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Compounded — not FDA-approvedPrescription only
Compounded Semax / Selank
Compounded — nasal spray
A compounded nasal spray pairing semax, a synthetic ACTH fragment, with selank, a synthetic tuftsin analogue — Russian-developed peptides whose human evidence is largely Russian-language. FDA has never reviewed selank.
Semax and selank are not FDA-approved drugs and are not currently on FDA's list of substances that may be used in compounding. FDA's advisory committee voted for semax's inclusion on 2026-07-24 and has never scheduled selank for review; their status may change and this treatment may be withdrawn. Your provider decides whether it is appropriate for you.
Not priced on the site yet
Compounded Semax / Selank is on the formulary, but its price isn’t published here yet — so it can’t be added to a cart. The medications with a published price are listed by category.
See peptides optionsQuestions
Will I definitely be prescribed this?
No. A consultation does not guarantee a prescription. A licensed provider reviews your history at the visit and decides whether this is appropriate for you; because the substance is not on FDA's list for compounding and the human data is thin, many providers will reasonably decline. If they decline, the medication portion of what you paid is refunded automatically; the consultation fee is not.
Is this FDA-approved?
No. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, and neither semax nor selank is the active ingredient of any approved product. Semax has a favourable advisory vote from July 2026 with rulemaking pending; selank has never even been scheduled for FDA's committee. FDA has not reviewed either, or this combination, for safety, effectiveness or quality.
Could this be withdrawn?
Yes. Its regulatory status can change at any time: FDA's advisory committee vote is a recommendation, FDA's own rulemaking decides the list, a state pharmacy board can act on its own, and our partner pharmacy can stop preparing it. If any of that happens we stop offering it, tell you, and refund the medication portion of any order the pharmacy can no longer fill.
Are these used anywhere as medicines?
In Russia, yes — semax as a nasal spray in stroke care and for cognitive complaints, selank for anxiety, both registered there. That is a fact about Russian regulation. FDA has not approved either, and none of the Russian trials has been reviewed by a US regulator.
Why is selank the weaker footing of the two?
Because nobody has even nominated it. Semax at least went before FDA's committee and came out with a recommendation, which starts a rulemaking process; selank has no nomination, no review and no recommendation, so a pharmacy compounding it is working entirely without a list basis. A mixture is only as listable as its least-listable ingredient.
How it works
Semax is a seven-amino-acid peptide built from a fragment of ACTH — the pituitary hormone — with a proline-glycine-proline tail added so it survives long enough to act; it has no steroid-raising effect. In rats given it intranasally it raised BDNF, a growth factor neurons use to form and maintain connections, in the hippocampus, and in Russia it is used as a nasal spray in stroke care and for cognitive complaints. Selank is a seven-amino-acid analogue of tuftsin, an immune peptide, with the same stabilising tail; in animal work it modulates GABA signalling — the brain's main calming system — and slows the enzymes that break down enkephalins, the body's own opioid-like peptides, which is the proposed basis of its anti-anxiety use in Russian practice. The nasal route puts both peptides near the olfactory nerve. The pairing is a Russian nootropic-plus-anxiolytic idea; the human evidence for each is largely Russian-language, none of it has been reviewed by a US regulator, and there is no study of the two together.
The full mechanismA provider may consider it if
- Focus under stress is what you are working on with a provider, and you have already ruled out the ordinary causes — sleep, thyroid, mood — with them
- You would rather use a nasal spray than inject anything
- You understand that the evidence is Russian-language and animal work, and that this is an experiment with a provider, not an established treatment
It won’t be prescribed if
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding or trying to conceive
- Active cancer, without your oncologist involved
- Anyone taking benzodiazepines, sleeping tablets or other sedatives, or with a history of alcohol or substance dependence — selank acts on GABA and enkephalin systems, and a 2021 review flagged dependence potential for the class
- A psychiatric or neurological condition under treatment, without that prescriber involved — this cannot replace treatment for anxiety, depression, ADHD, stroke or dementia
- Under 18
These are the same checks your provider runs in the visit. If one applies, they will tell you plainly — and the medication portion of what you paid comes back automatically.
What to expect
Days 1–7
Nasal irritation, dryness or a bitter taste is the common early experience with any peptide spray. Selank can make some people drowsy and others restless.
Weeks 2–4
Human outcome data is limited to Russian-language studies of each peptide alone, so there is no timeline to borrow — your provider will ask what you notice rather than tell you what to expect.
Ongoing
Reviewed at check-ins. Semax's rulemaking is pending and selank has no recommendation at all; if either status changes we stop offering it and tell you.
Safety
Side effects, before you decide
Nasal irritation, dryness, sneezing, a bitter taste and headache are the common ones for a peptide nasal spray. Selank can cause drowsiness or, in some people, restlessness; semax is reported to cause irritability or trouble sleeping if used late in the day. Human outcome data is limited to Russian-language studies and animal work; a 2021 pharmacology review described selank as poorly studied and warned that GABA-acting compounds carry a risk of dependence with chronic use. Long-term safety data does not exist.
- Dolotov OV, Karpenko EA, Inozemtseva LS, et al. Brain Res 2006;1117(1):54–60 — semax, an ACTH(4-10) analogue given intranasally, raises BDNF and trkB in the rat hippocampus
- Gusev EI, Martynov MYu, Kostenko EV, Petrova LV, Bobyreva SN. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2018;118(3):61–68 — intranasal semax in 110 patients at different stages of ischaemic stroke, a Russian-language clinical study
- Doyno CR, White CM. J Clin Pharmacol 2021;61(Suppl 2):S114–S128 — review of GABA-acting sedative-hypnotics including selank, described as a poorly studied Russian drug with dependence potential for the class
- Zozulya AA, Neznamov GG, Syunyakov TS, et al. Bull Exp Biol Med 2001;131(4):315–317 — selank's inhibition of enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a proposed anxiolytic mechanism
- Volkova A, Shadrina M, Kolomin T, et al. Front Pharmacol 2016;7:31 — selank and the expression of genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission
Complete safety information is provided during your visit and with every prescription. This page is a summary, not a substitute for your provider's advice.
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See whether compounded semax / selank is right for you.
A licensed provider reviews your visit and decides. You receive medication only if prescribed, and that portion of your payment is refunded automatically if they say no.