EDR Peptide
(Glu-Asp-Arg)

1970s

The Cold War Problem

When Soldiers Aged Too Fast

In the depths of the Cold War, Soviet military doctors noticed something troubling. Soldiers exposed to extreme conditions—submarines, radiation zones, arctic deployments—were aging faster than they should. Their immune systems weakened. Their minds dulled. The Kremlin wanted answers.

The Ministry of Defense commissioned a secret research program at the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). Their mission: find ways to protect the human body from environmental stressors and slow down premature aging. A young military physician named Vladimir Khavinson was assigned to the project.

Khavinson and his colleagues began with a simple but gruesome task—collecting tissues from slaughterhouses. They theorized that organs contained natural signaling molecules that kept them healthy. If they could extract these molecules, perhaps they could use them to heal damaged human organs.

1980s-1990s

From Thymus to Brain

Building a Library of Healing Molecules

During their practice at the Leningrad Meat Factory, the research team made their first breakthrough—isolating biologically active substances from the thymus of cows. These turned out to be peptides, short chains of amino acids that could influence how cells behaved.

Over the next two decades, Khavinson's team extracted peptide complexes from over 20 different organs. One of the most important was Cortexin, derived from the cerebral cortex of cattle and pigs. This complex showed remarkable ability to protect brain cells and improve mental function.

But Cortexin was large and complicated. The team suspected that somewhere within this mix was a smaller, simpler molecule doing most of the heavy lifting. They began the painstaking work of breaking Cortexin into its component parts.

1986-2000

Testing Under Fire

From Chernobyl to Afghanistan

In April 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster created an urgent testing ground. Liquidators—the workers sent to clean up the radioactive mess—were exposed to massive doses of radiation. Many developed neurological problems, weakened immunity, and accelerated aging.

Khavinson's peptides, including the brain-derived Cortexin, were used to treat some of these victims. Reports claimed improvements in cognitive function and immune response. Similar treatments were given to soldiers serving in Afghanistan and cosmonauts preparing for long space missions.

This real-world testing, though not following modern clinical trial standards, convinced researchers that short peptides could genuinely protect the body under extreme stress. The question became: which specific peptide sequence was responsible for the brain-protective effects?

Early 2000s

The Tripeptide Emerges

Finding the Active Core

After years of detective work, Khavinson's team identified the key players within Cortexin. The most common active sequence was a tiny tripeptide: Glutamic acid - Aspartic acid - Arginine. They called it EDR, or Pinealon.

This was a stunning discovery. Instead of needing a complex mixture of hundreds of peptide fragments, they had found that just three amino acids—linked in the right order—could protect brain cells from damage. The molecule was so small it could slip directly into cells and even interact with DNA itself.

In 2007, Khavinson received Russian Patent No. 2301678 for Pinealon as a peptide that stimulates regeneration of neurons in the central nervous system. The synthetic version was pure, consistent, and could be manufactured in laboratories rather than extracted from animal tissue.

2011-Present

Understanding the Shield

How Three Amino Acids Guard the Brain

With the pure peptide in hand, researchers began unraveling how Pinealon actually works. In 2011, Khavinson's team published a landmark study showing that Pinealon could reduce harmful molecules called free radicals in brain cells exposed to stress.

But the peptide did more than just clean up damage. Follow-up studies revealed it could actually enter the cell nucleus and interact with DNA and histone proteins—the molecular packaging that controls which genes are active. Pinealon appeared to switch on genes that produce protective proteins and switch off genes that trigger cell death.

Clinical studies, primarily conducted in Russia, showed promising results. In one trial, 72 patients with traumatic brain injuries showed improved memory when Pinealon was added to their standard treatment. Another study found memory improvements in 59.4% of patients recovering from head trauma. The peptide seemed to help aging brains work better.

Research continues today, with scientists exploring Pinealon's potential in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and age-related cognitive decline. Though not yet approved as a drug in most countries, Pinealon represents a new approach to brain health—using the body's own language of peptides to defend against aging.