Cortagen

Overview

Cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide — Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro ("AEDP") — from Vladimir Khavinson's family of "short peptide bioregulators," developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It was produced by directed synthesis based on amino-acid analysis of cortexin, a cerebral-cortex polypeptide preparation, and is marketed as a brain/nervous-system "bioregulator" with claimed neurotrophic and geroprotective activity.

Its chemistry is well defined. PubChem (CID 18439621) confirms the structure: molecular formula C17H26N4O9, average molecular weight 430.4 g/mol, all-L (natural) stereochemistry.

The honest evidence picture, however, is limited, older, and almost entirely preclinical. The strongest peer-reviewed data are a single rat sciatic-nerve regeneration study (2000) and ex-vivo / in-vitro chromatin-decondensation and gene-reactivation observations in lymphocytes of elderly subjects. All located research originates from the Khavinson group or close collaborators, with no independent Western replication and no published human clinical trial. It is not approved by the FDA or EMA and is sold only as a research chemical.

Chemistry and structure

Values above are drawn from PubChem CID 18439621 (InChIKey PLTRIMAUDDQYRV-NAKRPEOUSA-N). No authoritative CAS number is listed in PubChem. Multiple chemical vendors (e.g. BOC Sciences) list CAS 335591-03-2, but this is not confirmed against a primary CAS registry entry — vendor CAS (and even vendor molecular-formula) claims should be treated with caution.

Mechanism of action

• DNA/promoter interaction and gene-expression modulation — as a short peptide, cortagen is proposed to enter cells and the nucleus and modulate gene expression by interacting with specific DNA/promoter regions (the Khavinson epigenetic-bioregulation model). [Hypothesis] (Developer-group model; not independently established)
• Chromatin decondensation / gene reactivation — induces decondensation of heterochromatin and reactivation of previously repressed (e.g. ribosomal) genes in lymphocytes/leukocytes of elderly subjects. [In vitro] (PMID 15085253 and related chromatin studies, Khavinson group)
• Peripheral nerve regeneration — enhances sciatic-nerve fiber regeneration and conduction velocity after injury in rats. [Animal] (Turchaninova et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2000)
• Neurotrophic / neuroprotective and geroprotective effects — derived to mimic cortexin activity; framing from developer/vendor literature on a preclinical basis only. [Hypothesis] (Developer/vendor framing; preclinical basis only)

Research and evidence

Human evidence. No published human clinical trials (RCTs or otherwise) were located. The most "human-adjacent" data are ex-vivo / in-vitro studies on lymphocytes and leukocytes obtained from elderly subjects (age ~75–88) showing heterochromatin decondensation and reactivation of age-repressed genes — these are laboratory-cell observations [In vitro], not clinical efficacy or safety data. All located research originates from the Khavinson group or close collaborators. In short: no well-established human clinical trials. Human dosing, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, and half-life are not established in primary sources (vendor "half-life" figures are unverified).

Status and regulation

Cortagen is not approved by the FDA or EMA for any indication. There is no evidence of Western marketing authorisation; it is sold only as a research-grade chemical / research reagent, not authorised for human use. Any human use would make it an unauthorised (unlicensed) medicine.

Note that the related preparation cortexin is used medically in Russia, but that is a different, polypeptide product — it should not be conflated with the cortagen tetrapeptide. Whether cortagen itself holds any Russian/EAEU marketing authorisation was not confirmed in accessible sources.

WADA status: no source was found asserting cortagen is on the WADA Prohibited List, so no class code is stated here. WADA sport-prohibition is a separate axis from legality.

Safety

• Human safety profile is not established in verifiable sources — no toxicology, pharmacokinetics, or adverse-event data of adequate quality were found.
• The biological effects reported are from animal and cell-culture models, which do not establish safety in humans.
• Material sold as a research reagent is not a quality-controlled medicine and may vary in identity, purity, and sterility.
• No human dosing has been established; any human use is experimental and unsupervised by design. Vendor dosing charts are not backed by clinical evidence.

Legal status

Cortagen's regulatory classification is a research reagent ("research use only") — it is not approved for human use in the US or EU. "No specific ban" is not affirmative permission: a compound becomes an unauthorised medicine the moment it is intended for human use, regardless of how it is labeled at point of sale. The Russian medical use of the separate cortexin preparation does not confer legality on the cortagen tetrapeptide. Regulatory status differs by country and can change. This is not legal advice — verify the status in your own jurisdiction. (Dated 2026-07-08.)

How it compares

• Epitalon — another Khavinson "short peptide bioregulator" and a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, AEDG), sharing Cortagen's pattern of bold geroprotective / epigenetic claims resting largely on the same research lineage with limited independent replication.
• Semax and Selank — Russian nootropic/neuropeptides that, like Cortagen, are studied largely within Russian research programs; they differ in origin and have somewhat broader (though still limited) literature.
• Cerebrolysin — a brain-derived peptide preparation studied for neurological indications; it is a mixture rather than a single defined peptide, but shares the neurotrophic framing applied to Cortagen.

Common misconceptions

• "Cortagen is a proven neuroregenerative drug." The nerve-regeneration data are a single rat study [Animal]; there is no published human clinical trial. It is not a proven human therapy.
• "Cortagen and cortexin are the same thing." Cortexin is a multi-component cerebral-cortex polypeptide preparation used medically in Russia; Cortagen is a single synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro) derived from it. They are different products.
• "Its CAS number is 335591-03-2." That is a vendor-listed number, unverified against a primary CAS registry; PubChem lists no CAS for this compound, so it should not be treated as authoritative.
• "It reactivates genes by binding DNA." DNA/promoter interaction and gene-expression modulation is a hypothesis-level claim from the developers' group [Hypothesis]; the chromatin-decondensation observations are in vitro [In vitro], not proof of a physiological mechanism in humans.
• "Not banned means legal to take." No specific ban is not affirmative permission; Cortagen is a research reagent and becomes an unauthorised medicine the moment it is intended for human use.