Bioregulator peptides

Bioregulators are a Russian family of gland extracts and short synthetic peptides, each said to restore the function of a particular organ. Most of the research comes from one St Petersburg group, and only Thymalin is a registered medicine.

Compounds: 4
Approved drug: 1
Human studies: 0
Preclinical: 3

Members

Short synthetic bioregulators

Synthetic peptides of three or four amino acids from the same Russian program; none is an approved medicine.

Compound	What it is	Approval	Evidence	How often	Half-life	Sport
Epithalon	Pineal bioregulator peptide	Not approved	Preclinical	Once daily during a course	Not measured	Likely banned
Pinealon	Short bioregulator peptide	Not approved	Preclinical	Once daily during a course	Not measured	Likely banned
Cartalax	Short bioregulator peptide	Not approved	Preclinical	Once daily during a course	Not measured	Likely banned

Tissue extract

A calf thymus extract registered as a prescription drug in Russia; it is also covered with the immune peptides.

Compound	What it is	Approval	Evidence	How often	Half-life	Sport
Thymalin	Immune modulator (thymic extract)	Approved outside the US	Approved drug	Once daily during a course	Not measured	Not banned

Approval, evidence, half-life and sport status restate each compound’s own page, where the sources are listed. Select a name for doses, side effects and studies.

How they work

“Bioregulator” is the name Vladimir Khavinson’s St Petersburg group gives to peptides it says restore the function of particular organs. The group first made peptide extracts from cattle glands, such as Thymalin from the thymus and Epithalamin from the pineal gland, which makes the sleep hormone melatonin. It also made short synthetic peptides based on the extracts’ amino acid makeup, among them Epithalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly), built from the pineal extract. Three-amino-acid peptides such as Pinealon and Cartalax appear in its later papers.

The group proposes that these short peptides enter cells and the nucleus, bind DNA or histones, the spools DNA winds around, and change which genes are read. In its cell studies, Epithalon switched on telomerase, the enzyme that rebuilds the protective caps on chromosome ends; Pinealon cut reactive oxygen, unstable molecules that damage cells; and Cartalax raised cartilage markers in aging stem cells. One independent 2025 study repeated the telomere finding in human cell lines. Animal

Thymalin, the one registered medicine here, is an extract of short peptides from calf thymus. Its Russian label says it restores disturbed immune reactivity: it regulates the number and balance of T and B lymphocytes, the white blood cells that direct immune attacks and make antibodies, strengthens cell-based immune defenses, and stimulates tissue repair and blood cell production when these are suppressed. The label describes effects, not a target. Label

What has been measured in people comes from the same group and its partners, mostly with the extracts. In 266 people over 60, courses of Thymalin, Epithalamin or both were linked to death rates 1.6–2.5 times lower over 6–8 years, and yearly combined courses to a 4.1-fold drop. That study was not double-blind or placebo-controlled, and no other group has repeated it. Synthetic Epithalon, Pinealon and Cartalax have no controlled human trial. Trial

What they have in common

One research group

Most published work on these four comes from Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology and partner institutes, much of it in Russian-language journals. Independent replication is rare: one 2025 UK cell study repeated Epithalon’s telomere finding.

Short courses, months apart

Community

Guides run the synthetic peptides like the Russian extracts: 10–20 daily injections under the skin, repeated every few months, rather than continuous use. No course length has been tested against placebo.

Cancer caution

Precaution

Epithalon switches on telomerase in cells, which most cancers rely on to keep dividing, and Pinealon and Cartalax raised markers of cell division in cell studies. None has been tested in people with cancer, and their pages advise against them with active or past cancer, though Epithalon given to mice a few days a month for life didn’t raise tumor rates, in studies FDA called inadequate to judge cancer risk.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Label

Thymalin’s Russian label rules out both. No human safety data exist for the synthetic peptides in pregnancy or breastfeeding.

What’s in the vial

Precaution

Only Thymalin is a registered medicine; Cartalax is sold in Russia as an oral supplement. Injectable vials of the synthetic peptides have no regulated standard for identity, purity or sterility, and Cartalax labeled with the wrong sequence (AEDL instead of AED) has been reported.

Pairing them

Trial

The Khavinson group gave Thymalin with the pineal extract Epithalamin, and in its 266-person study yearly combined courses had the largest drop in deaths. That was extract data. No trial has tested Epithalon with Pinealon or any other synthetic pairing.

In sport

Epithalon, Pinealon and Cartalax aren’t approved as medicines anywhere, so they fall under WADA’s S0 rule for non-approved substances and are likely banned at all times. Thymalin is registered in Russia, isn’t named on the 2026 list and isn’t banned.

How they differ

What they are

Thymalin is a mixture of many peptides from calf thymus, used for immunity. Epithalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly), promoted for aging, has four amino acids; Pinealon (Glu-Asp-Arg), promoted for the brain, and Cartalax (Ala-Glu-Asp), promoted for joints, have three each.

Status

Thymalin is a registered prescription drug in Russia. Cartalax is sold there as an oral supplement, not a medicine. Epithalon and Pinealon aren’t approved anywhere; in July 2026 FDA’s advisory committee voted to recommend Epithalon for US pharmacy compounding.

Label course

Label

Thymalin: 5–20 mg into muscle once daily for 3–10 days, 30–100 mg per course, repeatable after 1–6 months. The label’s preventive course for adults is 5–10 mg daily for 3–5 days.

Community courses

Community

Guides inject Epithalon at 5–10 mg, Pinealon at 1–2 mg and Cartalax at about 200 mcg, once daily for 10–20 days. None of these amounts comes from a controlled trial, and Pinealon guides differ about 100-fold.

Human evidence

Trial

Epithalon’s human data mostly come from its parent extract, Epithalamin. Pinealon has two small Russian reports with no described control group. Cartalax has no published human study. Thymalin has its label and a few small studies, including a 92-person open-label COVID-19 trial.

History

1982Khavinson and Morozov report an experimental and clinical study of Thymalin, a new immune-regulating preparation from calf thymus.
2002Khavinson sums up three decades of the group’s work: tissue extracts, short peptides designed from their amino acid makeup, including Epithalon, and a theory that aging stems from falling production of regulatory peptides.
2003The group reports that Epithalon switches on telomerase in human cells, and that Thymalin and Epithalamin courses were linked to lower death rates in 266 people over 60.
2025An independent UK study finds Epithalon lengthens telomeres in normal and breast-cancer cell lines.
2026FDA’s advisory committee reviews Epithalon for US pharmacy compounding and votes 7 to 4 to recommend it; FDA makes the final decision.

Comparisons and guides

Questions

What are bioregulator peptides?

A Russian family of peptide preparations from Vladimir Khavinson’s St Petersburg group: extracts from cattle glands, such as Thymalin, and short synthetic peptides, such as Epithalon, Pinealon and Cartalax. The group says each restores a particular organ’s function. Their human studies are small and mostly uncontrolled, and none has been repeated by an independent group.

Is there human evidence for Epithalon?

Very little. The human studies mostly tested Epithalamin, the pineal extract it was designed from, and come from the same group and its partners; none has been repeated independently. Synthetic Epithalon has only small, poorly reported human studies, none of them independent or controlled.

Who did the research on bioregulators?

Most of it comes from Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology and partner institutes, published largely in Russian journals. Independent work is scarce; one 2025 UK cell study repeated Epithalon’s telomere finding.

Are bioregulators approved anywhere?

Thymalin is a registered prescription drug in Russia. Cartalax is sold there as an oral supplement, not a medicine. Epithalon and Pinealon aren’t approved anywhere, and none of the four is approved in the US or EU.

How are bioregulators taken?

In short courses rather than continuously. Thymalin’s Russian label gives 5–20 mg into muscle daily for 3–10 days, repeatable after 1–6 months. Guides inject the synthetic peptides under the skin daily for 10–20 days, a few times a year; those amounts have never been tested in a controlled trial.

Sources

Khavinson, peptides and ageing, a review of the group’s extracts and short peptides (Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2002) PMID 12374906
Khavinson and Morozov, experimental and clinical study of the new immune preparation Thymalin (Voen Med Zh 1982, in Russian) PMID 7048731
Khavinson and Morozov, peptides of pineal gland and thymus prolong human life (Neuro Endocrinol Lett 2003) PMID 14523363
Khavinson et al., Epithalon induces telomerase activity and telomere elongation in human somatic cells (Bull Exp Biol Med 2003) PMID 12937682
Al-Dulaimi et al., Epitalon increases telomere length in human cell lines (Biogerontology 2025) PMID 40908429
Thymalin instruction for medical use (Russian State Register of Medicines, 2025 revision)
Khavinson et al., Pinealon increases cell viability by suppressing free radicals (Rejuvenation Res 2011) PMID 21978084
Myakisheva et al., AED peptide and chondrogenic differentiation of aging human stem cells (Adv Gerontol 2023) PMID 37782646
Khavinson et al., AEDG peptide and a proposed histone-binding mechanism (Molecules 2020) PMID 32019204
Khavinson et al., identification of peptide AEDG in the polypeptide complex of the pineal gland (Bull Exp Biol Med 2017) PMID 29124531

Each compound’s page lists the sources for its own doses, status and studies.

By Vial Guide editorsLast reviewed October 7, 2026

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