AC-262,356 is a drug developed by Acadia Pharmaceuticals which acts as a selective androgen receptor modulator

Selective androgen receptor modulator

Selective androgen receptor modulators or SARMs are a novel class of androgen receptor ligands. They are intended to have the same kind of effects as androgenic drugs like anabolic steroids but be much more selective in...

. It acts as a partial agonist

Partial agonist

Partial agonists bind and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist...

 for the androgen receptor

Androgen receptor

The androgen receptor , also known as NR3C4 , is a type of nuclear receptor that is activated by binding of either of the androgenic hormones testosterone or dihydrotestosterone in the cytoplasm and then translocating into the nucleus...

 with a Ki of 5nM, and no significant affinity for any other receptors tested. In animal studies it produced a maximal effect of around 66% of the anabolic action of testosterone

Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...

, but only around 27% of its potency as an androgen

Androgen

Androgen, also called androgenic hormone or testoid, is the generic term for any natural or synthetic compound, usually a steroid hormone, that stimulates or controls the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors...

.