DEA Schedules Cipepofol as a Controlled Substance; NIH and Treasury Issue Advisory Actions

DEA Places Cipepofol in Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued an interim final rule placing cipepofol — chemically known as 2-[(1R)-1-cyclopropylethyl]-6-isopropylphenol and marketed under the brand name Cypsedo — in Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), effective August 27, 2026. The rule amends 21 CFR 1308 and covers topics including administrative practice and procedure, drug traffic control, and reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

The action follows the May 29, 2026 approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of a new drug application for Cypsedo for use in induction of general anesthesia in adults undergoing surgery. The Department of Health and Human Services provided DEA with a scheduling recommendation, triggering DEA's obligation to commence an expedited scheduling action under the CSA, as amended in 2015 by the Improving Regulatory Transparency for New Medical Therapies Act (section 2(b) of Pub. Law 114-89). The rule explains that under 21 U.S.C. 811(j), this expedited scheduling is required where the Secretary of HHS has advised DEA that a New Drug Application has been submitted for a drug meeting the applicable statutory criteria.

The rule states that interested persons may request a hearing to determine whether cipepofol meets the statutory criteria for placement in Schedule IV, with such proceedings conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. Hearing requests must state with particularity the interest of the person in the proceeding, the objections or issues concerning which the person desires to be heard, and the person's position with regard to those objections or issues. The DEA Administrator will determine whether a hearing is needed; if so, DEA will publish a notice of hearing in the Federal Register, and an Administrative Law Judge will be designated to preside. Commenters submitting confidential or proprietary business information are instructed to submit two copies — one marked "CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION" and one marked "TO BE PUBLICLY POSTED" with all claimed confidential information redacted.

NIH Center for Scientific Review Schedules Closed Grant-Review Panels

The National Institutes of Health's Center for Scientific Review (CSR) has published notice of five closed special emphasis panel meetings to be held between September 30 and October 8, 2026, all conducted as virtual meetings at the NIH Rockledge II facility, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892. The meetings are closed to the public pursuant to sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6) of Title 5 U.S.C., on the grounds that grant applications and related discussions could disclose confidential trade secrets or commercial property such as patentable material, and personal information whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The scheduled panels and their dates are as follows. The Special Emphasis Panel on Program Projects: Translational Cancer Research SPORE P50 will meet on September 30, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with Amr M. Ghaleb, Ph.D., serving as Scientific Review Officer. The Special Emphasis Panel on Program Projects: Lung and Sleep will meet October 1–2, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with Melissa H. Nagelin, Ph.D., as contact. The Special Emphasis Panel on Cancer Therapeutics (R21) will meet October 7–8, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with Shree Ram Singh, Ph.D., as contact. The Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences Study Section, part of the Musculoskeletal, Oral and Skin Sciences Integrated Review Group, will also meet October 7–8, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with Richard Michael Lovering, Ph.D., as contact. Finally, the Special Emphasis Panel on Research Enhancement and Excellence Awards (R15/R16) in Biotechnology, Computational Biology and Modeling will meet October 8, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with Rebecca Catherine Burgess, Ph.D., as contact. All panels share the stated agenda of reviewing and evaluating grant applications.

Treasury Renews Commission on Social Impact Partnerships Charter

The Treasury Department has announced the renewal of the charter for the Commission on Social Impact Partnerships for a two-year period, beginning no sooner than seven days following publication of the notice in the Federal Register on August 27, 2026. The notice is issued pursuant to section 8(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. 1008.

The Commission was originally established on February 9, 2018, when the President signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which created the Commission under the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA). The Commission's duties include making recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury regarding awards of social impact partnership project grants and feasibility study grants. The notice states that the Commission will meet at the direction of Treasury when it needs to consider applications to the SIPPRA program or at other times to advise Treasury, and that unless a meeting is for administrative purposes, meetings of the Commission will be open to the public.

What to Watch

• September 28, 2026: Deadline for public comments on the DEA's interim final rule placing cipepofol in Schedule IV; the electronic Federal Docket Management System will not accept comments after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on that date.
• September 30, 2026: NIH CSR Special Emphasis Panel on Translational Cancer Research SPORE P50 (virtual).
• October 1–2, 2026: NIH CSR Special Emphasis Panel on Lung and Sleep (virtual).
• October 7–8, 2026: NIH CSR panels on Cancer Therapeutics (R21) and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences (virtual).
• October 8, 2026: NIH CSR Special Emphasis Panel on Research Enhancement and Excellence Awards (R15/R16) in Biotechnology, Computational Biology and Modeling (virtual).
• The Treasury's Commission on Social Impact Partnerships charter renewal takes effect no sooner than seven days after August 27, 2026 publication.

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