ARA-290

Why scientists study it

• It is copied from the hormone EPO but does not bind the classic paired EPO receptor, and research models have not shown it to raise red blood cell production the way EPO does, which is the reason it was designed.
• It is tested for picking out a receptor pair called the innate repair receptor (IRR), made of the EPO receptor and the beta-common receptor (CD131), which animal and cell studies report on tissue that is injured or under metabolic stress, not healthy tissue.
• First developed by Araim Pharmaceuticals, it is tested in small fiber and diabetic nerve damage, with nerve fiber counts in the cornea and skin, in nerve damage linked to sarcoidosis, and in wider work on cell protection and calming inflammation.

Three studies to know

Brines et al., 2014 · Molecular Medicine

Brines and colleagues ran a Phase 2 study of adults who had type 2 diabetes. Over the trial, ARA-290 was linked to improvements in nerve symptom scores and in metabolic control measures. Read the paper

van Velzen et al., 2014 · Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs

Van Velzen and colleagues reviewed ARA-290 as an experimental compound for small fiber nerve damage linked to sarcoidosis. They summed up the reasons for testing it and the early results in patients. Read the paper

Brines et al., 2008 · PNAS

This early paper by Brines and colleagues reported short peptides made from the folded shape of EPO. One of them, taken from the helix B surface, became ARA-290. In animal and cell models they still protected tissue and had no red blood cell effect. Read the paper

Safety and legal status

• ARA-290 is an experimental research compound. As of 2026 it is not approved by the FDA, the EMA or the MHRA for treating people.
• The World Anti-Doping Agency does not list ARA-290 by name. Its class S2 bans innate repair receptor agonists, the group ARA-290 is reported to belong to.
• Supplied for laboratory research only. It is not for human use.