 It primarily binds to the α1 subunits of the GABAA receptors in the brain.Indiplon was discovered at Lederle Laboratories (which was later acquired by Wyeth) in the 1980s and was called CL 285,489.In 1998 Lederle licensed it, along with other early stage drug candidates, to DOV Pharmaceutical, a startup formed by former Lederle employees, and Dov exclusively sublicensed its rights in the drug to Neurocrine Biosciences in that same year.