ARA-290
Taken for nerve pain and neuropathy
Cibinetide
Match every finding to its exact substance, formulation, route and study population. A related molecule or approved medicine does not validate a catalog vial.
Simplified drawing of a chain of 11 amino acids
At a glance
Why people take it. And what backs it up.
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Ease nerve pain
Early human studies
People with nerve damage (neuropathy) take daily shots for about a month, hoping to calm burning pain and regrow small nerves.
Sources (5)
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“My father is on 3mg daily for his neuropathy, and it’s been a Godsend for his pain.”
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“It takes a few weeks to kick in, and my experience is about a 30-50% reduction in pain and some hint of nerve regeneration after 90 days.”
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“Here we show in a blinded, placebo-controlled trial that 28 d of daily subcutaneous administration of ARA 290 in a group of patients with documented SNFLD significantly improves neuropathic symptoms.”
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“Neuropathic symptoms as assessed by the PainDetect questionnaire improved significantly in the ARA 290 group.”
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“Cibinetide significantly increased small nerve fiber abundance in the cornea and skin, consistent with a disease modifying effect.”
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Heal nerve injuries
Animal studies only
Others try it for sciatica, old nerve injuries and lingering nerve pain after surgery.
Sources (3)
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ForumReddit r/Peptides: comment in “Thoughts on ara-290” (April 2026) (opens in a new tab)
“Absolutely helps with sciatica, both myself and other people I know that have tried it.”
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ForumReddit r/Peptides: comment in “Thoughts on ara-290” (July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
“Just started my first ara290 cycle after 3 thoracic microdiscectomies.”
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“In rats, irrespective of treatment paradigm, ARA290 produced effective, long-term (as long as 15 weeks) relief of tactile and cold allodynia (P < 0.001 vs. vehicle-treated animals).”
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Evidence briefing
Sources checkedWhat the sources support.
ARA-290 (cibinetide) is investigational and has small human studies in sarcoidosis-associated small-fiber neuropathy. FDA orphan-drug designation is an incentive, not marketing approval; no approved product was identified.
A 22-person intravenous pilot cannot establish broad benefit or subcutaneous use.
The research. What’s been studied.
All from early human studies
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Neuropathy symptoms
Small human studies in sarcoidosis-associated small-fiber neuropathy reported symptom or nerve-fiber measures; findings remain preliminary.
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Tissue-repair mechanism
ARA-290 was designed to activate a proposed innate-repair receptor. The mechanism and clinical benefits remain investigational.
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Blood-cell effects
Small trials did not show the red-cell increase associated with erythropoietin, but they do not establish that ARA-290 avoids clotting risk.
What do these labels mean?
- Human evidence: approved-drug data or larger human studies, within the populations and uses studied.
- Early human studies: small, preliminary or limited human studies.
- Animal & lab studies: animal or laboratory findings that do not establish effects in people.
- Unverified: a proposed use or claim without verified supporting clinical evidence.
How each claim was reviewed (5)
Reported effects and evidence.
A citation may support, qualify or correct a claim. Read the study scope; a laboratory result is not an established benefit in people. Each review covers a claim as it was first collected; the tiles above show the collection’s current wording.
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Small human phase 2b RCT; surrogate endpoint
Review of “Nerve fiber regrowth”
A small 28-day sarcoidosis trial found improvements in corneal nerve-fiber measures in selected treatment groups.
Limitations and applicability. Corneal fiber measures are surrogate observations, not established whole-body nerve regeneration or durable clinical recovery.
Original collected claim and review history
Original title: Nerve fiber regrowth
Increased small nerve-fiber density in the cornea in people with sarcoidosis neuropathy.
Original label: early. Preserved for traceability; the reviewed wording above qualifies this record.
Record ara-290:benefit:1 · Annotated 2026-10-01 · Review method
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Limited human trials; mixed symptom findings
Review of “Less nerve pain”
Small neuropathy trials reported some symptom improvement; pain effects require trial-specific comparison and remain uncertain.
Limitations and applicability. Keep pain outcomes separate from nerve-density endpoints and disclose placebo comparisons and inconsistency.
Original collected claim and review history
Original title: Less nerve pain
Some pain improvement in Phase 2 neuropathy trials.
Original label: early. Preserved for traceability; the reviewed wording above qualifies this record.
Record ara-290:benefit:2 · Annotated 2026-10-01 · Review method
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Cell/animal mechanism
Review of “Tissue protection”
ARA-290 has anti-inflammatory/tissue-protection mechanisms investigated in preclinical models.
Limitations and applicability. Innate-repair-receptor rationale and laboratory anti-inflammatory effects do not establish a broad human treatment benefit.
Original collected claim and review history
Original title: Tissue protection
Calms inflammation and protects injured tissue through the “innate repair receptor.”
Original label: early. Preserved for traceability; the reviewed wording above qualifies this record.
Record ara-290:benefit:3 · Annotated 2026-10-01 · Review method
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Mechanistic distinction; unsupported safety conclusion
Review of “Doesn’t thicken the blood”
ARA-290 was designed to avoid erythropoiesis; this does not establish zero clotting risk.
Limitations and applicability. Nonerythropoietic does not prove absence of clotting or other serious risk; small studies cannot establish that safety outcome.
Original collected claim and review history
Original title: Doesn’t thicken the blood
Unlike EPO, it doesn’t raise red blood cell counts, avoiding clotting risk.
Original label: early. Preserved for traceability; the reviewed wording above qualifies this record.
Record ara-290:benefit:4 · Annotated 2026-10-01 · Review method
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Small human placebo-controlled trial
Review of “Blood sugar in diabetes”
A small type 2 diabetes/neuropathy study reported improved HbA1c; confirmatory clinical evidence is needed.
Limitations and applicability. Supports an exploratory metabolic finding in a selected neuropathy population, not a diabetes indication.
Original collected claim and review history
Original title: Blood sugar in diabetes
A small trial in type 2 diabetes with neuropathy reported improved A1c.
Original label: early. Preserved for traceability; the reviewed wording above qualifies this record.
Record ara-290:benefit:5 · Annotated 2026-10-01 · Review method
The research in detail
Evidence category
Human trials, not approved
trials in sarcoidosis-related small-fiber neuropathy showed improved nerve-fiber density in the cornea and some pain relief. A small trial in diabetic neuropathy also reported benefits.
Evidence is assessed claim by claim above. Regulatory approval, study design, findings and relevance are separate questions; there is no single evidence score.
Risks and unknowns. What to know first.
Collected cautions follow. These are not an exhaustive or independently validated safety assessment; claim references do not automatically support every caution.
- Well tolerated in the small trials published so far.
What people report
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User reports
One user with Lyme disease reports severe anxiety lasting about 36 hours after each dose, even at 750 mcg. Others in the thread had no side effects at 4 mg.
Source: Reddit r/Peptides thread ‘Why is ARA 290 giving me anxiety?’ (opens in a new tab)
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User reports
One user got an excruciating headache a few hours after any dose above 500 mcg.
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User reports
Dizziness, light-headedness and tiredness reported early in a course.
Source: Reddit r/Peptides thread ‘ARA-290 side effects’ (opens in a new tab)
Show all 7 cautionsShow fewer cautions
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User reports
Welts at the injection site after using a 2-week-old mixed vial.
Source: Reddit r/Peptides thread on mixing ARA-290 with bacteriostatic water versus PBS (opens in a new tab)
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User reports
Users say phosphate-buffered saline burns on injection.
Source: Reddit r/Peptides thread ‘Anyone using ara-290? Need mixing help’ (opens in a new tab)
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User reports
The powder often turns cloudy, gels or clumps. Users improvise with phosphate-buffered saline, which other users point out is not made for injection and has no preservative.
Source: Reddit r/Peptides thread ‘ARA 290 - Cloudy and unnusable’ (opens in a new tab)
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Study
In the phase 2 diabetes trial whose dose users copy, one patient’s already borderline kidney function worsened slightly and dosing was stopped. Human safety data only cover short courses.
Published dosing records. What the trials used.
Historical label and trial records for the named product, route, population and indication. These records are not a personal schedule or a validated regimen for a catalog vial. Source attribution does not establish applicability.
Phase 2b trial
Phase 2b trial in adults with sarcoidosis-related small nerve fiber loss and nerve pain (Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2017)
Source: Culver et al., Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2017 (opens in a new tab)
- Days 1–28
- 4 mg
- How
- Injection under the skin
- How often
- Once a day
- How long
- 28 days in the trial
- Other groups got 1 mg or 8 mg a day, or placebo.
- The first dose was given at the clinic; after training, people injected themselves at home each day before breakfast.
- The 4 mg group showed the clearest gains in nerve fibers.
- An earlier pilot trial gave 2 mg by drip into a vein three times a week for 4 weeks (Heij et al., 2012).
These doses were tested in clinical trials under medical supervision. They aren’t approved for use, and a research vial is not the product that was tested.
Community protocols. Reported online. Not clinically validated.
Community reports Collection date: 30 Sep 2026Most users copy the clinical-trial dose of 4 mg injected under the skin once a day for about 25–28 days, mainly for nerve pain and neuropathy. Cheaper 2–3 mg daily courses and slow build-ups are also common, and getting the powder to dissolve is the most discussed practical problem.
Trial-style course
Collected report · exact form and route are only as reported below. Source date and reporter identity are not separately verified. Collection checked 30 Sep 2026; presentation annotated 2026-10-01.
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Thoughts on ara-290’ (2026)
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Thoughts on ara-290’ (2026)
- Practitioner: Jay Campbell, peptide author and coach (jaycampbell.com)
- Clinic: True Heal Wellness (New Jersey clinic), ARA-290 page
Frequency labels describe this collection, not a measured population. Contradictory records remain available.
Details and sourcesHide details
- Dose
- 4 mg
- How often
- Once a day
- Route
- Injection under the skin
- How long
- About 25–28 days (a kit of ten 10 mg vials lasts 25 days)
- Cycle
- Some repeat the course after a few months
- Mixing
- Many find bacteriostatic water leaves it cloudy or gel-like and switch to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or a mix such as 0.5 mL bacteriostatic water + 1.5 mL PBS. Users say to give it its own syringe and not mix it with other peptides.
- This copies the phase 2 neuropathy trials. Users take it for small-fibre neuropathy, sciatica, nerve injury and post-surgery nerve pain.
Sources (4)
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ForumReddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Thoughts on ara-290’ (2026) (opens in a new tab)
“4mg daily is the dose used in all the clinical trials. I ran it for 25 days (1 kit of 10mg x 10 = 100mg = 25 days)”
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ForumReddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Thoughts on ara-290’ (2026) (opens in a new tab)
“4mg a day for 25 days. I think the standard protocol is 20 days, but I just use all 10 vials.”
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PractitionerJay Campbell, peptide author and coach (jaycampbell.com) (opens in a new tab)
“Clinical trials consistently used 4 mg daily subcutaneously as the optimal therapeutic dose”
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ClinicTrue Heal Wellness (New Jersey clinic), ARA-290 page (opens in a new tab)
“4 mg subcutaneous, once daily — the trial-anchored dose.”
Lower daily dose
Collected report · exact form and route are only as reported below. Source date and reporter identity are not separately verified. Collection checked 30 Sep 2026; presentation annotated 2026-10-01.
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Check my math on dose and reconstitution Ara-290.’ (2025)
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Check my math on dose and reconstitution Ara-290.’ (2025)
- Forum: MESO-Rx forum, ‘A comprehensive tb500 frag thread’ (2025)
Frequency labels describe this collection, not a measured population. Contradictory records remain available.
Details and sourcesHide details
- Dose
- 2–3 mg
- How often
- Once a day
- Route
- Injection under the skin
- How long
- About 28 days
- Mixing
- For example a 16 mg vial with 1 mL bacteriostatic water, 12.5 units per 2 mg
- Chosen mainly to save money; ARA-290 is one of the more expensive peptides to run at 4 mg.
Sources (3)
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“How much would i need to order for a 28 day cycle of pinning 2mg a day.”
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“My father is on 3mg daily for his neuropathy”
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ForumMESO-Rx forum, ‘A comprehensive tb500 frag thread’ (2025) (opens in a new tab)
“5mg TB frag / 2mg ARA daily.”
Show all 4 protocolsShow fewer protocols
Slow start or split doses
Collected report · exact form and route are only as reported below. Source date and reporter identity are not separately verified. Collection checked 30 Sep 2026; presentation annotated 2026-10-01.
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Why is ARA 290 giving me anxiety?’ (2024)
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Why is ARA 290 giving me anxiety?’ (2024)
Frequency labels describe this collection, not a measured population. Contradictory records remain available.
Details and sourcesHide details
- Dose
- Build from 2 mg to 4 mg; people who react badly start far lower (for example 750 mcg)
- How often
- Once a day, or split morning and evening
- Route
- Injection under the skin
- Ramp
- One user: 2 mg for 2 days, 3 mg for 3 days, then 4 mg daily for the rest of the month
- Suggested for people who get anxiety or headaches from it.
Sources (2)
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ForumReddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Why is ARA 290 giving me anxiety?’ (2024) (opens in a new tab)
“I started slow. Did 2 days of 2mg, 3 days of 3mg, then did 4mg daily for the rest of the month.”
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ForumReddit r/Peptides, thread ‘Why is ARA 290 giving me anxiety?’ (2024) (opens in a new tab)
“You could always try extremely low doses and slowly ramp it up over weeks.”
Longer or repeated courses
Collected report · exact form and route are only as reported below. Source date and reporter identity are not separately verified. Collection checked 30 Sep 2026; presentation annotated 2026-10-01.
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘ARA-290 Reconstituted with Hospira BAC Water vs PBS Water’ (2026)
- Forum: Reddit r/Peptides, thread ‘ARA-290 Reconstituted with Hospira BAC Water vs PBS Water’ (2026)
Frequency labels describe this collection, not a measured population. Contradictory records remain available.
Details and sourcesHide details
- Dose
- Usually 4 mg a day
- How often
- Once a day, or three times a week after an initial daily phase
- Route
- Injection under the skin
- How long
- Some run 90 days or keep going past 30 days
Sources (2)
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“Just finished a 90 day cycle”
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“i might back off and do ARA-290 3X/week as suggested. i wanted to hit it hard at first”
Where the numbers come from
Copied directly from the phase 2 trials in sarcoidosis and type 2 diabetes neuropathy, which used 4 mg under the skin daily for 28 days. The 25-day figure some users give comes from vial kits (ten 10 mg vials), and lower doses mostly reflect cost.
Research notes
Unlike most peptides here, the community dose is a straight copy of trial dosing (4 mg a day for 28 days), so this entry mostly adds how users deviate from it (lower doses for cost, slow starts, longer courses). Reconstitution is a recurring problem, and advice conflicts: bacteriostatic water, PBS, acetic acid water or mixtures. PBS sold for lab use is not sterile injection-grade. No regulator has reviewed community use.
What it is. In plain English.
A piece of the hormone EPO that protects tissue without making red blood cells.
An 11-amino-acid peptide modeled on part of erythropoietin (EPO), the kidney hormone that drives red blood cell production.
It is designed to engage a proposed tissue-protective receptor complex related to the erythropoietin receptor. Small human studies have explored it, but nerve protection, anti-inflammatory benefit and avoidance of red-cell effects are not established clinical outcomes.
Reviewed 2026-10-01.
Structure. Nothing to show yet.
No experimental 3D structure of ARA-290 (cibinetide) is in the .
Its sequence, pyroglutamate-EQLERALNSS, doesn’t occur as a continuous stretch in any chain of any entry. Structures of erythropoietin, the hormone it is modeled on, aren’t a faithful stand-in.
Checked 30 Sep 2026.
Specs. The facts at a glance.
- Length
- 11 amino acids
- Sold as
- ARA-290 10 mg
- Regulatory status
- Investigational and not FDA-approved. FDA orphan-drug designation for certain indications is not marketing approval.
- Also known as
- Cibinetide
Sources. What this page rests on.
Every source behind this page, with what it says and when it was checked, is in the Source library.
Original overview and research notes · annotated 2026-10-01
Historical collection text. Read alongside the claim corrections above; identity or evidence qualifications may supersede this wording.
Nerve pain relief and nerve repair
A piece of the hormone EPO that protects tissue without making red blood cells.
An 11-amino-acid peptide modeled on part of erythropoietin (EPO), the kidney hormone that drives red blood cell production.
It binds the “innate repair receptor,” a pairing of the EPO receptor with CD131 that appears in injured tissue, reducing inflammation and protecting nerves. It doesn’t stimulate red blood cell production, avoiding EPO’s clotting risks.
Phase 2 trials in sarcoidosis-related small-fiber neuropathy showed improved nerve-fiber density in the cornea and some pain relief. A small trial in diabetic neuropathy also reported benefits.
Original status record: Investigational, with orphan-drug designation for sarcoidosis neuropathy. Not approved.