Thymalin: research

A calf thymus extract studied for immune problems, with uncertain safety and product identity.

Also called: Timalin, Thymalinum, Thymaline, Тималин.

Khavinson bioregulator peptides · Calf-thymus polypeptide extract.

The 156 possible clinical reports include older records without summaries and reports that may reuse participants. They are not 156 independent trials; dose and safety details are often missing.

Studies

• COVID-19: 10-day injections. rct, n=80, Hospitalised adults with severe COVID-19; mean age about 62 years. A small trial reported fewer hospital deaths; replication is needed. (source)
• COVID-19: five-day injections. rct, n=92, Adults with moderate or severe COVID-19 and low lymphocyte counts. Immune and inflammation markers improved in an open-label trial. (source)
• COVID-19 antibodies at 104 days. rct, n=75, Hospitalised adults with moderate or severe COVID-19; mean age 64.70±7.20 years. Antibody levels fell less after Thymalin; protection from reinfection was not tested. (source)
• COVID-19 antibodies at 200 days. cohort, n=88, Older adults after hospitalised COVID-19. A follow-up report described higher antibody levels after Thymalin. (source)
• COVID-19 immune markers at six days. cohort, n=87, Adults admitted in Chita in June to August 2020 with severe COVID-19. Retrospective analysis of immune-marker changes, not a new survival trial. (source)
• COVID-19: clotting and mortality. cohort, Middle-aged and older adults with severe COVID-19. A comparative report found lower mortality with Thymalin; causal certainty is low. (source)
• COVID-19: first case report. case-report, n=1, One adult with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. One recovery after treatment cannot establish a drug effect. (source)
• COVID-19: two case reports. case-series, n=2, A 72-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman with severe COVID-19. Two reported recoveries provide very weak evidence. (source)
• COVID-19: treatment case series. case-series, Severe COVID-19 cases in Chita. A case-based comparison does not establish relative efficacy. (source)
• Older adults: two annual courses. rct, n=94, Women aged 66–94 living in a veterans home. A small older trial reported lower mortality; this is not proof of longer life. (source)
• Older adults: spaced injections. rct, n=152, Older adults, including people with coronary disease or accelerated ageing. A second historical cohort reported fewer deaths after repeated courses. (source)
• Older adults: annual extract pair. cohort, n=20, 10 older women and 10 older men in a separate group. The annual combination group was not a separately randomized comparison. (source)
• Timing for pelvic inflammation. cohort, Women with chronic salpingitis or oophoritis. Chronotherapy findings need replication. (source)
• Acute lung abscess. cohort, Patients receiving usual care for acute lung abscess. A small comparative report with incomplete details. (source)
• Acute necrotic pancreatitis. case-series, n=18, Patients with acute necrotic pancreatitis. An uncontrolled series cannot establish benefit. (source)
• Parkinson symptoms. case-series, n=15, Adults aged 45–72 with idiopathic parkinsonism. A 15-person before-and-after series. (source)
• Severe burns. cohort, n=32, People with grade III–IV burns. Findings are confounded by burn care. (source)
• Diabetic foot wounds. cohort, n=46, Patients with diabetic foot wounds. Laser, several drugs and Thymalin were combined. (source)
• Autoimmune thyroiditis. cohort, n=104, Patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Multiple treatments prevent a drug-specific estimate. (source)
• Ulcerative colitis comparison. cohort, n=50, Patients with different severities of ulcerative colitis. No numerical outcome or adverse-event rates provided. (source)
• Lung mycobacterial disease. cohort, n=43, Adults with fibro-cavernous lung mycobacterial disease. The regimen also changed several antibiotics. (source)
• Resistant schizophrenia. case-series, n=36, Patients with resistant schizophrenia and immune abnormalities. No controlled symptom or safety estimate. (source)
• Endometrial cancer adjunct. cohort, n=111, Primary endometrial cancer patients. No survival estimate attributable to Thymalin. (source)
• Cervical cancer adjunct. cohort, n=96, Women with advanced cervical cancer. Old combined-treatment report; safety data incomplete. (source)
• Childhood hepatitis B. cohort, n=102, Children with chronic hepatitis B. No controlled rate; pediatric findings do not establish adult dosing. (source)
• Psoriasis immune imbalance. cohort, n=57, People with psoriasis; 8 received combined immune correction. Combination therapy; no isolated drug effect. (source)
• Skin sarcoidosis: no benefit. cohort, n=28, Patients with skin sarcoidosis. Not all 28 necessarily received Thymalin; drug-arm counts absent. (source)
• Childhood concussion: no effect. cohort, Children with acute concussion. Sample size and dose absent from the abstract. (source)
• Dysentery immune-marker comparison. cohort, Patients with dysentery. Surrogate outcome; no clinical endpoint estimate. (source)
• Nonspecific lung disease. cohort, n=35, Patients with nonspecific lung disease. Abstract says 5 mL for 4–6 injections; concentration and route unclear. (source)
• Peritonitis: route comparison. cohort, n=46, Patients with widespread peritonitis. Unusual surgical route; dose absent. (source)
• Peritonitis with heparin. cohort, n=63, Patients with acute peritonitis. No quantified drug-interaction assessment. (source)
• Pulmonary tuberculosis adjunct. cohort, n=116, Patients with infiltrative destructive tuberculosis. Dose, allocation and harm rates unavailable. (source)
• Tuberculosis immune-drug comparison. cohort, n=553, Patients with destructive pulmonary tuberculosis. 553 is the total across all drugs, not the Thymalin arm. (source)
• Abdominal gunshot wounds. cohort, n=112, Patients with abdominal gunshot injuries. Ultrasound, antibiotics, enzymes and other drugs also changed. (source)
• Frostbite adjunct. case-series, n=19, Patients with frostbite. Small combined-treatment series. (source)
• Major trauma adjunct. case-series, n=23, Patients with major injuries. Small series; exact dosing absent. (source)
• Periodontal disease. case-series, n=30, Patients with periodontal disease. No modern dental or bleeding outcome measures. (source)
• Childhood herpes stomatitis. cohort, n=44, Children with acute or recurring herpes stomatitis. Pediatric series; no adult regimen established. (source)
• Childhood secretory otitis. cohort, n=68, Children studied in 2017–2019. Mixed regimens and unclear allocation. (source)
• Postoperative infection. cohort, Patients with septic complications after surgery. Combination effects; no numerical endpoint or dosing. (source)
• Kidney inflammation adjunct. cohort, Patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. Regimen paper; no controlled Thymalin efficacy estimate. (source)
• Cholestatic liver disease. cohort, n=102, Patients with chronic cholestatic hepatitis or primary biliary cirrhosis. Total across drugs; no Thymalin arm size or event rates. (source)
• Burns: early comparative series. cohort, n=32, Adults aged 18–60 with deep burns. Historical findings are vulnerable to treatment-selection bias. (source)
• Postoperative endometritis. cohort, Women with endometritis after surgery. Thymalin and thymogen were assessed as separate drugs. (source)
• Pneumonia with thymus enlargement. cohort, Young children with pneumonia and enlarged thymus. Historical pediatric immune and hormone responses were studied. (source)
• COVID-19: conference abstract. cohort, Severe COVID-19 patients. Conference report from the same COVID-19 research programme. (source)
• Human stem cells in a dish. in-vitro, Cultured human blood-forming stem cells. Cell-marker changes suggest altered differentiation; no patient benefit tested. (source)
• Immune cells and peptide components. in-vitro, Human blood cells from 4 donors, plus computer modelling. Proposed gene effects come from cell and computer models. (source)
• Inflammation in cultured cells. in-vitro, THP-1 monocyte/macrophage cell line. The extract changed inflammatory signals in cultured cells. (source)
• Tumour and thymus in rats. animal, Male rats with transplanted sarcoma. Rat tumour findings do not establish anticancer benefit or safety in people. (source)
• Jaw-bone repair in rats. animal, n=48, 48 rats in four groups with jaw-bone defects. A PubMed human tag is misleading here: the experiment used rats. (source)

Gaps: The 156 is a clinical-report candidate count, not a count of independent trials; cohort overlap remains unresolved. 64 indexed candidates have no abstract. Full dosing and safety data could not be recovered for most historical reports. No registered Thymalin-extract study was found on ClinicalTrials.gov; similarly named thymosin alpha-1 studies were excluded. No reliable human half-life, dose-finding programme or route-comparison study was located. No reliable adverse-event rates, reproductive-safety programme or modern long-term cancer-safety assessment was located. No independent large trial has confirmed the historical mortality findings. Modern COVID-19 treatment differs from the care in these studies. Under-skin dosing, chronic microdosing and mixed-peptide wellness stacks lack verified trial support. No validated shelf life after mixing, bacteriostatic-water stability or cross-product dose equivalence was found. EU national approvals, UK and Canadian registrations, Australian scheduling and a product-specific WADA ruling remain unverified.

Related to Thymalin

• Epitalon: A peptide with telomerase effects in cells, but no proof that people live longer.
• Pinealon: A peptide with unproven brain benefits and no established injection dose.
• Thymogen: A Russian peptide used for immune problems, with negative cancer trials.
• Vesugen: An experimental blood-vessel peptide with unclear benefits and poorly defined safety.
• Cortagen: A four-amino-acid brain peptide backed mainly by animal work and unverified patent claims.
• GHK-Cu: A copper-binding skin peptide with small topical studies and untested systemic injections.

Thymalin: the short version

Sources

• 503B Bulk Drug Substances List, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Bulk Drug Substances Used in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C Act, FDA · FDA · 2026
• Concerns regarding the public health risks associated with unapproved peptide products, Therapeutic Goods Administration and Chief Medical Officer · Therapeutic Goods Administration · 2026
• July 23-24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee - 07/23/2026, FDA · FDA · 2026
• The Prohibited List, World Anti-Doping Agency · World Anti-Doping Agency · 2026
• Think twice before injecting peptides bought online: unauthorized products can seriously harm you, Health Canada · Health Canada · 2026
• Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503B of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FDA · FDA · 2025
• Supply unlicensed medicinal products (specials), MHRA · 2025
• US Chem Labs - 669074 - 02/07/2024, FDA · 2024
• National registers of authorised medicines, EMA
• ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО МЕДИЦИНСКОМУ ПРИМЕНЕНИЮ ЛЕКАРСТВЕННОГО ПРЕПАРАТА ТИМАЛИН®
• Safety and Risk Assessment of No-Prescription Online Semaglutide Purchases., Ashraf AR et al. · JAMA network open · 2024
• [Morphological compound and indicators of the blood clotting system in severe COVID-19 patients of middle aged and elderly during treatment of Tocilizumab and Thymalin.]., Kuznik BI et al. · Advances in gerontology = Uspekhi gerontologii · 2022
• Prognosis of immune state following basic therapy and thymalin treatment in patients with severe COVID-19 infection, Kuznik et al. · Russian Journal of Immunology · 2022

Sources checked: 2026-10-18.

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