Selank

What it is

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro) built as an extension of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide cleaved from the Fc region of immunoglobulin G. Researchers added a stabilizing Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide to tuftsin's C-terminus specifically to resist rapid enzymatic degradation, extending its biological half-life from minutes to hours and making sustained anxiolytic and nootropic effects possible.¹ It's studied and marketed primarily as an anxiolytic ("anti-anxiety") and nootropic compound, and it is not a benzodiazepine, SSRI, or any other conventional anxiolytic drug class — it doesn't act at the same primary receptor sites as those drugs.

Like Semax, Selank is a Russian-developed compound, and this shapes how its evidence base should be read. It was created by the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the V.V. Zakusov Institute of Pharmacology in Moscow, building on earlier work on the neurotropic properties of tuftsin-based peptides.¹ As with Semax, the vast majority of Selank's clinical and preclinical literature originates from Russian research institutions and is published in Russian-language journals, with some later translated and indexed in English-language secondary journals.

Alternate names include Selank acetate (sometimes referenced in FDA compounding-list discussions as "TP-7"). In Russia, it's marketed under the brand name "Selank" as a 0.15% intranasal solution.

How it works

Selank's anxiolytic and nootropic effects are attributed to several interacting mechanisms, primarily characterized in animal and in vitro research. Unlike benzodiazepines, which bind directly to GABA-A receptor allosteric sites, Selank doesn't appear to bind these sites directly. Instead, research reports it upregulates expression of genes encoding GABA-A receptor subunits (α2, α3, γ2) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, a proposed indirect route to enhanced inhibitory GABAergic tone.³

Selank is also reported to inhibit enkephalin-degrading enzymes — aminopeptidase N and dipeptidyl peptidase IV — raising levels of endogenous enkephalins as an indirect route to analgesic and anxiolytic effects without direct opioid receptor activation, and theoretically without classic opioid dependence risk. Preclinical work reports increased serotonin turnover in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and normalization of stress-induced dopamine depletion, alongside effects on norepinephrine. Selank has also been reported to increase BDNF mRNA and protein in hippocampal and cortical regions, proposed as an underlying mechanism for neuroprotective and possible antidepressant properties. As a tuftsin derivative, it retains immune-modulating activity, including effects on cytokine production and natural killer cell activity.²

Reported plasma half-life is approximately 20–30 minutes following intraperitoneal administration in animal studies, with peak plasma concentration at 15–30 minutes. Pharmacodynamic effects are reported to persist considerably longer than plasma presence, consistent with a receptor- and gene-expression-mediated mechanism. Intranasal administration — the clinically relevant human route — is reported to achieve direct nose-to-brain transport via olfactory and trigeminal nerve pathways, with animal studies detecting the peptide in cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus after intranasal dosing.¹ No formal, independently verified human pharmacokinetic study with plasma sampling and compartmental modeling was identified in the English-language literature. Intranasal is essentially the only clinically relevant route — no injectable, oral, or topical Selank product has meaningful clinical study behind it.

What the research shows

Animal / preclinical evidence

Foundational animal work includes a rat model of lipopolysaccharide-induced depression, in which Selank attenuated behavioral abnormalities and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression.² A comparative study examined Selank's anxiolytic effect against the GABAergic anxiolytic afobazole across different animal species,³ and a 2013 rat study found Selank enhanced the anxiety-reducing effect of diazepam under chronic mild stress conditions.⁴ A 2016 study examined Selank's effects on gene expression involved in GABAergic neurotransmission.⁵

Human evidence

The most-cited human-efficacy data point for Selank is a randomized trial conducted at the V.V. Zakusov Research Institute of Pharmacology in Moscow, enrolling 62 patients with generalized anxiety disorder or neurasthenia, randomized to Selank (n=30) or medazepam, a benzodiazepine active comparator (n=32). The anxiolytic magnitude of Selank and medazepam was reported as clinically comparable, with Selank additionally producing antiasthenic and mild psychostimulant effects the benzodiazepine did not.⁹ This trial underpinned Selank's 2009 Russian regulatory approval for GAD and neurasthenia.

A frequently cited monograph also describes a separate randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled GAD trial (N=60) using intranasal Selank 400 mcg three times daily for 14 days, reporting significantly reduced Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale scores versus placebo without sedation, cognitive impairment, or motor coordination deficits, and no evidence of tolerance or withdrawal over treatment periods up to three months.¹ This citation should be treated as representative of the broader Russian trial literature; readers are encouraged to seek the specific primary journal article, since secondary "peptide research" sites vary in citation accuracy. A separate multicenter study (N=120) reportedly examined Selank versus placebo in neurasthenia, showing improvements in asthenia severity developing over 2–3 weeks.

Cognitive-function studies in healthy adults (N=40, single-dose 400 mcg intranasal) reportedly showed improved attention and working-memory task performance 30–60 minutes post-dose, and a separate elderly-cohort study with 28-day chronic dosing reportedly showed improvements in verbal memory, attention, and executive function.

Honest assessment: Selank is a real, approved Russian pharmaceutical backed by a genuine body of published research, including at least one head-to-head trial against a benzodiazepine comparator. But essentially all controlled human efficacy data originate from Russian institutions, use modest sample sizes (tens to roughly 160 patients across the literature), and haven't been independently replicated in Western, placebo-controlled, FDA/EMA-quality trials. No Western regulatory agency has evaluated or approved Selank. Clinical claims should be treated as "supported by a distinct, non-Western regulatory and research tradition" rather than "internationally validated."

Typical use and dosing

Published dosing comes from Russia's approved clinical formulation and from patterns reported in online research communities — these are distinct sources and shouldn't be conflated.

Long-term open-label observation reportedly extends to six months with maintained tolerability, though most controlled trials cover only two to four weeks. These figures are provided strictly for educational understanding of what's reported in the literature and circulated in research communities — not as a recommendation or validated safety guidance.

Safety, side effects, and who should avoid it

Russian clinical and preclinical literature reports excellent tolerability, with the most common adverse event being mild, transient local nasal irritation in roughly 5–10% of patients on intranasal dosing. Systemic side effects are reported as rare and not significantly different from placebo rates in the trials conducted. No sedation, cognitive impairment, psychomotor slowing, or dependence liability has been reported in the available clinical literature, and abrupt discontinuation reportedly doesn't produce withdrawal symptoms. Preclinical acute toxicity data reportedly show a wide margin of safety, and subchronic rodent dosing studies (28–90 days) reportedly found no significant organ, hematologic, or histopathological abnormalities, with negative genotoxicity findings in standard assays.

What isn't known matters: comprehensive chronic toxicity studies of 6–12 months' duration are, at best, only partially published, and carcinogenicity data over the standard 18–24 month rodent study window aren't comprehensively available. Reproductive and developmental toxicity data are limited. Because Selank sold in the US comes through unregulated research-chemical channels rather than the Russian pharmaceutical supply chain, purity, correct labeling, and sterility for intranasal use can't be assured. Long-term, multi-year human safety data, in the sense a Western regulator would require for approval, are absent.

Regulatory status

Selank is not FDA-approved for any indication in the United States, and no NDA has been filed or approved. It's also not on FDA's 503A bulk drug substances list, so US compounding pharmacies cannot legally compound it for patient use. Selank (sometimes referenced by regulators as "Selank acetate" or "TP-7") was previously discussed within FDA's interim Category 2 policy framework for bulk substances with identified safety concerns; that Category 2 listing was reportedly withdrawn around September 2024 after the underlying nomination was withdrawn.⁷

Removal from Category 2 does not place a substance onto the 503A list or into the more permissive Category 1 — it leaves the substance in unresolved regulatory limbo, with compounding still unauthorized. Unlike TB-500 and Semax, Selank wasn't among the peptides scheduled for discussion at FDA's July 2026 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, and it currently has no scheduled review date — meaning its compounding status is arguably even less settled than TB-500's or Semax's, since there's no active review process moving it toward potential inclusion.

As with Semax, Selank in the US is sold almost exclusively as a "research chemical, not for human use," a labeling convention that doesn't confer any legal authorization for human use and doesn't guarantee product purity, correct concentration, or sterility. For context, Selank was approved by the Russian Ministry of Health in 2009 for generalized anxiety disorder and neurasthenia, and reclassified as available without a prescription in Russian pharmacies in 2017 based on its reported safety profile — this has no bearing on US legal status.

Selank isn't explicitly named in the WADA Prohibited List's S1, S2, or other specific substance categories. Because it lacks approval from a major international regulatory authority, it plausibly falls under the broad S0 "Non-Approved Substances" catch-all.⁸ Whether Russian Ministry of Health approval alone would satisfy the "any governmental regulatory health authority" language hasn't been definitively litigated for Selank specifically, so its precise standing is somewhat unsettled — the safer working assumption for any tested athlete is that Selank should be treated as potentially prohibited under S0, and any athlete should consult their national anti-doping organization before use.

Frequently asked questions