Retinalamin

Retinalamin®, retina polypeptide complex, "retina bioregulator"

Immune & bioregulators

Awaiting medical reviewEN ES DE FR PT ZH+ Follow for updates

Note on this profile. Retinalamin is an approved prescription ophthalmic medicine in Russia and some CIS countries, given by injection next to the eye or into muscle. It is not approved in the EU, UK, US, Australia or South Africa. Like Cortexin it is a tissue extract, not a defined peptide.

Summary

Class: Polypeptide extract from the retina of calves (and in some production, pigs): a mixture of low-molecular-weight peptides (under ~10 kDa); composition not fully defined
Mechanism: Claimed to protect and stimulate retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors and to improve retinal metabolism; active components not identified
Routes studied: Parabulbar (next to the eyeball) and intramuscular injection (clinical); intraperitoneal and subconjunctival (rodent)
Dose range reported: Russian label: 5 mg once daily, parabulbar or intramuscular, for 10 days; repeat course after 3–6 months †. Community use is rare and follows the label
Half-life: Not meaningful for a mixture
Storage: Lyophilised vials at 2–20 °C, protect from light; reconstitute immediately before use †
Regulatory status: Approved in Russia and some CIS states; not approved elsewhere

Doses are as reported in studies or by the community — never recommendations.

1What it is

Retinalamin is the eye-specific product of the St Petersburg bioregulator programme (Khavinson and colleagues; now manufactured by Geropharm). It is a extract of young-animal retina, registered in Russia around 2000 for diabetic retinopathy, central and peripheral retinal dystrophies including retinitis pigmentosa, open-angle glaucoma with optic neuropathy, and myopic retinal changes. Each vial holds 5 mg of polypeptide complex with glycine.

The Tier 2 caveat applies with particular force: the clinical literature is almost entirely Russian-language, from ophthalmology departments connected to the originating programme, with small sample sizes and few if any placebo controls. We know of no independent trial. The product rarely appears in Western peptide communities except among people with retinal disease who have read Russian sources.

2How it's thought to work

The manufacturer and originating group propose, from rodent and cell models:

Stimulation of retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptor cells, with improved interaction between them.

Reduced oxidative damage and inflammatory signalling in retinal tissue.

Improved retinal blood flow and metabolism.

Possibly, tissue-specific gene-expression effects of the kind proposed for the whole peptide family.

Proposed: a peptide fraction from cattle retina, injected around the eye for retinal disease. Evidence is confined to Russian-language trials.Schematic — not to scale

Whether peptides injected into muscle reach the retina in any quantity is not demonstrated; parabulbar injection at least places the material near the target.

3What the research shows

Hereditary retinal degeneration in rats

In Campbell rats, which carry a retinitis-pigmentosa-like mutation, Retinalamin given from an early age was reported to slow photoreceptor loss and preserve retinal structure on histology and electroretinography (Khavinson 2002, Bull Exp Biol Med; Khavinson & Trofimova 2000s). Originating group. [1][2]

Diabetic retinopathy

Open-label and comparative Russian series report stabilisation or modest improvement in visual acuity and visual fields after 10-day courses, sometimes alongside laser treatment (Trofimova 2003 and later, Russian-language). No placebo-controlled trial we can verify. [3]

Graded B/—

Retinitis pigmentosa and other dystrophies

Small Russian series describe stabilisation of visual fields over repeated courses; natural history variability makes uncontrolled data hard to interpret in a slowly progressive disease.

Graded B/—

Glaucomatous optic neuropathy, myopia-related degeneration

Open-label series only.

Not gradednone

Independent or Western controlled data

4Reported side effects and interactions

Literature-reported

Russian label lists rare allergic reactions; parabulbar injection carries the local risks of any injection near the eye (bruising, conjunctival swelling, rarely infection or globe injury) and is performed by clinicians. As an animal-derived tissue product, theoretical prion risk applies as for Cortexin.

Community-reported

very few reports; conjunctival irritation after parabulbar dosing.

Theoretical. immune reaction to animal proteins with repeated courses; unknown composition.

Interactions. none studied. Russian practice combines it with standard retinal treatments.

Markers researchers commonly monitor

No blood markers are relevant to the claimed effect. The Russian studies used ophthalmic measures, which are the only meaningful ones:

Marker	Why it's watched
Best-corrected visual acuity and visual field testing	the primary clinical endpoints in the Russian literature.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of retinal thickness	the modern objective measure of retinal structure; available in most eye clinics.
Electroretinography (ERG)	used in the rat studies; specialist test.
HbA1c and blood pressure	for anyone with diabetic retinopathy, these drive disease progression far more than any adjunct.
CBC and CMP	general baseline for a repeated injected animal-derived product.

Free for everyone. Safety information is never behind a paywall.

5Reconstitution and handling

Supplied as 5 mg vials. The Russian label directs in 1–2 ml of saline, water for injection or 0.5% procaine immediately before injection; the solution is not stored. Parabulbar injection is a clinical procedure and not something the community performs; use is the label alternative. As with Cortexin, the calculator can only express mg per ml for a mixture.

Open in calculator, pre-loaded →

6Commonly studied alongside

Cortexin (profile 78; same programme), Epitalon/Epithalamin (set 2; the originating group has reported combined use in retinal disease), standard ophthalmic therapies.

Informational cross-links. Not stack recommendations.

7Regulatory status by region

Region	Status (checked —)
United States	Not FDA-approved; animal-derived product import restrictions apply †
European Union	Not authorised; TSE/BSE controls on bovine tissue products
United Kingdom	Not licensed
Australia	Not approved; biosecurity import controls
South Africa	Not registered
Sport	Not named by WADA; non-approved substances fall under S0 †
Russia / CIS	Approved prescription ophthalmic medicine (Geropharm) †

8Open questions

Composition and batch consistency of the extract.
Whether any effect exists beyond natural fluctuation in slowly progressive retinal disease; only a masked controlled trial could show this.
Whether dosing delivers anything to the retina.

9References

1Khavinson VKh et al. (2002). Effect of Retinalamin on retinal structure and function in Campbell rats with hereditary retinal degeneration. Bull Exp Biol Med [verify exact title]. PubMed
2Khavinson VKh, Trofimova SV (2000). Peptide bioregulators in ophthalmology [Russian-language monograph; verify]. PubMed
3Trofimova SV, Khavinson VKh (2003). Retinal protective effects of peptide bioregulators in diabetic retinopathy [verify venue; likely Russian-language]. PubMed
4Khavinson VKh, Malinin VV (2005). Gerontological Aspects of Genome Peptide Regulation. Karger, Basel. (Summarises retinal work) DOI
5Retinalamin — Russian State Register of Medicines entry / prescribing information (Geropharm) [verify current text]. PubMed

References are being resolved to PubMed/DOI identifiers; links search PubMed for the citation until then.

† Being confirmed by our reviewers against current sources.

10Community

forum threads →

community protocols include this →

Threads and protocols are visible to members. Joining is free.

Self-reported side effects Phase 2

Not enough data yet. 0 of the 50 members needed have logged this compound for 4+ weeks. We don't show anything below 50, so no one can be identified.

11Page history

26 Oct 2026Profile published — awaiting medical review

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