A tranquilizing medication from the benzodiazepine family, used to treat anxiety and withdrawal symptoms, especially from alcohol.
From chlor- (chlorine atom in the molecule) + diazepoxide (a seven-membered ring containing two nitrogens). First synthesized in 1955 by Hoffman-La Roche chemist Leo Sternbach; marketed as Librium.
Chlordiazepoxide was literally the first benzodiazepine ever made, and it launched an entire class of medications; Sternbach discovered it by accident while researching other compounds, showing how serendipity plays a huge role in drug discovery.
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