AmericanPeptide
Catalog/ARA-290

ARA-290

Also known as Cibinetide · pHBSP · Pyroglutamate helix B surface peptide

An 11-amino-acid, non-erythropoietic fragment of erythropoietin that keeps EPO’s tissue-protective, anti-inflammatory activity without raising red blood cells.

Research refreshed

Overview

ARA-290 (cibinetide) is a synthetic 11-amino-acid peptide taken from the helix-B surface of erythropoietin (EPO). It was designed to separate EPO’s tissue-protective and anti-inflammatory effects from its blood-building ones: ARA-290 activates the so-called innate repair receptor without stimulating red-cell production, so it carries none of EPO’s thrombotic risk. It has been studied mainly for neuropathic pain and tissue repair, most notably in sarcoidosis-related small-fiber neuropathy.

Background

ARA-290 is what you get when you ask which part of erythropoietin does the healing. EPO — the red-cell hormone catalogued just above — turns out to have two distinct jobs: it builds red blood cells, and, through a different receptor, it protects and repairs injured tissue and calms inflammation. Those activities are separable, and ARA-290 (cibinetide) is the 11-residue piece of EPO’s helix-B surface engineered to trigger only the second one.

Because it does not act on the classic EPO receptor that raises red-cell mass, ARA-290 avoids the clotting and blood-thickening dangers that make EPO risky, while retaining EPO’s tissue-protective, anti-inflammatory signaling through the innate repair receptor. Its most developed research is in small-fiber neuropathy — including the neuropathic pain of sarcoidosis — along with broader work in tissue repair and metabolic inflammation. It carries an N-terminal pyroglutamate that improves its stability. It is investigational and not FDA-approved.

Mechanism

Selective agonist at the innate repair receptor — a heterocomplex of the EPO receptor and the β-common receptor (CD131) — driving tissue-protective and anti-inflammatory signaling without erythropoiesis.

Key research findings

  • Non-erythropoietic by design — activates EPO’s tissue-protective innate repair receptor without raising red-cell mass, avoiding EPO’s thrombotic risk.
  • Neuropathic pain — the most-developed indication; studied in sarcoidosis-associated small-fiber neuropathy.
  • Tissue protection & anti-inflammation — retains EPO’s repair and immunomodulatory signaling, examined across injury and metabolic-inflammation models.
  • Derived from EPO helix-B — an 11-residue surface fragment with an N-terminal pyroglutamate for stability.
  • Investigational — not FDA-approved.

How ARA-290 is made

Behind every vial of ARA-290 is the same exacting pipeline every research peptide runs — but the chemistry plays out differently for this molecule. Here is how ARA-290, specifically, is brought into being.

  1. On paper first

    On paper, ARA-290 is C51H84N16O21 — about 1,257.3 daltons of precisely arranged atoms. Before a single bond is made, the target sequence, salt form, and purity threshold are written down as the contract the finished material must meet.

  2. Built residue by residue

    ARA-290 is built one protected residue at a time by solid-phase synthesis, each cycle a deprotection, a coupling, and a wash.

  3. Purity is won here

    The crude mixture — ARA-290 plus its deletions and side products — is then separated on preparative HPLC, and where the cut is taken decides the difference between a genuinely pure peptide and a barely-passable one.

  4. Proven, then protected

    A real batch of ARA-290 proves itself: identity confirmed by mass spectrometry against its ~1,257.3 Da, purity read directly off an analytical HPLC trace, water and counterion content measured. That batch-specific certificate of analysis is the only honest way to know what is actually in a vial of ARA-290 — and a short, cold, accountable chain of custody is how that purity survives the trip to your bench.

Walk the full synthesis pipeline

Handling, storage & why purity is hard

ARA-290 (cibinetide) is an 11-residue linear peptide with an N-terminal pyroglutamate and a free C-terminus, taken from the helix-B surface of erythropoietin. It is made by routine solid-phase synthesis; forming the pyroglutamate terminus correctly and ordinary deletion-sequence removal are the main quality steps.

Moderate synthesis

Don't judge a vial by its cake. A fluffy, good-looking lyophilized powder reflects bulking agents and freeze-drying parameters — not purity. Insist on a batch-specific certificate of analysis.

How peptides are made — the full pipeline

Research areas

  • Neuropathic pain
  • Small-fiber neuropathy
  • Tissue protection
  • Anti-inflammatory / repair

Latest research

Recent clinical trials and publications mentioning ARA-290, pulled automatically from ClinicalTrials.gov and PubMed and refreshed daily. Listings are unfiltered search results, not curated endorsements.

Frequently asked questions

What is ARA-290?+

ARA-290 (cibinetide) is a synthetic 11-amino-acid fragment of erythropoietin that triggers EPO’s tissue-protective, anti-inflammatory signaling without stimulating red-blood-cell production.

How is it different from EPO?+

EPO both builds red cells and protects tissue; ARA-290 keeps only the tissue-protective, anti-inflammatory activity, so it does not carry EPO’s clotting and blood-thickening risks.

What is it studied for?+

Chiefly neuropathic pain and small-fiber neuropathy — including in sarcoidosis — plus broader tissue-protection and anti-inflammatory research.

Is ARA-290 approved?+

No — it is investigational and not FDA-approved. This page is a research and educational reference.

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