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For long-term insomnia in adults, after CBT-I. Prescription only, and reviewed at four weeks.
Order before 3pm — same-day dispatch (MON - FRI)
~5 min consultation
Secure & confidential · Reviewed by a UK prescriber
Suitable age
18 years +
Max per order
1 pack (4 weeks)
Consultation
Yes — required, with review
Quviviq contains daridorexant, which belongs to a newer group of medicines called dual orexin receptor antagonists. Orexin is a chemical messenger that keeps you awake. Rather than sedating you the way an antihistamine does, daridorexant turns down the wake signal, which lets sleep happen more normally.
It is licensed for adults whose insomnia has been present for at least three months and is having a considerable impact on their daytime functioning. That is a genuinely different situation from a bad week of sleep, and it is why this medicine sits behind extra checks.
The dose is one 50mg tablet once a night, taken within 30 minutes of going to bed. A 25mg dose is used where the liver is moderately affected or where you take certain interacting medicines.
Daridorexant is not a controlled drug in the UK, and studies have not shown dependence or withdrawal on stopping. It can be stopped without tapering. That does not make it casual: it carries a black triangle, which means the MHRA is still collecting safety information, and every suspected side effect should be reported.
This is a prescription-only medicine. Complete our online consultation and a prescriber will decide whether it is appropriate for you.
| Active ingredient | Daridorexant 50mg |
| Medicine type | Dual orexin receptor antagonist |
| Licensed for | Insomnia lasting 3 months or more, with daytime impact |
| Suitable for | Adults aged 18 and over |
| How to take it | One tablet within 30 minutes of going to bed |
| Before driving | Allow around 9 hours after your dose |
| Lower dose | 25mg where the liver is moderately affected, or with certain interacting medicines |
| Review | At 4 weeks, and again within 3 months |
| Legal category | Prescription-only medicine, black triangle |
Most sleep medicines work by sedating you. Daridorexant works the other way round: it blocks orexin, the chemical messenger your brain uses to keep you awake. Turning down the wake signal lets sleep happen rather than forcing it.
That difference matters in practice. It is why daridorexant is licensed for long-term insomnia rather than the odd bad week, and why it has had clinical trials lasting over months rather than days.
It is not a controlled drug in the UK, and clinical studies did not show dependence or withdrawal when it is stopped. It carries a black triangle, which means the MHRA is still gathering safety data on it, so any side effect you notice is worth reporting.
Because NICE guidance expects it. For insomnia lasting three months or more, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is the first-line treatment, and daridorexant is for people in whom it has been tried and not worked, or is not available or not suitable. It is not a hoop for its own sake: CBT-I produces longer-lasting improvement than any medicine, so it is genuinely worth trying first. If you have not been able to access it, say so in the consultation, because that counts.
Daridorexant is not a controlled drug in the UK, and clinical studies did not find dependence or withdrawal when it is stopped. It does not need tapering. That is the main reason it sits on our formulary when zopiclone and zolpidem do not. It is still a medicine that acts on the brain, so it is prescribed with care, and anyone with a history of problems with alcohol or drugs is followed more closely.
Everything else on this page is for a short run of bad nights. This is the only option licensed for insomnia that has lasted three months or more. It also works differently: the antihistamines and melatonin nudge you towards sleep, whereas daridorexant blocks the signal keeping you awake. It is the only one reviewed at four weeks and again within three months.
Allow around nine hours between your dose and driving or using machinery. That is the figure in the product information, and driving performance has been measured as impaired after the first dose. If you take it at 11pm, you should not be driving before about 8am. If your day starts earlier than that, this medicine may not be workable for you, and the consultation will ask about it.
We will ask for your consent to inform them, and we would strongly encourage it. This is a long-term treatment with reviews built in, and your GP holds your full record. You can decline, and we will still consider treating you, but the prescriber has to record that the implications were discussed with you.
As short a time as works. There is a review at four weeks to check it is helping, and a fuller reassessment within three months. Treatment beyond that is possible but is not automatic, and continuing for a year or more needs your GP or a specialist involved. If it is not working, the right answer is to stop it rather than carry on.
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