Semax
PMID 12459874 reports that ulcers had healed by day 14 in 89.5% of the Semax group (checked: 2026-08-25). The same PMID reports 30.8% in controls. Both groups received standard care. The Semax group also received Semax. The abstract gives no sample size, effect interval or p-value. No funder is named in the PubMed record. The authors said more studies were needed.
What is Semax?
The United States GSRS lists Semax as a chemical made of seven amino acids (checked: 2026-08-25). Its sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. The record has UNII I5FAL2585H and CAS 80714-61-0. GSRS also calls it ACTH (4-7), PRO-GLY-PRO-. It lists no salt link. It lists no parent link to an acetyl form.
GSRS has a separate record for corticotropin (4-10). Its sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Arg-Trp-Gly. Its UNII is J48AU3I790. Its CAS number is 4037-01-8. It is not Semax.
Some papers call Semax an analogue of ACTH(4-10). PMID 10741256 uses that term. It describes a relationship, not one identity. This page does not use ACTH(4-10) as an alias for Semax. The live class keeps the paper's wording. The codes and sequences keep the two substances apart.
What did human studies report?
The seven selected human records below can be read here only as abstracts. None of their PubMed records names a funder.
| Source | People | Design | What the abstract reports | What it does not print |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PMID 12459874 | Sample size not printed | Semax plus standard therapy; control group | Ulcer healing on day 14: 89.5% versus 30.8%; authors call for more studies | Sample size, effect interval, p-value |
| PMID 29798983 | 110 after ischaemic stroke | Early and late rehabilitation, each split into Semax and no-Semax groups | Higher plasma BDNF through the study; faster improvement and a better final Barthel score | Semax subgroup sizes, effect size, p-value |
| PMID 18379501 | 27 with motor neuron disease | Open-label, sequential groups; PubMed tags it as randomized | No effect on denervation or clinical estimates; better total quality of life through emotional state and motivation | Effect size, interval, p-value |
| PMID 11517472 | 30 treated; 80 controls with similar stroke severity and location | Controlled acute ischaemic-stroke study | Faster restoration of impaired neurological functions, especially motor disorders | Effect size, interval, p-value |
| PMID 10741256 | Sample size not printed | Three optic-nerve groups, including a control | Faster recovery and improvements in visual acuity, field, nerve measures and colour vision | Group sizes, effect size, interval, p-value |
| PMID 15792140 | 187 with cerebrovascular insufficiency | Design not printed in the abstract | Clinical improvement, stable disease course and reduced stroke or transient-attack risk; a minor share had side effects | Group structure, effect size, side-effect rate, interval, p-value |
| PMID 32342318 | 52 healthy people in total | Resting-state fMRI; Semax, Selank or placebo | Changes in brain-network connectivity | Per-arm sizes, clinical outcome, effect interval |
The table was checked against the PubMed records on 2026-08-25. Tier B reflects human work that is small, short or for a specific use. It is not proof of medicine approval.
PMID 11443939 is not a human clinical trial. It tested enkephalin-degrading enzymes from human serum in vitro. Its Semax IC50 was 10 micromolar (checked: 2026-08-25).
What did the United States FDA publish and review?
An FDA list dated May 14, 2026 says Semax (heptapeptide) left Category 2 after its nominations were withdrawn. Semax is absent from that file's current Category 2 list. The same file says FDA planned a July 24 committee review of Semax base and acetate.
The FDA meeting page says the committee reviewed both forms for the 503A Bulks List. The uses were cerebral ischaemia, migraine and trigeminal neuralgia. The same page says committee advice does not bind FDA.
FDA staff gave their own view in a July 24 presentation. They said the criteria weighed against adding Semax base and acetate to the 503A list. This was a staff view. It was not medicine approval. It was not a ban. It was not final list placement. The meeting page and slides show no vote tally. They show no final FDA action for Semax.
The FDA slides also report one voluntary FAERS account. It describes eye pain and burning after an online Semax product. The person was hospitalized. The symptoms lasted at least one year. The slides note the limits of voluntary reports. One report does not prove that Semax caused the event.
An archived FDA safety page dated April 22, 2026 puts Semax (heptapeptide) in its withdrawn table. The row cites a possible immune response for some routes. It ties that risk to aggregation and peptide impurities. The row says FDA had little or no safety data for the proposed routes. These dated facts are not current approval. They are not a ban. They are not a trial result.
How much human research is registered?
Name and sequence searches found no Semax study bound to the compound in ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-08-25. Positive and negative controls worked. There was no false hit to exclude.
CTIS returned HTTP 403. Its result is not checkable. The EudraCT tool gave the same count for Semax, semaglutide and a nonsense control. Its Semax count is unclear rather than zero.
What is Semax's EU status?
EU status: unclear. Semax did not appear in the EMA central medicines report on 2026-08-25. The check used working controls. The report does not cover every national approval in an EU state.
When was Semax first documented outside research?
Old Semax research does not date grey-market use. PMID 31667971 says suspect products were found at the end of 2017 and in 2018 (checked: 2026-08-25). It gives no month for the 2017 event. The register thus keeps first_observed: null. The paper came out in January 2020. That month is not used as the observation month.
What did testing of seized products find?
PMID 31667971 reports two seized products as one set (checked: 2026-08-25). The abstract says the samples contained Semax and Selank. It gives no Semax-only sample count. It gives no Semax purity value. It gives no Semax identity pass rate. It gives no endotoxin result. It gives no sterility result. No rate is inferred. The PubMed record names no funder.
What do users report?
Forum archive result, 2026-08-25: no full first-person thread under Semax or its sequence. The page includes no forum quote or group claim.
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