ARA-290
Also called cibinetide, ARA290
A modified erythropoietin derivative built deliberately so it does NOT raise red blood cells.
Tested in smaller controlled human trials — real human data, at an early stage. The ranges below combine those studies with what the community reports using.
- Nerve comfort
- Recovery & injury
The quick answer
A modified erythropoietin derivative built deliberately so it does NOT raise red blood cells. It targets the innate repair receptor instead - a tissue-protection and nerve-comfort pathway.
What it is not
Not a recovery or injury compound and not interchangeable with BPC-157 or TB-500. Different pathway, different problem. And unusually for this list, it has real phase 2 human data behind it - in sarcoidosis-related small-fibre neuropathy.
Why people use it
Nerve comfort. This is the compound people reach for when the problem is burning, tingling or small-fibre nerve pain rather than a torn tendon.
What people report using
These are ranges other people have reported running. They are here so you can see what has actually been done — they are not medical advice and not a recommendation for you.
People report running this anywhere from 2mg to 3mg, every day, for 28 days.Where somebody sits in that range depends on what they are using it for and what they are starting from — the low end is a deliberate choice a lot of people make, not a half-hearted version of the high end.
Nerve comfort
- How often
- Every day, for 28 days
- Route
- subcutaneous
- Where this comes from
- Community practice
Reports at 2 to 3mg daily over four to eight weeks describe numbness and burning easing.
Nerve comfort
- How often
- Every day, for 28 days
- Route
- subcutaneous
- Where this comes from
- Early human trials
Numbness, burning and tingling easing over four weeks.
Nerve comfort
- How often
- Every day
- Route
- subcutaneous
- Where this comes from
- Small human studies
Used for more stubborn nerve symptoms, or by people who felt something at 1mg and wanted more of it.
10mg vial + 2ml bacteriostatic water = 5mg/ml. Add slowly down the glass side, roll gently, do not shake. 4mg = 80 units (0.8ml) on a U-100 insulin syringe. Under the skin into abdominal fat, rotating sites. Refrigerate after mixing (2-8C).
Work out your own units on the reconstitution calculator — the most common serious mistake in this area is arithmetic, not chemistry.
What to expect, and when
- First thing people notice
- Weeks 1–2 (pain/autonomic)
- When it gets real
- Week 4 (symptom scores)
- Where it peaks
- Weeks 4–8+ (nerve fiber density)
- Patience needed
- Medium - nerve repair is slow
- Days 1–5Innate repair receptor engaged
ARA-290 (cibinetide) is an 11-amino-acid peptide modeled on a region of erythropoietin, designed to activate the innate repair receptor - an EPOR/CD131 (beta-common) complex - without stimulating red-blood-cell production. Early dosing engages this anti-inflammatory, tissue-protective pathway at the signaling level. Users typically report little in the first days. This is research context from small trials, not an approved indication.
- Weeks 1–2Early pain and autonomic changes
In sarcoidosis-associated small-fiber neuropathy trials, participants often began reporting reduced neuropathic pain and autonomic symptom changes within the first weeks of dosing. Research suggests the mechanism is inflammation resolution and cytoprotection rather than nerve regrowth this early. Effects are modest and individual at this stage. Framing is strictly research-context - cibinetide is not FDA-approved.
- Week 4Symptom scores improve
A randomized double-blind pilot found significant improvement in the small-fiber neuropathy screening list (SFNSL) score versus placebo at week 4, using a roughly 4-week dosing course. This is the window where trial symptom endpoints most clearly moved. It reflects measured outcomes in a specific patient population, not general benefit. Preliminary evidence from small studies only.
- Weeks 4–8+Small-fiber regeneration
A later controlled study reported that cibinetide met its endpoint for small-nerve-fiber repair, measured as increased corneal nerve fiber density by corneal confocal microscopy over the dosing period. Nerve regeneration is inherently slow, so structural improvement lags symptom relief. Evidence comes from small, early trials and the compound has no approved use. Judge this over the full multi-week arc.
Evidence is limited to small early-phase trials in specific patient groups (e.g., sarcoidosis-associated neuropathy); cibinetide is not FDA-approved and the developer is no longer active.
Side effects, and what people do about them
This one's known for being gentle. It's the calming, anti-inflammatory part of EPO with the blood-thickening effect engineered out, so it's very well tolerated - most people notice little more than mild redness at the injection site. If you have an ongoing medical condition or take regular medication, a quick chat with your doctor first is always sensible.
Go deeper
Open these only if you want them.
How it actually works
Innate repair receptor agonist; non-haematopoietic EPO derivative.
What people report, in full
There isn't a huge amount of community feedback on ARA-290 yet - it's more niche and clinical than the crowd-favourite peptides. Among people using it for nerve pain, the common thread is a gradual, subtle easing of the burning and tingling over the first week or two, rather than anything sudden.
Sources and review
This record is built on what the wider community reports doing and experiencing, summarised above. No counted dataset has been attached to this compound yet — when one is published, it goes here with its numbers.
These references were located by literature search and recorded as the primary sources behind this record. The publishers block automated retrieval, so they are pointers to the right papers rather than quotations we have checked line by line. They are replaced as we read them properly.
Last reviewed 2026-09-08.
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Still not sure?
Ask it the way you would ask a person. Follow-up questions are the point — it remembers what you already said.
Ask about ARA-290