Ara-290
ARA-290 (Cibinetide)
The short answer
ARA-290 (also called cibinetide) is an 11-amino-acid peptide derived from erythropoietin (EPO). It is designed to activate the innate repair receptor (a complex of EPOR and CD131) without the red-cell-raising effect of full-length EPO (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS).
This page is general educational information, research-use framing only, not medical advice. Any decision about a research compound belongs with a qualified clinician.
What is ARA-290?
ARA-290 is a short synthetic peptide built from a region of the erythropoietin molecule. Its role in research is tissue-protective signaling, not blood-cell production.
The full EPO protein does two separate things. It tells the bone marrow to make red blood cells, and it also signals a separate receptor tied to tissue protection and repair. Researchers designed ARA-290 (cibinetide) to copy only the second signal. It is an 11-amino-acid fragment intended to engage the innate repair receptor while leaving the erythropoietic (red-cell) pathway alone. That separation is the whole point of the molecule: the protective effect without the thickened-blood risk that limits EPO (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS).
How does ARA-290 work in the body?
ARA-290 is described as binding the innate repair receptor, a heteromeric complex of the EPO receptor (EPOR) and the CD131 beta-common receptor, which is expressed on cells under stress or injury (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS).
Full-length EPO acts mainly through EPOR homodimers on red-cell precursors. The tissue-protective signal instead runs through a different assembly, EPOR paired with CD131, that appears on injured or inflamed tissue. ARA-290 was engineered to favor this repair receptor (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS). In the sarcoidosis small-fiber-neuropathy pilot, participants reported improvements on small-fiber symptom scales versus placebo (Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine). Later cibinetide research used corneal confocal microscopy as a window onto small-fiber health, and that imaging endpoint comes from a distinct controlled study rather than the original pilot (Culver et al., 2017, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science).
Human evidence for ARA-290 is limited to small early trials. Most of what is claimed for broader repair is extrapolation from the receptor biology, not from completed large trials.
What does the research report on ARA-290 dosing?
In the published pilot, participants received ARA-290 by intravenous injection over a multi-week course; the numbers below describe what the trial reported, not a recommendation.
The table describes research-reported protocols only. It is not dosing advice. Nothing here tells you what to take. A personal dose, if any, is a decision for a qualified clinician.
| Setting | Route | Reported regimen | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarcoidosis small-fiber-neuropathy pilot | Intravenous injection | ARA-290 2 mg given three times weekly over a 4-week study period | Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine |
| Reported endpoint (pilot) | Symptom scales | Patient-reported small-fiber-neuropathy symptom scores tracked before and after | Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine |
| Corneal imaging study | Subcutaneous injection | Corneal nerve fiber abundance measured by confocal microscopy | Culver et al., 2017, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science |
Exact milligram figures vary between early studies, and the peptide has not moved through large confirmatory trials. Treat any single number as study-specific, not a standard.
Does ARA-290 raise red blood cells like EPO?
The design goal was no, and the pilot data are consistent with that: ARA-290 was built to target the repair receptor and was not reported to act as an erythropoietic agent in the studied work (Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine).
This is the main reason researchers separate ARA-290 from EPO itself. EPO's red-cell-raising action can thicken the blood, which is a safety concern. By narrowing the signal to the EPOR/CD131 repair receptor, ARA-290 was built to avoid that effect (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS). The published pilot did not report the hemoglobin or hematocrit rise that characterizes EPO. Still, this rests on small samples, so the safety picture is early rather than settled.
What are the reported side effects of ARA-290?
In the published pilot, ARA-290 was reported as well tolerated at the doses studied, with adverse events broadly similar between the peptide and placebo groups (Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine).
Because the human dataset is small and short, the side-effect profile is not fully mapped. Points a researcher should keep in view:
- Injection-site reactions are common with any subcutaneous peptide.
- Long-term safety is unknown; there are no large multi-year human trials.
- The absence of an erythropoietic effect in early work does not remove the need for monitoring in any structured study.
This is a research compound, not a therapy, and any human use belongs under clinical supervision.
How does ARA-290 compare to other repair-focused peptides?
ARA-290 is receptor-specific for the innate repair pathway, while other repair peptides in this space act through different mechanisms and have their own evidence gaps.
| Peptide | Reported mechanism | Human evidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARA-290 (cibinetide) | Innate repair receptor (EPOR/CD131) (Brines et al., 2008, PNAS) | Small phase 2 pilots (Heij et al., 2012, Molecular Medicine) | No erythropoietic effect reported; corneal nerve gains in a separate study (Culver et al., 2017, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science) |
| BPC-157 | Proposed cytoprotective and angiogenic signaling (Gwyer et al., 2019, Cell and Tissue Research) | Very limited; animal data dominant | Human data very limited |
| LL-37 | Cathelicidin-family host-defense peptide with antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity (Durr et al., 2006, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta) | Preclinical and early | Research here is limited |
See our deeper pages on BPC-157 and LL-37 for their own mechanism and evidence notes.
Keep reading
Related research and verification
Ara-290: FAQ
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Talk to the Peptara Labs team about purity, third-party certificates of analysis, and cold-chain shipping.
References
- Brines M, Patel NSA, Villa P, et al. Nonerythropoietic, tissue-protective peptides derived from the tertiary structure of erythropoietin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(31):10925 to 10930. doi:10.1073/pnas.0805594105 (PMID 18676614). Describes the 11 amino acid EPO-derived peptide that engages the innate repair receptor without the erythropoietic effect.
- Heij L, Niesters M, Swartjes M, et al. Safety and Efficacy of ARA 290 in Sarcoidosis Patients with Symptoms of Small Fiber Neuropathy: A Randomized, Double-Blind Pilot Study. Mol Med. 2012;18(1):1430 to 1436. doi:10.2119/molmed.2012.00332 (PMID 23168581). The randomized blinded pilot reporting improved patient-reported small fiber neuropathy symptom scores versus placebo.
- Culver DA, Dahan A, Bajorunas D, et al. Cibinetide Improves Corneal Nerve Fiber Abundance in Patients With Sarcoidosis-Associated Small Nerve Fiber Loss and Neuropathic Pain. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017;58(6):BIO52 to BIO60. doi:10.1167/iovs.16-21291 (PMID 28475703). The separate controlled study reporting increased corneal nerve fiber abundance on confocal microscopy.
- Gwyer D, Wragg NM, Wilson SL. Gastric pentadecapeptide body protection compound BPC 157 and its role in accelerating musculoskeletal soft tissue healing. Cell Tissue Res. 2019;377(2):153 to 159. doi:10.1007/s00441-019-03016-8 (PMID 30915550). Review cited for BPC-157 proposed cytoprotective and healing signaling, with human data noted as very limited.
- Durr UHN, Sudheendra US, Ramamoorthy A. LL-37, the only human member of the cathelicidin family of antimicrobial peptides. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2006;1758(9):1408 to 1425. doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2006.03.030 (PMID 16716248). Reference cited for LL-37 as the human cathelicidin with antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity.
General educational information only, research-use framing, not medical advice. Confirm the current status where you live and consult a qualified professional before acting.