Meprobamate-tranquilizer or anxiolytic? A historical perspective.

Meprobamate was the first successful anti-anxiety drug of the modern era. On the 50th anniversary of its introduction, the authors trace the development of its synthesis, marketing and runaway success to understand the scientific and socio-political factors that may have shaped its use in clinical psychiatry. The relationship of this drug to the earlier development of chlorpromazine is explored to clarify the imperatives of drug classification in modern psychiatry.