yes i take peptides · shopping companion

Cortagen

Category · For CognitionStatus · RUOCitations · 15

The verdict

Mostly no — Cortagen's evidence base is single-source from the Khavinson group, the marketed neurological-recovery indications are not supported by any Western controlled trial, and the Russian short-peptide-bioregulator framework does not anchor to a Western regulatory category.

By source — cost, legality, risk

Brand
Not available (Russian cosmeceutical ~$30–$60)
None — no FDA approval; Russian cosmeceutical only
No FDA-approved Cortagen; Russian retail is not a US-legal channel.
Compounded 503A pharmacy
$80–$200/mo where sold
Off-label · niche channel, not on bulks list
Mid–high. Few compounders carry; the Khavinson-only evidence base means clinical legitimacy is weak.
RUO research peptide
$30–$100/mo
Sold 'for research only'
Highest. The dominant supply; small tetrapeptide is cheap to synthesize.
Gray-market raw
Varies — not on user's vendor list
Unregulated overseas import
Available via overseas raws (cheap to synthesize) but Cortagen has limited demand vs Epitalon, so vendor coverage is intermittent.

Sources · top 5 of 15

01Khavinson VK. Tissue-specific effects of peptides. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2001;132(2):807-8. PMID: 11713572.
02Turchaninova LN, et al. Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve. Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. 2000;130(12):1172-4. PMID: 11276314.
03Zarubina IV, et al. [Cortexin and cortagen as correcting agents in functional and metabolic disorders in the brain in chronic ischemia]. Eksperimental'naia i klinicheskaia farmakologiia. 2011;74(2):8-15. PMID: 21476278.
04Anisimov SV, et al. Elucidation of the effect of brain cortex tetrapeptide Cortagen on gene expression in mouse heart by microarray. Neuro endocrinology letters. 2004;25(1-2):87-93. PMID: 15159690.
05Kolosova LI, et al. The delayed effect of cortagen on the restoration of injured nerve function. Doklady biological sciences : proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Biological sciences sections. 2002;384:183-4. PMID: 12134478.