Emerging evidence tracker
Peptides in clinical research
A claim-specific view of registered human studies, published results, safety signals, and the longer Russia–Ukraine research history—without turning experimental compounds into a protocol.
- active registered trials
- 5
- regional history dossiers
- 4
- proven lifespan outcomes
- 0
- Registry status checked
- 2026-08-23
01 / REGISTRATION
A trial record is a question
Recruiting or not-yet-recruiting means investigators plan to test a hypothesis. Until results are posted and critically reviewed, it does not add a positive finding.
02 / IDENTITY
Exact molecules matter
A peptide fragment, full-length recombinant protein, and tissue-derived extract cannot be treated as interchangeable because their names or proposed pathways overlap.
03 / APPROVAL
Country status does not travel
Historical use or registration in one country does not establish approval, product quality, safety, or effectiveness in another country.
Current registry
Recruiting human studies to watch
These records were recruiting when checked. Outcomes and populations are shown because a narrow disease or biomarker study must not be converted into a broad anti-aging claim.
BPC-157
NCT07437547
- Who is being studied
- Adults with an MRI-confirmed grade II hamstring strain
- What the trial asks
- Does treatment shorten return-to-sport time or reduce MRI-measured injury volume?
- Design and timing
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; planned enrollment 120; China; estimated completion February 2028.
What it cannot establish yet
No results are posted. Registration is not evidence of benefit, and this injury study cannot establish general recovery, gut-health, or longevity claims.
Approval and safety context
FDA reports no approved BPC-157 drug component and identifies major human-safety and product-characterization gaps for compounding.
Primary and official sources
MOTS-c
NCT07505745
- Who is being studied
- Adults with prediabetes and overweight or obesity
- What the trial asks
- Does treatment change oral-glucose-tolerance-derived insulin sensitivity, and what adverse events occur?
- Design and timing
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; planned enrollment 120; China; estimated completion May 2028.
What it cannot establish yet
No results are posted. This is a metabolic biomarker study, not a test of lifespan, disability-free survival, or broad anti-aging effects.
Approval and safety context
FDA's review found no prior human-exposure evidence available to establish safety and highlighted immunogenicity and product-quality uncertainty.
Primary and official sources
Elamipretide
NCT07275424
- Who is being studied
- Generally healthy adults aged 65–80
- What the trial asks
- Is a four-week course tolerable, and do exploratory measures of muscle energetics and physical function change?
- Design and timing
- Open-label, single-arm pilot; planned enrollment 30; United States; estimated completion April 2026.
What it cannot establish yet
Without a concurrent control group, this pilot can primarily inform feasibility and safety. An earlier small randomized study found a short-lived ATP-capacity signal but no improvement in fatigue resistance.
Approval and safety context
The registry identifies this as an FDA-regulated drug study; that designation does not mean the intervention is approved for healthy aging.
Primary and official sources
TB-500 fragment
NCT07487363
- Who is being studied
- Adults with stable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- What the trial asks
- What are the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics, and do exploratory cardiovascular biomarkers change?
- Design and timing
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled; planned enrollment 80; China; estimated completion February 2028.
What it cannot establish yet
No results are posted. The tested fragment should not be treated as interchangeable with full-length recombinant thymosin beta-4, which has a separate clinical program.
Approval and safety context
The trial record does not establish approval. FDA separately flags substantial safety and characterization gaps for compounded thymosin-beta-4 fragments.
Primary and official sources
Tesamorelin
NCT06554717
- Who is being studied
- People with HIV, abdominal obesity, and impaired physical function or frailty
- What the trial asks
- Does adding tesamorelin to exercise improve repeated chair-stand performance and related physical-function outcomes?
- Design and timing
- Randomized, placebo-controlled; planned enrollment 100; United States; 24-week primary assessment.
What it cannot establish yet
This condition-specific trial cannot establish benefit for healthy adults or general anti-aging use.
Approval and safety context
Tesamorelin is FDA-approved for reducing excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy—not for weight loss or general anti-aging. Its label says long-term cardiovascular safety has not been established.
Primary and official sources
Regional history
What is documented in Russia and Ukraine
Peptide bioregulator programs were reported for decades by research groups in St Petersburg and Kyiv. That history is real, but it is often overstated: products differ, cohorts may overlap, methods are incompletely reported, and independent replication is limited.
Confirmed in this review
- Older human studies and clinical-use reports exist in Russian and Ukrainian literature.
- The 1990s gerontology collaboration included institutions in St Petersburg and Kyiv.
- FDA's 2026 review identifies Semax nasal drops as registered drugs in Russia.
Not established
- That synthetic Epitalon and the Epithalamin extract have equivalent effects.
- That any peptide listed here extends human lifespan or healthspan.
- Current Ukrainian authorization for the historical products reviewed here.
- That regional registration implies approval in Japan, the United States, or elsewhere.
Epitalon / Epithalamin
- Identity check
- Epitalon (AEDG) is a synthetic tetrapeptide. Epithalamin is a pineal-gland polypeptide extract. They are not the same substance.
- What is documented
- Teams in St Petersburg and Kyiv reported long follow-up studies of older adults beginning in the 1990s. A 2003 report followed 266 participants for 6–8 years; a Ukrainian coronary-disease cohort reported 12-year follow-up.
- Evidence boundary
- These old, small reports came from closely connected research groups, provide limited detail about allocation and blinding, and lack modern independent replication. Related follow-ups may reuse participants and must not be counted as separate confirmation. They studied Epithalamin—not proof that synthetic Epitalon extends life.
- Current-status boundary
- FDA found the evidence insufficient for the nominated use, no human pharmacokinetic data, and important identity, safety, and immunogenicity gaps. Current Ukrainian authorization was not established in this review.
Thymalin
- Identity check
- A thymus-derived peptide extract described in Russian literature; it is distinct from synthetic fragments marketed under similar thymosin names.
- What is documented
- Russian investigators described clinical use as an immune-modulating extract, and Thymalin appeared in the same 266-person gerontology program reported with Epithalamin. A small Ukrainian report included 15 people with parkinsonism.
- Evidence boundary
- The literature does not provide a modern, independently replicated body of randomized evidence for longevity. Small disease-specific reports do not establish broad immune rejuvenation or anti-aging benefit.
- Current-status boundary
- Historical use and publication are documented; current authorization in Russia or Ukraine was not independently established in this review.
Semax
- Identity check
- A synthetic ACTH-related peptide developed for intranasal use in Russian clinical programs.
- What is documented
- FDA's 2026 review confirms that 0.1% and 1% nasal-drop products are registered drugs in Russia. Published Russian studies include neurologic indications, not lifespan extension.
- Evidence boundary
- Regional registration does not establish effectiveness for anti-aging, cognition enhancement in healthy people, or injectable use. FDA found the submitted clinical evidence small and insufficient for the nominated neurologic uses.
- Current-status boundary
- Registered in Russia according to FDA's review; not FDA-approved. FDA highlighted limited safety data, route-specific uncertainty, and product-quality concerns for compounding.
Selank
- Identity check
- A synthetic tuftsin-related peptide studied mainly for anxiety and neurologic effects in Russian literature.
- What is documented
- A Russian comparative study enrolled 60 people with anxiety disorders and compared Selank with phenazepam. This is evidence of regional clinical research—not a longevity study.
- Evidence boundary
- One small comparative study does not establish broad cognitive, stress-resilience, or anti-aging effects. No exact currently recruiting ClinicalTrials.gov study was identified in this review.
- Current-status boundary
- FDA lists compounded Selank among substances with significant safety concerns because human safety information and product characterization are limited. Current Russian or Ukrainian authorization was not independently established here.