Selank: what the research shows

Selank is a synthetic peptide studied in Russia as an anxiolytic. It is not an FDA-approved drug, and nearly all of the clinical evidence comes from Russian research groups publishing in Russian.[1][2]

Russian clinical studies

Selank vs phenazepam (2014). A comparative study in 60 patients with anxiety and somatoform disorders reported anxiolytic and mild nootropic effects of selank, lasting a week after the last dose.[1]
Selank added to phenazepam (2015). In 70 patients (30 on phenazepam alone, 40 on phenazepam plus selank), the combination was reported to speed the response on HDRS and reduce several phenazepam side effects.[3]

Both studies come from the same Moscow author group, which includes researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences.[1][3] Independent replication outside Russia has not been published. We read both papers in Russian in our selank anxiety teardown.

Animal data

In rats under chronic mild stress, selank reduced anxiety measures in the elevated plus maze and changed the effect of diazepam when the two were combined.[4]

Regulatory status

No FDA-approved drug product contains selank; a Drugs@FDA search returns no approved application.[2] FDA lists selank acetate (TP-7) among substances previously placed in compounding category 2 whose nominations were withdrawn, citing aggregation and impurity risk, and states that it “lacks important information regarding any safety issues raised by selank acetate administered to humans.”[5]

What is not known

There are no large, independent, placebo-controlled trials, and there are no Western regulatory reviews of efficacy or safety.[1][5]

References

Medvedev VE, et al. [A comparison of the anxiolytic effect and tolerability of selank and phenazepam in the treatment of anxiety disorders]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2014;114(7):17-22. (In Russian.) PMID 25176261. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25176261/. Checked October 15, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs database (searched by ingredient name via the openFDA drugsfda endpoint). https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/. Checked October 15, 2026.
Medvedev VE, et al. [Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2015;115(6):33-40. (In Russian.) PMID 26356395. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26356395/. Checked October 15, 2026.
Kasian A, et al. Peptide Selank Enhances the Effect of Diazepam in Reducing Anxiety in Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Conditions in Rats. Behav Neurol. 2017;2017:5091027. PMID 28280289. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28280289/. Checked October 15, 2026.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks (Category 2 of the bulk substances nominated under sections 503A or 503B). Content current as of April 22, 2026. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks. Checked October 15, 2026.

This page summarizes published research and regulatory documents. It is not medical advice and does not recommend using, sourcing, or dosing any of these substances.