Selank
Tuftsin analog
- Injection
- Oral
- Nasal spray
- Suppository
- Gel or cream
Nasal spray — daily, four weeks on and two off.
Available — priced per vial or unit, not by the month
Selank is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from tuftsin, a fragment of an immunoglobulin protein your body makes naturally. It was developed in Russia in the 1990s as a stabilized analog — the original tuftsin molecule degrades too quickly to work as a drug, so Russian chemists added a three-residue tail that resists breakdown and extends the molecule’s working life.
The result is a peptide with dual activity: it modulates GABAergic signaling in the brain (the same neurotransmitter system benzodiazepines target, but through a different mechanism), and it inhibits the enzymes that break down enkephalins, endogenous opioid peptides involved in stress and mood regulation. The practical effect: anxiolytic activity without the sedation or dependence profile of classical anti-anxiety medications. Most of the human evidence comes from Russian clinical trials; Western research has focused on mechanism and neuroimaging, with the full study list on our PeptideWellness deep-dive.
“Selank is what you get when you stabilize an immune fragment and discover it calms the brain — a genuinely different mechanism from anything FDA-approved for anxiety.”
Who it's for (or who should avoid)
What it's aimed at
Selank protocols are most commonly used for:
- Generalized anxiety disorder — the primary indication in Russian clinical practice
- Anxiety-asthenic conditions — fatigue-driven anxiety, burnout-adjacent states
- Cognitive support — focus and mental clarity, particularly under stress
- Non-sedating anxiolysis — patients who need anxiety management without daytime drowsiness
- Benzodiazepine alternatives — for patients seeking options outside the classical anxiolytic classes
The anxiolytic effect reported in that trial is real, but it is not a diagnosis and not a treatment plan — it sits alongside therapy rather than in place of it.
Who should avoid it
- Anyone who wants a compound with formal U.S. standing — it’s not on the FDA’s compounding list, so U.S. prescriptions rest on pharmacies compounding it without that authorization
- Patients with active psychiatric conditions requiring immediate intervention — Selank’s onset is measured in days, not hours
- Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning a pregnancy — no controlled human safety data
- Patients on multiple CNS-active medications — interaction data is limited
Sixty-two patients, one controlled trial, one comparison drug. That is the entire clinical file — worth knowing before building a plan around it.
One controlled trial in people has been published: 62 patients with generalised anxiety, half on Selank and half on a benzodiazepine, tracked on the Hamilton and Zung scales. It found the two comparable. It did not report how quickly the effect appeared, so any week-by-week timeline is guesswork.
Route, dose and course
Selank is administered intranasally in essentially all clinical work. The intranasal route allows the peptide to reach the brain via olfactory and trigeminal pathways that partially bypass the blood-brain barrier, which improves central exposure without proportional systemic effects.
What sellers publish (we checked their own pages on 16 October 2026):
- Dose: Rx Peps Direct lists a nasal spray at 250 mcg per spray and does not say how many sprays a day. No dose is approved for Selank in the US
- Cycling: none of the sellers we checked publishes one
- Stacking: Rx Peps Direct sells a Semax and Selank nasal spray in one bottle
No measured timeline
No human trial has measured how soon Selank works or how long any effect lasts, and we found no source we trust for a week-by-week picture, so we do not draw one. Agree with your prescriber what you will measure and when you will check it.
Available — priced per vial or unit, not by the month
No seller here prices it by the month. Each figure is what the seller publishes, in its own unit — a vial, a spray or a capsule — with the exclusion spelled out. How long a unit lasts depends on the dose a prescriber sets.
| Provider | Published price | What that figure excludes | Coverage | Their own site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PeRxPeptide-only telehealth, Wellness MD Group PC | No price for this compound | The only peptide figure on the site is a floor for the whole menu — treatment plans "starting at $199" — so there is no price for any individual compound. The provider review is included; there is no separate consultation fee. | All 50, stated | Go to site |
| RxPepsDirectPer-vial prices, 503A pharmacy in Texas | $125 per 15 ml sprayread 2026-11-04 | The $39 telehealth visit, charged per order. | A named list | Go to site |
Will it work where you live?
Most sellers claim all fifty states or publish nothing about coverage; a few name the states they serve or the ones they exclude, and the Coverage column says which. Either way it is the seller's own claim, so we can't filter this list by state without inventing a fact. What we can tell you is which state-level rules decide access: telehealth rules, non-resident pharmacy licensing, and who is allowed to prescribe.
Prices and providers change. We keep track.
Questions we get about Selank
Is Selank FDA-approved?
No — Selank is a registered prescription drug in Russia for generalized anxiety disorder, but it's not FDA-approved in the United States. It's not on the FDA's 503A or 503B bulk substances list, so no list authorises a U.S. compounding pharmacy to prepare it. Some telehealth providers prescribe it anyway and have a 503A pharmacy compound it.
Is it legal?
In Russia, yes — with a prescription. In the U.S., not to compound, even with a prescription. Section 503A lets a pharmacy compound only from an ingredient of an FDA-approved drug, a substance with a USP monograph or one on the FDA's 503A bulks list, and the FDA's interim policy adds its category 1 while it decides. Selank is in none of these: the FDA removed it from its category 2 safety list in September 2024, when the nomination was withdrawn, and has not added it to the list. Some telehealth providers prescribe it and have a 503A pharmacy prepare it regardless. It also circulates as a "research compound, not for human use," which is not a prescription pathway. Availability can vary by state — confirm current access with the provider or your clinician.
Are there side effects?
In the Russian clinical trials (mostly short-duration studies), Selank was reported as well-tolerated with minimal side effects — no sedation, no dependence, and no withdrawal in the study periods. Long-term safety data in humans is limited. As with any unapproved peptide, discuss your full medical history with your provider.
Can I take it with my current medications?
Drug interaction data for Selank is sparse. Because it modulates GABAergic and enkephalin pathways, interactions with benzodiazepines, opioids, or other CNS-active medications are theoretically possible. Always disclose your full medication list — including supplements — to your provider before starting.
How much does it cost?
The sellers in the price table on this page price it per vial or unit rather than by the month, each with the date we read it. PeRx sells it only combined with Semax in one injectable vial, without a per-compound price, so it is not in the table. A spray bottle is not a month: how long it lasts depends on the dose prescribed. International and research-compound sellers exist and we do not feature them. Insurance does not cover it.
We publish no medical reviewer by design. Every claim on this page traces to a source we hold on file, and the reviewed write-up with those citations lives on our hub. Read the full research on PeptideWellness ↗
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