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PeptideHormone

CibinetideARA-290

An EPO-derived peptide with erythropoietin's tissue protection but none of its blood effects.

Research peptideInvestigationalInvestigational

Erythropoietin's tissue-protective half, separated from its blood-building half. Splitting one molecule's two jobs is a strategy the field is only starting to use.

Identity

Class
Synthetic 11-mer from erythropoietin's helix-B domain
Source
Synthetic; models the helix-B surface of erythropoietin
Receptor
Innate repair receptor — the EPOR/β-common (CD131) heteroreceptor

Key properties

Evidence floorClinicalREF1CLIN1
Molecular weight
≈ 1,257 Da
REF
Half-life (native)
~2 min (effects outlast clearance)
CLIN
Model dosing

Approximate values for the native hormone; engineered analogs are often deliberately larger and far longer-acting. Each figure carries its own provenance tier, and the floor is the weakest of them - the Standard.

Mechanism

Erythropoietin protects tissue through a receptor distinct from the one that raises red cells: the innate repair receptor, an EPOR/β-common-chain heteromer that appears on injured and inflamed tissue. ARA-290 is a short peptide reproducing only the helix-B face of EPO that engages this receptor — delivering EPO's anti-inflammatory, tissue-protective signaling with no erythropoietic (hematocrit-raising) action, and therefore none of EPO's thrombotic liability.

Reference notes

  • It decouples EPO's two jobs: tissue protection (kept) from red-cell production (dropped) — the entire design rationale.
  • Human phase 2 trials targeted neuropathic pain — notably sarcoidosis-associated small-fiber neuropathy — and diabetic complications.
  • The evidence is promising but unsettled: an investigational clinical-stage peptide, not an approved drug.

Regulatory status

United States · reviewed September 2026
InvestigationalARA-290 is in registered human trials but not approved for any indication.
Basis
Cibinetide has completed Phase 2 trials in sarcoidosis-associated neuropathy; no approval.

Status describes the molecule as a drug substance under US law and is an editorial reading of the public record — approvals, trial registrations, and the FDA 503A bulk-substances list. It is not legal advice and it changes; the review date above is the last time the table was checked. Other jurisdictions are noted only where they differ materially.

Common questions

What is Cibinetide (ARA-290)?
An EPO-derived peptide with erythropoietin's tissue protection but none of its blood effects. Structurally it is Synthetic 11-mer from erythropoietin's helix-B domain.
How does ARA-290 work?
Erythropoietin protects tissue through a receptor distinct from the one that raises red cells: the innate repair receptor, an EPOR/β-common-chain heteromer that appears on injured and inflamed tissue. ARA-290 is a short peptide reproducing only the helix-B face of EPO that engages this receptor — delivering EPO's anti-inflammatory, tissue-protective signaling with no erythropoietic (hematocrit-raising) action, and therefore none of EPO's thrombotic liability.
How strong is the evidence for ARA-290?
PeptideHormone grades ARA-290 at the "Investigational" evidence tier — it is under active human investigation — promising, but not yet settled. It is catalogued as a community research peptide outside the approved-drug system, and the tier is an editorial judgment about the public literature that can change as the science does.
What is the half-life of ARA-290?
The reported circulating half-life of ARA-290 is ~2 min (effects outlast clearance).
Is ARA-290 FDA-approved?
No — as of September 2026, ARA-290 is in registered human trials but not approved for any indication. Cibinetide has completed Phase 2 trials in sarcoidosis-associated neuropathy; no approval. Status is US-centric and can change; check the FDA record for the current position.

In the literature

Live registry counts · retrieved
Registered trialsREF
4
  • Ph 11
  • Ph 24
  • Ph 30
  • Ph 40
Open on ClinicalTrials.gov
PubMed recordsREF
36
Since 20227 · 19%
Open on PubMed

Searched as Cibinetide, ARA-290. Counts are search hits from the primary registries, not a curated set and not a grade – a measure of how much work exists on ARA-290, not how it turned out.

Selected literature

Curated peer-reviewed reviews, sourced from PubMed. Selected for relevance, not exhaustive — open any entry on PubMed for the full record and its primary citations.

  1. 1.Cibinetide Improves Corneal Nerve Fiber Abundance in Patients With Sarcoidosis-Associated Small Nerve Fiber Loss and Neuropathic Pain · Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2017 · PMID 28475703
  2. 2.The Non-Erythropoietic EPO Analogue Cibinetide Inhibits Osteoclastogenesis In Vitro and Increases Bone Mineral Density in Mice · International journal of molecular sciences, 2021 · PMID 35008482
  3. 3.A Phase 2 Clinical Trial on the Use of Cibinetide for the Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema · Journal of clinical medicine, 2020 · PMID 32674280

External references

ARA-290 in the public knowledge graph — the same entity resolved across the authoritative chemistry and protein databases.