Khavinson BioregulatorTarget: PancreasDigestive

Pancragen

Pancreas Bioregulator Tetrapeptide · Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp · KEDW · Панкраген

Pancragen is synthetic Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp (KEDW), one of the more molecule-specific cytogens in the Khavinson pancreas series. Suprefort is the pancreas Cytomax. It is not insulin and not a GLP-1 agonist.

Not FDA-approved - research chemical
Reviewed by CalcMyPeptide Editorial Team
Last updated: August 2026Evidence: Low5 peer-reviewed citations
Typical research dose
1–2 capsules/day (Cytomed) or 1–2 mg SC (research vial)
Frequency
1× daily for 10-30 day cycles
Half-life
Short (tetrapeptide)
Common vials
5 mg / 10 mg
CAS
N/A
Molecular weight
633.66 g/mol

Use-case scores

0–10 against the evidence we have, not a gym ranking. Hidden domains do not apply here.

  • Longevity / aging3.5/10

    Khavinson-school tissue peptide. Single-lab concentration after haircut. Not a Western Phase 3 geroprotector.

  • Metabolic / weight3/10

    GI/metabolic organ map. Not a GLP-1 and not a diabetes drug.

Compound card

Sequence
KEDW
Class
Khavinson cytogen (KEDW)
Formula
C28H39N7O10
Status
Not FDA-approved · research use
Dose it
5 mg + 2.5 mL BAC water → 2 mg/mL · 1000 mcg ≈ 50 units (U-100)
Open in calculator

How it works

Pancragen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp, KEDW) is the pancreatic cytogen in the Khavinson map. Suprefort is the pancreatic Cytomax. School papers on islet gene expression are not a beta-cell restoration drug, not a diabetes indication, and not a substitute for indicated glucose-lowering therapy.

Source: PMID: 15677927

Khavinson map

Canonical 41
Class
Cytogen (synthetic short peptide)
Organ
Pancreas
Target
Pancreas
System
Digestive
Sequence
KEDW · Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp
Панкраген

Used in bioregulator stacks

Manufacturer-style organ combinations - not FDA protocols. Every name is a live leaf.

The Khavinson school

Vladimir Khatskelevich Khavinson (1946–2024) spent five decades at what became the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology arguing a simple, stubborn idea: aging is, in part, a failure of tissue-specific peptide signals, and those signals can be restored. The first products were not “peptides” in the Instagram sense. They were Cytamins - polypeptide fractions isolated from a named organ of young animals. Later commercial refinements of those fractions are sold as Cytomaxes (Cytomed / NPCRIZ): still mixtures, still oral capsules, still defined by the source organ rather than a single sequence. When the group identified short active motifs inside those mixtures, they synthesized them as Cytogens - di-, tri-, and tetrapeptides with a one-letter code (KE, AEDG, KED, EDR, KEDP, and so on).

That three-layer stack is the whole map. Cytamin / pharmaceutical extracts (Thymalin, Epithalamin, Cortexin, Retinalamin, Prostatilen) are the clinic-era injectables registered in the former Soviet pharmacopeia. Cytomaxes are the capsule complexes Cytomed still lists as a 21-SKU organ line. Cytogens are the defined synthetics. English-language educators, including Brenden Henry’s public writing at Peptide Science Institute, add a further commercial distinction - later analog SKUs (N-acetyl, amidate, “V2” complexes) sold as more stable or more diverse than the original Cytomed lots. That last layer is a product taxonomy, not a Khavinson paper. We describe it so readers are not gaslit by three bottles with the same organ name. We do not reproduce paid Peptide Mastery protocols, Precision Cell Method language, or anyone else’s course IP.

Full Cytamin → Cytomax → Cytogen map, literature limits, and how we counted 41

The mechanism Khavinson published is epigenetic, not receptor-agonist in the GLP-1 sense. Short peptides are claimed to enter nuclei, interact with DNA/histones, and reopen tissue-specific transcription that condensed with age (heterochromatin → euchromatin). Reviews in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine and Neuroendocrinology Letters (PMID 14523363, 15677927, 23888677) are the citable core. Complementary GI pharmacology is not mystical: di- and tripeptides are PEPT1/LAT substrates, which is why oral capsules are even a conversation. What is not established in Western Phase 3 programs is organ-by-organ disease treatment, telomere reversal as a clinical endpoint, or the manufacturer claim that Cytomax is “a third stronger” than Cytogen. Those are NPCRIZ marketing sentences.

Khavinson’s group published hundreds of papers, many in Russian, many in the same journal family. That is a real literature. It is also a literature with limited independent Western replication, small n, and a habit of using one review PMID as a stamp on every organ. On this site a leaf earns its organ story, its Cytomax↔Cytogen pair, its sequence if it has one, and an honest sentence about what has not been shown. Reconstitution math belongs on cytogens sold as vials. Cytomax capsules do not get a fake 5 mg vial.

The 41 we treat as canonical are the 21 Cytomaxes on the public e-peptide/Cytomed list, the 12 Cytogens on that same commercial line (including Vesilut, which Western catalogs often drop), plus eight historically load-bearing molecules that sit beside the capsule SKUs: Epitalon, Vilon, Thymogen, Livagen, Cortagen, Prostamax, Thymalin, and Epithalamin. Honluten, Cortexin, Retinalamin, Prostatilen, Thymulin, N-acetyl-epitalon-amidate, Pinalex, and the GPL Man / GPL Femme kits are covered as adjacent - same school or same storefront, not padded into a fake 41.

Public English-language teaching (including Brenden Henry at peptidescienceinstitute.com) is cited as context, not copied. Paid Peptide Mastery / Peptide Salvation text stays theirs.

History of this molecule

KEDW got dedicated Bulletin papers on islet and insulin-related transcription. That is why this leaf can cite something other than the class stamp. Suprefort is still the complex you swallow as Cytomax.

Metabolic influencers will file Pancragen next to tirzepatide. Receptor pharmacology is not organ-peptide gerontology. Hypoglycemia risk if someone combines mystery islet peptides with insulin is the adult warning.

Caveats

A defined sequence is not an FDA indication. Pancreas cytogens sit in a Russian experimental-gerontology literature with limited Western replication. “Oral bioavailability because PEPT1” is real peptide-transport biology; it is not proof this SKU treats the organ disease. Gray-market identity is a live problem - HPLC is the only way to know the vial is the sequence on the label. Do not replace insulin.

Full 41-map: Khavinson bioregulators index · Bioregulator stacks

Research Use Cases

  • ✓KEDW identity vs Suprefort
  • ✓Not a pre-diabetes or insulin-restoration protocol

Dosing

PhaseDoseFrequencyNotes
Khavinson Protocol1–2 capsules/day or 1–2 mg SCDaily for 10–30 day courses, 1-2x per yearPancreatic bioregulator course. Used for metabolic age management.

Administration

Route / form
Two real SKUs: Cytomed oral capsules (swallowed) or a lyophilized research vial reconstituted for subcutaneous injection. Nobody manufactures these as sublingual tablets.
Timing
Capsules: morning, about 30 minutes before meals. Research vial (SubQ): food does not change the injection.
Empty stomach?
Capsules: yes - Swallow on an empty stomach, about 30 minutes before meals. Reconstituted vial (SubQ): food does not change the injection. Cytomed boxes sometimes print “with food” because they are labeled as supplements; the manufacturer user-guide preference is before meals.

Pancragen: oral vs SubQ

Cytomed oral capsule
Bioavailability
No published human F% for this SKU. PEPT1 is a di-/tripeptide transporter story; a tetrapeptide swallow is a longer, weaker oral argument, not a certificate. Cytomed cytogen capsules are still swallowed.
Dose note
Pancragen Cytomed cytogen capsules: 1–2 capsules/day, typically 10–30 day courses. No reconstitution. Swallow; do not melt under the tongue. Swallowed with water. Morning, about 30 minutes before meals, is manufacturer user-guide folklore. Cytomed boxes sometimes print “with food” because they are labeled as supplements. That is not a published absorption RCT for this SKU. Pair: Suprefort is the pancreas Cytomax. This is not insulin and not a GLP-1 agonist.
Advantages
  • Official Cytomed cytogen SKU is a swallowed capsule. No BAC water, no syringe.
  • Matches how Cytomed ships the poster line.
  • Nobody manufactures this as a sublingual tablet.
  • Cytomed capsule is the official swallow. KEDW has dedicated Bulletin papers (including PMID 22380579) on islet-adjacent transcription; that is still not SURPASS or STEP.
Considerations
  • Capsule milligrams are not 1–2 mg SC. Do not convert a research-vial protocol into capsule counts by arithmetic theater.
  • Empty-stomach timing is user-guide folklore plus PEPT1 logic, not a cited human PK study for this SKU.
  • Pancragen is KEDW, one of the more molecule-specific cytogens in the Khavinson pancreas series. Metabolic influencers will file it next to tirzepatide. Receptor pharmacology is not organ-peptide gerontology.
  • Not a labeled antihyperglycemic. Some listings add an amide; check the COA, not a blog table.
Research vial SubQ
Bioavailability
No published human PK curve for this cytogen. Research-chem SubQ is the gray-market route. Class estimate is minutes-to-hours, not a depot ester.
Dose note
Research lyophilized vial: reconstitute with bacteriostatic water, sterile technique, SubQ. Class pattern is about 1–2 mg daily for on the order of 10 days, not a 12-week GLP-1 titration. Food does not change the injection. Do not convert Cytomed capsule counts into vial milligrams. Pair: Suprefort is the pancreas Cytomax. This is not insulin and not a GLP-1 agonist.
Advantages
  • Vial math is checkable if the COA matches the sequence on the label.
  • Food timing is irrelevant for SubQ.
  • Short pulsed courses match how the school used defined synthetics.
Considerations
  • Gray-market identity: HPLC is the only way to know the cake is KEDW (Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp).
  • Not a Western Phase 3. Russian experimental-gerontology literature is real and concentrated.
  • Not a sublingual tablet and not a Cytomax complex.
  • Pancragen is KEDW, one of the more molecule-specific cytogens in the Khavinson pancreas series. Metabolic influencers will file it next to tirzepatide. Receptor pharmacology is not organ-peptide gerontology.
  • Hypoglycemia risk if someone combines mystery islet peptides with insulin is the adult warning. Do not replace insulin.
Recommendation: Two SKUs. Swallow Cytomed Pancragen capsules (no recon, not sublingual) or BAC-reconstitute a research vial for SubQ at the 1–2 mg / ~10-day class pattern. Food does not change the shot. Pair: Suprefort is the pancreas Cytomax. This is not insulin and not a GLP-1 agonist. Pancragen is KEDW, one of the more molecule-specific cytogens in the Khavinson pancreas series. Metabolic influencers will file it next to tirzepatide. Receptor pharmacology is not organ-peptide gerontology. Russian literature is real; Western Phase 3 is not. Do not stop insulin or a labeled incretin for a 10-day cytogen course.

Timeline

Day 1-10 (course)
Pancreatic beta-cell gene expression restoration initiated.
Month 3-6
Improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity markers.

Who it is for

Metabolic / Pancreatic Health

Low

Pancreatic bioregulator. Restores age-suppressed pancreatic gene expression.

Reconstitution

VialWaterConcentrationExample dose
Lyophilized cytogen (if the SKU is a vial)Follow the COA fillDo the mathCapsules skip this step. Cytomax complexes are not this molecule.

Change vial size or water volume? Open the reconstitution calculator.

Safety & Considerations

Research peptide. Extensively used in Russian clinical protocols. Russian clinic history is not a US safety NDA.

Regulatory & Legal Status

FDA Status (US)
Research Only
WADA Status (2026)
Not Listed

Not currently on the WADA 2026 Prohibited List. Policies may change - verify before competition.

Classification

Research Chemical

US Compounding: Not eligible / not available

⚠️ This information is for educational purposes only and may not reflect the most current regulatory updates. Always verify with official FDA, WADA, and jurisdiction-specific sources before use.

Limits of current evidence

  • A defined sequence is not an FDA indication.
  • Gray-market identity is a live problem. HPLC beats a blog table.
  • Do not paste a sibling cytogen’s papers onto this SKU.
  • This site will not treat the named organ disease from a peptide page.

Verdict

Pancragen is the synthetic KEDW cytogen for Pancreas. Khavinson’s group published in this family. That is a concentrated literature, not a Western Phase 3. Capsules and vials are different SKUs.

Interactions & Contraindications

Not a substitute for indicated diabetes care.

Synergies & Common Stacks

Cytogen vs Cytomax. Monitor glucose if someone is already diabetic. Not a stack that replaces indicated therapy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pancragen vs Suprefort vs insulin?▼
Pancragen = KEDW cytogen. Suprefort = pancreas Cytomax. Insulin = replacement hormone. Not interchangeable.
GLP-1?▼
Different target, different evidence.
Sequence?▼
Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp (KEDW). Some listings add an amide - check the COA.
A1c drug?▼
Not a labeled antihyperglycemic.
Oral capsule or injection?▼
Two SKUs. Cytomed Pancragen is a swallowed cytogen capsule (1–2/day, typical 10–30 day courses, morning empty-stomach folklore, no reconstitution, not a sublingual tablet). Research vials are BAC-reconstituted SubQ at about 1–2 mg for on the order of 10 days; food does not change the shot. KEDW pancreas, not Suprefort (Cytomax), not insulin, not a GLP-1. Do not stop labeled diabetes drugs for a 10-day cytogen course.
What does Pancragen do for metabolism?▼
KEDW is the pancreatic cytogen in the Khavinson map. School papers are not a beta-cell restoration drug and not a substitute for indicated diabetes care.

References

  1. Khavinson VKh et al. “Pancragen and pancreatic cell function (Khavinson series).” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2012). PMID: 22380579
  2. Khavinson VKh et al. “Tissue-specific effects of peptides.” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2005). PMID: 15677927
  3. Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI “Short peptides regulate gene expression.” Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2013). PMID: 23888677
  4. Khavinson VKh, Morozov VG “Peptide regulation of aging: from experimental studies to clinical practice.” Advances in Gerontology (2003). PMID: 14523363
  5. Khavinson VKh et al. “"Peptide regulation of pancreatic function in aging".” Advances in Gerontology (2008). PMID: 18402695

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Get Pancragen from Vita-Stream - a distributor for Khavinson-line oral capsules. No reconstitution math on a Cytomax bottle.

Affiliate link · Full review