Rx in Russia onlyFor CognitionStroke · ADHDIntranasal+2 more

Semax

A heptapeptide fragment of ACTH (4-10), developed in the same Russian lab as Selank. We read all 60 studies. The protocol is below.

Updated 03 May 2026Read 12 minEvidence ●●○○○Citations 60

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The Semax Report · $19

Everything you need to start: dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict.

One purchase · yours forever

Built from 60 cited studies.

Status

Class

For Cognition

Evidence

2/ 5●●○○○

Approved in Russia

$19 ↓

Approved in US/EU

$19 ↓

English-language RCTs

$19 ↓

Read this if

you're a tech worker, finance person, or grad student who's read everything on r/Nootropics
you've had a mild stroke or concussion and your Russian relatives swear by it
you want something subtle for focus that isn't another stimulant
**variant alert** — read the bottle: 'Semax' (the Russian brand, ACTH 4-10), 'N-acetyl Semax' (NA-Semax, longer half-life), and 'N-acetyl Semax amidate' (NA-Semax-amidate, the version most RUO vendors actually ship) are **three different molecules**. Russian trial evidence is for plain Semax; community dosing folklore is mostly for the amidate

Skip this if

**you're on an SSRI, SNRI, MAOI, tramadol, triptan, lithium, or other serotonergic agent** — Semax is reported in the Russian literature to modulate monoaminergic systems including serotonin and dopamine (mechanism UNVERIFIED in English peer review); additive serotonergic risk is theoretical but real and the Russian literature does not test the interaction
you want US-trial evidence — most of it is Russian
you have unmanaged ADHD pretending to be "brain fog" — get the real diagnosis first
**you're DIY'ing the intranasal spray and can't run sterile technique** — reconstituting RUO powder into bacteriostatic-saline nasal spray introduces contamination risk that the sealed sterile Russian Rx Semax doesn't have. Nasal mucosa is a fast route to systemic blood — non-sterile prep is not a small detail
**you assumed forum 300 mcg/day is the trial dose** — it isn't. Russian-neurology trial doses are 1000+ mcg/day intranasal; community RUO dosing typically lands at 300 mcg/day. The community dose is roughly one-third of the trial dose, and the gap is not labeled anywhere on the bottle

The 4 ways you can buy Semax

$30–$60/mo at Russian retail (US import restricted)

Real product but not legally available to US patients without an importation issue.

Compounded 503A

✓

$90–$220/mo where sold

Compounded intranasal is the US-legal analog; some compounders also offer subcutaneous.

RUO (research-only)

✓

Sold 'for research only'

$25–$70/mo

Dominant channel outside Russia; needs DIY intranasal vehicle.

Gray market

✓

Unregulated overseas import

$7–$9/mo

Crypto/Wise pay; one 10mg×10 box covers many months at typical intranasal dose.

Click any lane for the full Sourcing breakdown. Prices and lane availability vary by molecule — this is the per-peptide snapshot, not a generic table.

First 90 days · Semax

What we'd actually do

Weeks 1–2

Subjective signal in the first 1–2 weeks if there's going to be one. Cognitive peptides (Selank, Semax) work fast or not at all for a given person.

Weeks 4–8

Either you've noticed a clear, consistent improvement (focus, anxiety reduction, mood stability) or you're imagining it. Track a baseline cognitive task or anxiety scale if you can.

Week 12 — decide

Decide. Cognitive effects are notoriously subject to placebo. If the signal isn't holding without you actively looking for it, it's probably not real.

Quit if

Paradoxical anxiety, agitation, or sleep disruption.
Two-week proper-dose trial with no perceived benefit.
Mood destabilization in either direction.

Identity

What it is.

Semax is a seven-amino-acid synthetic derived from a fragment of ACTH (4-10) — the adrenocorticotropic hormone — with the hormonal activity stripped out and the neuroactive properties retained. It came out of the same Russian Institute of Molecular Genetics that developed Selank, and like Selank, it's used clinically in Russia and not approved anywhere in the West.

The Russian clinical indications include ischemic stroke recovery, transient ischemic attack, cognitive impairment, and optic nerve disorders. It's sold as an intranasal spray under the brand name Semax in Russia. In the US, it's strictly a research chemical (RUO).

The proposed mechanism is broad: increased BDNF and NGF expression, modulation of dopamine and serotonin systems, neuroprotective effects in ischemic models. Like Selank, it's a small molecule with multiple plausible mechanisms and not enough Western trials to nail down the dominant one.

TL;DR

TL;DR. 30-second version.

The compressed verdict — what Semax actually is, what the human evidence shows, and the watch-for in three bullets. Locked.

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Mechanism

Mechanism.

Mechanism · in the Semax report

How the molecule actually works — receptor profile, downstream signaling, what to expect mechanistically.

Get the report · $19 ↓

Evidence

Evidence. What we actually know in humans.

Evidence · in the Semax report

The trial breakdown — phase, n, primary endpoint, who funded, what hit, what didn't.

Get the report · $19 ↓

Human-Evidence Factbox

Approved in Russia

$19 ↓

Approved in US/EU

$19 ↓

English-language RCTs

$19 ↓

Russian-language clinical use

$19 ↓

Animal studies

$19 ↓

Variant alert — 3 different molecules on the market

$19 ↓

Russian trial evidence covers

$19 ↓

Stack-conflict — SSRI / serotonergic agents

$19 ↓

DIY intranasal contamination risk

$19 ↓

Effect window — when to expect / when to quit

$19 ↓

Dose ambiguity — trial vs community

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Major adverse events flagged

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Dose

Dose. The actual protocol.

Dose · in the Semax report

The specific protocol — dose, titration schedule, cycle pattern, frequency, route.

We read 60 studies to write this report.

Get the report · $19 ↓

Sourcing

Sourcing. Where the cohort actually buys.

Sourcing · in the Semax report

Sourcing breakdown — vendor methodology, red flags, our published test results, COA checklist.

We read 60 studies to write this report.

Get the report · $19 ↓

Safety

Safety. Side effects.

Safety · in the Semax report

The watch-for list — contraindications, drug interactions, monitoring labs, when to stop.

Get the report · $19 ↓

Editorial Position

Editorial position.

Editorial Position · in the Semax report

Our editorial position — explicit yes / no / depends, with the reasoning behind it.

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Citations

Citations.

+Show all 60 citations

The Semax Report · $19

Everything you need to start.

Dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict. One purchase. Yours forever.

Built from 60 cited studies.

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