Retinalamin
A polypeptide extract from cattle retina, injected in Russia for glaucoma and retinal disease, and what its studies can and cannot show
Retinalamin is a mixture of small proteins extracted from the retinas of cattle, made by a Russian drug company and registered there as a prescription medicine. Eye doctors in Russia give it as courses of injections, into a muscle or next to the eye, hoping to slow nerve damage in glaucoma and other retinal diseases. The studies behind it are Russian, mostly small, and none compared it with a placebo injection. A careful rabbit study found no protective effect.
Used in human trials: 5 mg, Once a day, Intramuscular (Study: glaucoma, tear-marker study, 23 patients) Details ↓
Recommended Dosing
Used in human trials
There is no FDA label. A label from outside the US exists (see the regulatory status on this page) but was not read for this page: these are amounts given in published trials, not recommendations.
Work out syringe units → · New to syringes? · All dosing data ↓
What is it?
Retinalamin belongs to a family of Russian medicines made by extracting small proteins and peptides from animal tissues, which their developers call peptide bioregulators. This one comes from cattle retina. It is sold as a freeze-dried powder, 5 mg of polypeptides per vial, to be dissolved and injected. Because it is a mixture, it has no single sequence or formula, and nobody has published which of its components, if any, does the work.
In Russia it is a registered prescription medicine, held by the company Geropharm, for glaucoma with controlled eye pressure, diabetic retinopathy, several kinds of retinal degeneration and recovery after retinal detachment surgery. The usual course is ten injections, into a muscle or next to the eyeball. It is not approved in the United States or the European Union, and no trial of it is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Most of the evidence is in glaucoma, in people whose eye pressure is already controlled, where the question is whether the optic nerve can be protected any further. Three Russian trials randomised patients: 180 to a year of courses or none, 147 to two years of courses or none, and 146 to one added course or none. Each reports some measures favouring treatment, such as visual-field indices, ganglion-cell thickness or contrast sensitivity. But the comparison group got no injection at all rather than a placebo injection, none of the abstracts describes masking, and in the two-year trial the treated and untreated groups never differed significantly from each other, even though the authors concluded the treatment halts progression.
The other human studies are weaker still. A 498-patient study compared injection routes without any untreated group. A 2025 two-centre cohort of 56 people with advanced glaucoma reported slower visual-field loss and nerve-fibre thinning over two years in those given regular courses, without randomisation. Small studies in diabetic retinopathy, inherited retinal degeneration in children and tuberculous inflammation of the retina report improvements, mostly without a control group or against another unproven treatment. Nearly all appear in Russian journals, many with English abstracts only.
The laboratory picture is mixed. In culture, retinalamin protected mouse retinal ganglion cells from glutamate, a model of the damage seen in glaucoma, and stimulated growth of retinal cells. But when researchers tested it properly in animals, giving rabbits injections next to the eye while damaging their retinas with intense blue-violet light, it made no difference at all to electrical function, cell counts or cell death compared with saline.
Taken together: retinalamin is a real, registered Russian medicine with a long record of use, but its benefit has not been shown in a trial that a regulator outside Russia would accept. The Russian product information lists serious allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock, among its side effects.
Mechanism of Action
How retinalamin might act is not established. It is a mixture of cattle-retina polypeptides; culture studies suggest effects on retinal cells, but a controlled rabbit study found no protection.
Glutamate stress in culture
Added with glutamate to mouse retinal ganglion cell cultures, it raised survival from 9% to about 52%; it was not toxic to fibroblasts.
Retinal cell growth
In culture it stimulated growth of retinal and pigment-epithelium cells, and in frog embryo tissue it pushed ectoderm toward neural and retinal tissue.
No effect in living rabbits
Parabulbar injections did not change electroretinograms, cell counts or cell death in light-damaged rabbit retinas compared with saline.
Active component unknown
As a mixture of polypeptides, no single molecule has been identified as responsible for any effect reported.
Published Research
Studies of retinalamin read from their PubMed abstracts on October 29, 2026: the Russian glaucoma trials first, then the studies in diabetic retinopathy, inherited retinal degeneration and tuberculous chorioretinitis, then the rabbit study and three culture studies. Most titles name only the disease or 'retinoprotective therapy'; their abstracts name retinalamin as the drug given. A mouse distribution study of a cattle-retina polypeptide drug is left out because its abstract does not name the product.
Randomised: 180 glaucoma patients, one year
People with open-angle glaucoma and controlled eye pressure were randomised to intramuscular courses (repeated after six months) or no added treatment, 90 each. Over a year, mean deviation on visual-field testing improved slightly in the treated group (from −5.52 to −4.82 dB) and worsened in controls (−3.51 to −4.60 dB); ganglion-cell thickness held steady on treatment and thinned in controls. The groups did not start out equal, and the controls received no placebo injection.
Randomised: 147 patients over two years
Patients with early or moderate glaucoma were randomised to a course every six months (69 patients) or no course (78), and followed for two years. Mean deviation changed in neither group; nerve-fibre-layer thickness fell significantly only in controls, and the neuroretinal rim grew slightly on treatment and shrank in controls, but at no point did the groups differ significantly from each other. The authors nonetheless concluded that regular courses halt progression.
Randomised 2:1, 146 patients
People aged 40 to 85 with stage I to III glaucoma, all on standard neuroprotective treatment, were randomised 2:1 to one added intramuscular course of ten injections or none, and examined at one and three months. The treated group showed wider visual fields, better uncorrected acuity and contrast sensitivity and faster recovery on a photostress test; no adverse events were recorded.
Three routes compared, 498 patients
In 498 people with glaucoma and controlled pressure, 5 mg injections were given intramuscularly, behind the eye (retrobulbar) or both, 50 mg per course. Summed threshold sensitivity on perimetry rose at three months in most groups, by about 110 to 274 dB, and began to fall back by six months with intramuscular injection alone. The authors judged the routes comparable. There was no untreated or placebo group.
Two years of courses in advanced glaucoma
A two-centre cohort followed 56 people (98 eyes) with advanced glaucoma and stable pressure. Those given ten 5 mg intramuscular injections every three months lost visual-field mean deviation at 0.98 dB a year and nerve-fibre thickness at 1.5 µm a year, against 1.65 dB and 3.0 µm a year in untreated controls. Groups were not randomised and the abstract gives no significance test for the difference.
Blood flow on OCT angiography
Seventeen people with advanced glaucoma received courses every three or every six months. Retinal vessel density and branching on OCT angiography showed no statistically significant change within or between groups; the authors describe trends they read as potentially favourable.
Tear-fluid nerve markers
In 23 people with stage II to III glaucoma given ten daily 5 mg intramuscular injections on top of eye drops, tear-fluid levels of neuron-specific enolase (a marker of nerve-cell damage) and BDNF were high before treatment. After the course, both returned to the levels of 12 healthy controls in stage II patients, while enolase stayed high in stage III. There was no untreated comparison group.
Diabetic retinopathy: OCT and electroretinography
Fifty-six people with diabetic retinopathy without macular oedema were split into 28 who received intramuscular injections and 28 who did not. The authors report positive changes in ganglion-cell thickness and in pattern and flash electroretinograms in the treated group; the abstract gives no figures.
Electroretinography after a course
A report from the same group of retinal electrical responses in people with diabetic retinopathy given a course, compared with patients not given it: significant changes in pattern and flash electroretinograms after treatment, illustrated with two clinical cases. Patient numbers are not stated in the abstract.
Children with inherited retinal degeneration
Thirty-three children aged 4 to 7 with five types of inherited retinal degeneration were treated. The authors report that the disease stayed stable for 18 months, acuity improved in 82%, visual fields widened in 54% and electroretinograms improved in 37%. No control group is described.
Tuberculous chorioretinitis versus emoxipine
In 97 patients (132 eyes) with inactive tuberculous inflammation of the retina and choroid, injections next to the eye (parabulbar) were compared with parabulbar emoxipine, a synthetic antioxidant. Acuity improved in 66% on retinalamin against 20% on emoxipine, with more improvement in visual fields and retinal electrical activity.
Same cohort, longer follow-up
A second report on the 97-patient tuberculous chorioretinitis cohort adds four years of follow-up: the authors report that adding the drug slowed the progression of coexisting age-related cataract and prevented loss of vision in 98% of patients in the first year, falling to 53% by the fourth.
A single case in new glaucoma
A case report of one patient with newly diagnosed glaucoma and normalised pressure, given ten parabulbar injections, with visual fields, optic-nerve imaging and electrophysiology recorded before and one and three months after the course.
No protection in rabbits
Thirty-six rabbits whose retinas were damaged by 20 days of blue-violet light received parabulbar injections (0.25 mg/kg daily for 10 days, started on day 1 or day 10) or saline. Electroretinograms, cell counts and cell-death staining did not differ between treated and control groups at any time; the authors found no significant evidence of a protective effect.
Mouse retinal cells and glutamate
In cultures enriched for retinal ganglion cells from newborn mice, glutamate killed most cells (9% survived); adding retinalamin at 1.25 mg/mL alongside raised survival to 51.6%. It was not toxic to skin fibroblasts at any concentration tested.
Retinal cell growth in culture
In tissue culture, retinalamin and the synthetic tetrapeptide epitalon, at certain concentrations, stimulated growth of retinal and pigment-epithelium cells in a tissue-specific way, according to this short report from the Khavinson group.
Frog embryo tissue
Early-gastrula ectoderm from the frog Xenopus laevis, exposed to retinalamin, developed into neural tissue including brain, retina and pigment epithelium in a concentration-dependent way.
Dosing Data
Retinalamin is registered in Russia, but its Russian product information leaves the dose to the doctor, so no label amount is given here. These are the amounts used in published human studies.
Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose above is tagged with its source: an approved label, a published human study, animal data, or amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
What a Buyer Needs to Know
What is sold, how it is mixed, stored and taken, and what is known about its safety, quality and legal status. Each part names its source. Where we have none, it says unknown.
What is sold
Unknown: we hold no label and no published test that says what forms or vial sizes Retinalamin is sold in. A vial's own label is a seller's claim, not a source.
Mixing a vial: a worked example
An arithmetic example, not a recommendation: a 10 mg vial mixed with 3 mL of bacteriostatic water holds 3,333.3 mcg per mL, so 5 mg, the “Study: glaucoma, tear-marker study, 23 patients” row would be 150.0 units, more than a 1 mL U-100 syringe holds. Put your own vial's numbers into the reconstitution calculator.
Source: dose: Used in human trials, PMID 30499540 (Dosing Data below); vial and water: the calculator's default example, not a vial size we have a source for.
Storage before and after mixing
Unknown: no label or published stability study on file says how to store Retinalamin, before or after mixing. The mixing guide sets out the general rules, with their sources: keep a mixed vial in the fridge, and use it promptly, as the bacteriostatic water label says of any drug dissolved in it. The 28 days often quoted is the limit for an opened multiple-dose vial from a manufacturer, an outer limit set for sterility, not a time a mixed solution has been shown to keep. Nobody has published how long Retinalamin stays intact once mixed.
How it is taken
As it was given in human studies: Intramuscular (Once a day; Study: glaucoma, tear-marker study, 23 patients); Intramuscular or retrobulbar (Course totalling 50 mg; Study: glaucoma, routes compared, 498 patients).
For injection technique, sites and needle disposal, see the mixing guide.
Source: Used in human trials: the route and frequency of each row in Dosing Data below.
What to expect, and when
How long it stays in the body: not established by a measurement cited on this entry.
How long the doses were given: Study: glaucoma, tear-marker study, 23 patients: 10 injections; Study: advanced glaucoma cohort, 56 patients: 2 years; Study: glaucoma, routes compared, 498 patients: Assessed at 3 and 6 months.
When effects appear: unknown; no source on this page gives a time to effect for Retinalamin. Results reported in the studies are under Published Research.
Source: Used in human trials, the duration of each row in Dosing Data below.
Side effects, and when to stop or get help
From the Side Effects section: No adverse events were recorded in the 146-patient randomised trial (PMID 30721201); The Russian product information lists anaphylactic shock and swelling of the larynx, and pain, redness and swelling at the injection site (Vidal.ru, read October 29, 2026); Not toxic to cultured fibroblasts at any concentration tested (PMID 30830079). Full list and cautions ↓
When to stop or get help: unknown; no label or trial on file sets rules for stopping Retinalamin. Treat a severe or unexpected reaction as a reason to stop and see a doctor.
Source: the Side Effects section below (“From the studies above and the Russian product information”).
Interactions
Unknown: a PubMed search for human interaction studies of Retinalamin (reviewed 2026-10-28) found none. Unknown is not the same as safe to combine.
Every peptide's record, with its source: the interaction matrix.
Checking what you bought
Unknown: no published independent test of Retinalamin products is in our lab-results database yet, so how products sold under this name measure up is not known.
To read a certificate of analysis, paste it into the COA decoder. Trust & Verification explains what independent testing can and cannot show.
Legal status
US: Not FDA Approved. Elsewhere: approved in Russia (registered medicine; Vidal.ru reference, read October 29, 2026). Sport: Unsettled (S0 may apply).
Country by country ↓ · Regulatory tracker
Source: this entry's approval status and the WADA Prohibited List, as in Legal Status below.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
From the studies above and the Russian product information.
Contraindications & Cautions
From the Russian product information (Vidal.ru, read October 29, 2026):
Legal Status
Retinalamin is a registered prescription medicine in Russia and is not approved in the US or EU.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What is retinalamin?
A mixture of small proteins (polypeptides) extracted from cattle retina, sold in Russia as a 5 mg powder for injection. It is one of the Russian peptide bioregulator extracts and is not a single defined molecule.
?Is it approved?
In Russia, yes: it is a registered prescription medicine for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal conditions. It is not approved in the US or EU, and no trial is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
?Does it work for glaucoma?
It has not been shown convincingly. Russian randomised trials compared courses with no added treatment rather than a placebo injection, and report small or mixed differences; in a two-year trial the groups never differed significantly. A controlled rabbit study found no protective effect.
?How is it given?
As a course of usually ten injections, into a muscle or next to the eye, by eye specialists. Study courses used 5 mg per injection and were repeated every three to six months in the longer studies.
?What are the risks?
The Russian product information lists serious allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock, and local pain, redness and swelling. It is an extract of animal tissue, and injections near the eye carry their own risks.
References
- [other] Vidal.ru drug reference, Retinalamin (lyophilisate for intramuscular and parabulbar injection, 5 mg), read October 29, 2026: Russian registration LP-No.(000519)-(RG-RU) of January 21, 2022, without expiry (previous registration LS-000684); holder Geropharm LLC (Russia); active substance polypeptides of cattle retina, 5 mg per vial, with glycine; prescription only; ATC code S01XA; indications include compensated primary open-angle glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, central retinal dystrophies, myopic disease and tapetoretinal abiotrophy; listed adverse reactions anaphylactic shock, laryngeal angioedema and pain, redness or swelling at the injection site. https://www.vidal.ru/drugs/retinalamin__2478
- [other] US FDA, Drugs@FDA (openFDA): no application for retinalamin. Read October 29, 2026. ClinicalTrials.gov: no study found for retinalamin (read October 29, 2026).
- [clinical-trial] Egorov EA, et al. "[Structural and functional changes in the retina of patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and compensated intraocular pressure while undergoing retinoprotective therapy]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2019;135(3):20-30. PMID: 31393444.
- [clinical-trial] Strakhov VV, et al. "[The influence of long-term retinal protective therapy on glaucoma progression according to structural and functional tests]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2020;136(5):58-66. PMID: 33056965.
- [clinical-trial] Aprelev AE, et al. "[Results of neuroprotective therapy in primary open-angle glaucoma]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2018;134(6):53-58. PMID: 30721201.
- [clinical-trial] Erichev VP, et al. "[Peptide bioregulators: delivery and efficacy]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2020;136(2):56-62. PMID: 32366071.
- [clinical-trial] Dorofeev DA, et al. "[Neuroprotective therapy in advanced primary open-angle glaucoma]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2025;141(6):75-80. PMID: 41432508.
- [pubmed] Dorofeev DA, et al. "[Effect of retinal protective therapy on optical coherence tomography angiography (pilot study)]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2021;137(1):60-67. PMID: 33610151.
- [pubmed] Gabdrakhmanova AF, et al. "[Molecular mechanisms of neuroretinoprotection in primary open-angle glaucoma]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2018;134(5):54-60. PMID: 30499540.
- [pubmed] Malakhova AI, et al. "[Objective structural and functional monitoring of polypeptide retinal neuroprotective therapy in diabetic retinopathy]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2024;140(5):97-104. PMID: 39569781.
- [pubmed] Malakhova AI, et al. "[Objective functional monitoring of retinoprotective treatment in diabetic retinopathy]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2024;140(1):45-56. PMID: 38450466.
- [pubmed] Khvatova AV, et al. "[Polypeptide bioregulators in the treatment of different-type abiotrophy of the retina]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2005;121(2):19-21. PMID: 15881150.
- [pubmed] Aleksandrova TE, et al. "[Results of retinalamine use in the treatment of tuberculous chorioretinitis]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2007;123(2):25-8. PMID: 17650606.
- [pubmed] Aleksandrov EI, et al. "[Treatment with the peptide bioregulator retinalamine in patients with tuberculosis of the organ of vision]." Probl Tuberk Bolezn Legk, 2008:15-20. PMID: 18368773.
- [pubmed] Makashova NV, et al. "[Application of Retinalamin for the treatment of glaucomatous optic neuropathy]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2014;130(4):71-6, 78-80. PMID: 25306728.
- [pubmed] Suetov AA, et al. "[Retinoprotective effects of Retinalamin studied in an experimental model of photochemical damage to rabbit retinas]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2021;137(5):57-67. PMID: 34726859.
- [pubmed] Avetisov SE, et al. "[Evaluation of therapeutic sensitivity of retinal ganglion cells to targeted peptide bioregulator in culture]." Vestn Oftalmol, 2019;135(1):84-89. PMID: 30830079.
- [pubmed] Khavinson VKh, et al. "Effects of peptides on proliferative activity of retinal and pigmented epithelial cells." Bull Exp Biol Med, 2003;135(6):597-9. PMID: 12937684.
- [pubmed] Khavinson VKh, et al. "Inductive activity of retinal peptides." Bull Exp Biol Med, 2002;134(5):482-4. PMID: 12802458.
Sources & Citations
Studies were read from their PubMed abstracts on October 29, 2026. Russian registration from the Vidal.ru drug reference, Drugs@FDA and ClinicalTrials.gov read the same day, and the EMA medicines list on October 28, 2026. Grey Peptides sells nothing and links to no vendor.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Talk to a licensed clinician about your own situation.