HomePeptides › ARA-290

ARA-290

Cibinetide

Tier 2 · Clinical Trials
Class
Non-haematopoietic erythropoietin derivative
Molecular target
Innate repair receptor (EPOR/CD131 heterocomplex)
Sequence / structure
11-aa peptide from the EPO helix B domain
Evidence tier
Tier 2 — Clinical Trials
Category
Tissue Repair & Cytoprotection
Emergency card
Signs something is wrong

Any new or unusual symptom after dosing. Because this compound has little or no human safety data, there is no established list of 'expected' effects to reassure you against — treat anything abnormal as a signal.

What to do now

Stop at the first clearly abnormal reaction and reassess. Keep the vial and lot number in case you need to describe what you actually took.

When it is an emergency

Any severe or fast-worsening symptom — difficulty breathing, chest pain, fainting, severe pain — is a 911 call regardless of the compound.

Any injection — every time

Allergic reaction: hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, wheezing or dizziness can escalate to anaphylaxis within minutes — call 911 immediately. Site infection: spreading redness, heat, swelling, pus or fever is not wait-and-see; an abscess or cellulitis can need drainage or IV antibiotics. Unverified product: grey-market vials are frequently mislabelled or contaminated, so a reaction may be to endotoxin or the wrong contents, not the named compound.

This is not permission or instruction to use this compound. It is harm-reduction information for someone who has already decided to, so that a bad reaction is recognised and treated. When in doubt, get help — embarrassment is survivable.

Biology & mechanism

An elegant piece of drug design. Erythropoietin has a tissue-protective effect entirely separate from its red-cell effect, mediated by a different receptor — a heterocomplex of EPOR and the common beta receptor CD131. ARA-290 is an 11-amino-acid sequence from EPO's helix B that engages only that innate repair receptor. You get the cytoprotection without raising haematocrit, which is what made EPO itself unusable for this purpose.

What the research actually shows

Genuine clinical trials, principally in small-fibre neuropathy associated with sarcoidosis and in type 2 diabetes, reporting improvements in neuropathic symptoms and corneal nerve fibre measures. Modest sample sizes. Development has not reached approval.

Regulatory status

Not FDA-approved. Investigational, with orphan designations historically.

Safety signals

Trial safety has been favourable, and the design specifically avoids EPO's thrombotic risk by not stimulating erythropoiesis. Long-term data are limited.

Clinical trial dosing — what the studies actually used

Phase 2 (sarcoid small-fibre neuropathy, type 2 diabetes): 4 mg once daily SC. Investigational.

Reported from clinical trials or FDA labelling as a matter of record. It is not a recommendation, and for unapproved compounds no dose has been shown safe or effective in humans.

We report study doses, not protocols

Above is what was administered in trials or on FDA labels, reported as fact. We do not convert it into a personal protocol, calculate a dose for your body weight, or tell you what to inject or how to reconstitute it — that decision belongs with a licensed physician. See our editorial policy.

References & further reading

Regulatory status changes. This page reflects our reading of public sources as of July 2026 and should be independently verified before it is relied upon.

Important notice Forge Bioenergy publishes scientific reference information only. Nothing on this site is medical advice, a therapeutic claim, or a recommendation to use any substance in humans. Many peptides described here are not approved by the FDA for any use, and several are approved only for narrow indications under prescription. We do not publish dosing, administration, or usage protocols. Consult a licensed physician before making any medical decision.