Flmodafinil vs. Modafinil: What Exactly is the Difference?

There’s a new player on the nootropic scene — it’s called Flmodafinil.

People are giving the drug praise, saying it’s faster acting than both modafinil and armodafinil, with fewer side effects.

Are these claims true? What is Flmodafinil? How is it different from the standard modafinil and armodafinil?

We explore these questions and more below.

Flmodafinil Overview

According to clinicaltrials.gov, there are roughly 287,501 clinical trials currently underway.

Just one of these trials involves a new (ish) drug called Flmodafinil.

It’s been under investigation since 2015, with almost nothing to show for it yet.

So what is it?

Flmodafinil a research chemical.

Nobody fully understands the effects of the drug or its safety. The company that invented it spoke of its existence all the way back in 1986 in a patent application [4].

Since this time, there has been little information leaked about the drug. Whether this is due to secrecy, or lack of findings — we’re not sure.

Here’s What We Currently Know About the Drug:

Alternative names: CRL-40,940, Lauflumide, Bisfluoromodafinil, N-deshydroxyl Fladrafinil, bis-(p)-fluoromodafinil,

Scientific name: 2 [bis(4fluorophenyl) methylsulfinyl]- acetamide

Chemical Structure: C15H13F2NO3S

CAS No: 90280-13-0

Molecular Weight: 309.3308

Reported Benefits: Increased bioavailability than traditional modafinil.

Modes of Administration: Tablet, water-soluble powder, capsulated powder.

Flmodafinil & Modafinil

Flmodafinil is very similar to modafinil.

The main reported difference is that Flmodafinil has a higher bioavailability than modafinil. However, there are no scientific studies to support this at the time of writing.

There also exists another, slightly different version, known as CRL-40,941, although it doesn’t appear as though this compound has been selected for further research.

Both of these drugs are new products developed by the original creators of modafinil, Lafon Labs (Laboratorie Lafon).

The drug is currently only available for testing purposes and is reported to come in two main forms, a tablet, like modafinil, and a powder. The powder can be mixed in with water to increase absorption speeds, or capsulated.

Some people online are getting excited about the idea of a new and improved version of the highly esteemed modafinil.

Is it really all it’s cracked up to be?

We’ll get into this in more detail later on.

What is Modafinil?

Modafinil is the crowned “king of smart drugs.”

Its effects are well-known in the nootropics community for supercharging your work or study efforts.

It’s classified as a eugeroic, and central nervous system stimulant.

You’re probably wondering what this means.

A eugeroic is a class of drugs that promote wakefulness. It turns the “on-switch” in your brain to make you feel more awake and vigilant in an instant.

Central nervous system stimulant is a term used to describe all eugeroics but also goes further to describe any compound that stimulates the brain. They give us a burst of energy, increase reaction times, and turn us into machines.

The most famous central nervous system stimulant is caffeine.

Modafinil is an excellent stimulant. It’s long-lasting, very safe, and extremely potent.

Students, business executives, and creatives all use it to enhance their productivity to get paid more, earn a raise or promotion, or ace a difficult exam.

Technically speaking, modafinil is only supposed to be used to address the problems associated with what the FDA considers “excessive daytime sleepiness.”

This includes conditions like narcolepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, obstructive sleep apnea, shift-worker sleep disorders, or multiple sclerosis.

But that’s not how it’s always used in the real world.

The thing is, the FDA won’t allow a pharmaceutical stimulant for use as a “productivity enhancer.” It will never happen.

This has lead a lot of people to obtain modafinil under the table. They order it online from places like AfinilExpress.com or borrow it from friends with a valid prescription.

The off-label use of modafinil is significantly higher than the legal use of the drug. Even the company that owns it, Cephalon Inc, was caught promoting its off-label use. [1].

They were forced to settle at the cost of many millions of dollars.

Where to Buy Modafinil

There are a few ways you can buy modafinil:

1. In a Pharmacy

This is the traditional way to get the drug.

In order to do it, you’ll need to visit a doctor and have a valid reason for them to prescribe the drug to you.

If you don’t, you’re out of luck. Try method number 2 instead.

Even if you do manage to get a prescription, and you take it to the pharmacy to pick up your first round, I hope you brought a lot of cash.

The brand name versions (Provigil® and Nuvigil®) aren’t cheap. They retail anywhere from $20-51 per tablet. This can end up costing you thousands of dollars each year.

2. Online

The best way to get modafinil is to buy the drug online.

This is because online vendors based out of countries like India, with loose medication laws, can sell the drug legally without a prescription.

They also prefer to sell the generic versions of the drug, which has the same dose, and high quality as the brand name, but without the price tag.

Generic versions of modafinil like Modalert and Modvigil cost between $0.80 and $2.80 per tablet— which is significantly cheaper than the brand name options.

Even armodafinil, which is slightly more expensive, is still much cheaper than brand name options. A single tab of Waklert or Artvigil costs users between $0.90 and $2.50 per tablet.

Much more affordable.

Flmodafinil is just like modafinil but comes with a twist.

Allow me to explain by first discussing the different types of modafinil currently available.

Version 1. Racemic Modafinil

Most chemicals come in two main versions. We call these versions enantiomers.

The best way to explain what an enantiomer is is by talking about our hands.

Each of your hands is classified as a hand.

I’ sure you can agree on that.

Even though they are both hands, and they both do the same thing, they’re mirror images of each other.

In order to lay the one over the other and have the same outline, you need to flip one of them upside down.

Well, chemicals are the same.

There are right and left versions of the same chemical. Although they generally both do the same thing, one is usually better at something than the other.

So back to what racemic modafinil is…

This is the standard version of modafinil. It contains both the right-handed (R-modafinil) and   (S-modafinil) in the same mixture.

Provigil®, Modalert, and Modvigil are all racemic versions of modafinil.

Version 2. Enantiopure Modafinil

If a racemic modafinil has both right and left-handed versions of the drug, then the enantiopure version contains only one of these enantiomers.

It’s a pure concentration of one enantiomer.

In the case of modafinil, the R-modafinil enantiomer is generally preferred because the effects of this form have been shown to be stronger in its effects.

This is referred to as armodafinil.

Armodafinil products include Nuvigil®, Waklert, and Artvigil.

Of course, the dose is smaller when the compound is stronger. Instead of the standard 200 mg dose of racemic modafinil, the enantiopure modafinil containing R-modafinil is usually given at a dose of 150 mg to achieve the same results.

Version 3. Modafinil Derivatives

Now we’re getting into the territory of Flmodafinil.

It’s not an enantiomer, but a derivative.

This essentially means it’s a modification to the original compound in some way or another.

Something is changed or adapted to the molecule, usually to make it better.

In order to classify as a derivative of a drug, the compound needs to be “derived” from the parent structure.

This means that in order to make a derivative of modafinil, it has to be made directly from modafinil itself. We would call this a “first-order” derivative.

A good example of a well-known derivative is Aspirin.

Aspirin is derived from a compound called salicylic acid, a compound found naturally in the bark of the willow tree. A researcher in the early 1900’s figured out that this was the main chemical responsible for the pain-relieving qualities of the herb, and decided to make it even better.

By adding an acetyl chemical group to the compound, he was able to make it much more bioavailable to the body, significantly increasing the potency of the drug.

This is precisely the case with Flmodafinil.

Is Flmodafinil Improved Modafinil? Probably Not

Flmodafinil is very similar to modafinil but has two fluoro- groups attached.

It’s considered to have a higher bioavailability than modafinil thanks to the additional fluoro- groups attached.

Increased bioavailability means that a higher percentage of the drug is absorbed through the digestive tract, ultimately allowing for smaller doses.

The Suggested Benefits of Flmodafinil Include:

• Neuroprotective
• Dopamine reuptake inhibitor
• Antidepressant
• Anti-aggressive [3]

The company working on the drug patented it back in 2013, and have been pushing the drug through phase I clinical trials since 2015.

As of yet, there have not been any compelling, or convincing information to surface that the drug offers any improvement over modafinil.

Flmodafinil & Modafinil: Why You Should Stick to Modafinil

Although the idea of improved modafinil sounds great, there’s no indication that Flmodafinil is any better.

The increased bioavailability is being talked about a lot in online forums, however, despite 30 years since its discovery, and three years of phase I clinical trials, nothing is yet to come from the company that patented it.

Besides, do we really need modafinil to be more bioavailable?

A 200 mg dose is already very small, and highly effective for increasing productivity, treating narcolepsy and other sleeping disorders, and boosting energy levels.

Lowering the dose wouldn’t change its effects, only the amount of the drug we take.

The tablet size (dose) of modafinil is not a problem. It’s already small and efficient.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on any new developments of this drug, but until then, we’re not convinced it’s going to bring anything useful to fruition.

Stick to modafinil and keep the productivity going strong!

1. Peñaloza, R. A., Sarkar, U., Claman, D. M., & Omachi, T. A. (2013). Trends in on-label and off-label modafinil use in a nationally representative sample. JAMA internal medicine, 173(8), 704-706.
2. King, L. A., Ujváry, I., & Brandt, S. D. (2014). Drug laws and the’derivative’problem. Drug testing and analysis, 6(7-8), 879-883.
3. US patent 4489095, Lafon, L., “Halogenobenzhydrylsulfinylacetohydroxamic Acids”, issued 1984-12-18, assigned to Laboratoire L. Lafon
4. Louis Lafon (28 January 1986). “Patent CA 1199916 A1 – Benzhydrylsulfinylacetamide derivatives”. Retrieved 25 July 2015.