential hurdles include its understudied mechanisms of action, controlled status, and its unknown relation to non-amphetamine stimulants with regards to the Yerkes-Dodson relationship. Overall, its inclusion in initial formulations is taken essentially as a given in light of its exceedingly uncommon orexinogenic properties, high tolerability, and low cost.