What are Khavinson peptides?

Eleven bioregulator peptides compared.

Formulas and masses from Helion's peptide molecular weight calculator, matching PubChem; all residues are L-amino acids. Thymalin is not in the table because it is an extract, not a single peptide.

From organ extracts to short peptides.

Khavinson's group first worked with polypeptide extracts of animal organs, such as thymalin from calf thymus and epithalamin from bovine pineal gland. It then made short synthetic peptides that it describes as components of those extracts or as designed from their amino acid content, and linked each one to a tissue: Cortagen to the brain cortex and Chonluten to the bronchi, for example.

Nine of the eleven contain the same pair of amino acids, Glu-Asp, and Testagen, Prostamax and Livagen differ only in their last residue.

Gene regulation, as the developers propose it.

The developers propose that peptides this short can enter the cell nucleus, bind DNA and histone proteins, and change gene expression and DNA methylation. A 2011 study from the group showed fluorescence-labeled short peptides, among them epitalon, pinealon and Testagen, entering the nuclei of HeLa cells and binding DNA in vitro, and a 2021 systematic review from the same network collects the gene-expression work. Nearly all of this evidence comes from the developers' own network.

Vilon and Thymogen.

Vilon is Lys-Glu (KE), the simplest of the set, studied in immune-cell and monocyte models. Thymogen is Glu-Trp (EW), also known as oglufanide. The developers describe KE and EW as components of their thymus extract, thymalin.

Thymogen has also been tested outside the developers' network. Under the name IM862, the same molecule went into a US phase III trial in AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma with 202 patients, where it did no better than placebo.

Vesugen, Cartalax, Chonluten and Pinealon.

Vesugen is Lys-Glu-Asp (KED), studied in blood-vessel and nerve-cell models. Cartalax is Ala-Glu-Asp (AED), studied in cartilage and skin fibroblast models; some database entries give it a wrong synonym, H-Asp-Glu-Asp-OH, but its structure is AED. Chonluten is Glu-Asp-Gly (EDG), which the developers link to the bronchi; a 2022 study looked at its effect on TNF in THP-1 monocyte cells. Pinealon is Glu-Asp-Arg (EDR), studied in neuroprotection and antioxidant cell models, and has its own reference page.

Epitalon, Testagen, Cortagen, Livagen and Prostamax.

Epitalon is Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (AEDG), the best known of the family, covered on its own reference page. Testagen is Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly (KEDG); its developers propose a role in male reproductive tissue. Cortagen is Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP), described as a brain cortex peptide; a 2004 microarray study looked at its effect on gene expression in mouse heart. Livagen is Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (KEDA), studied in animals alongside a polypeptide complex from liver. Prostamax is Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP); a 2012 paper from the group reported that it decondensed chromatin in cells from elderly donors.

An extract, not a peptide.

Thymalin is not a single peptide. It is a polypeptide extract of calf thymus, so it has no one sequence, formula or molecular weight, and PubChem's record under the name thymalin actually describes a different thymus peptide, thymulin. Its developers name the dipeptides KE (Vilon) and EW (Thymogen) among its components. It is also not the same as thymosin alpha 1, a single 28-amino-acid peptide.

Mostly one network.

Nearly all the research on these peptides comes from Khavinson's group and its collaborators, much of it in cells and animals. For epitalon, the FDA's 2026 briefing for its pharmacy compounding advisory committee said most pharmacological studies were conducted and published by that group, found no efficacy studies in patients with insomnia, judged the nonclinical data too limited to assess safety, and proposed not adding epitalon to the list of bulk substances pharmacies may compound under section 503A (FDA briefing).

Independent results are few: the IM862 trial of thymogen was negative, and an independent 2022 lab study found that epitalon reduced damage in aging mouse egg cells in vitro.

Not approved in the US.

None of these peptides is an FDA-approved drug. Reviews by their developers report that thymalin and thymogen are registered medicines in Russia. In the US they are sold as research compounds, and Helion supplies compounds for laboratory research use only.

Not currently supplied.

Helion does not currently supply these bioregulators. The research library covers epitalon and pinealon in depth, and the peptide molecular weight calculator works out the formula and mass of any of these sequences.

Specs and storage by compound.