Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of Bromantane and Dihexa — mechanism, dosing, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
Bromantane (Ladasten) is a synthetic adamantane-derivative small molecule — not a peptide — developed in Russia as an "actoprotector"/adaptogen with combined mild psychostimulant and anxiolytic activity. It is an approved prescription drug in Russia (Ladasten) for asthenic disorders, but it has no FDA or EMA approval and no blinded, placebo-controlled human trials. It is prohibited in sport (WADA S6 stimulant) and circulates on the gray market as a research chemical.
Dihexa (PNB-0408) is a small-molecule hexapeptide-like analog of angiotensin IV developed at Washington State University by the Harding/Wright group as a preclinical candidate for Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline. It is NOT FDA-approved and has never been tested in human clinical trials. The often-quoted claim that it is 'roughly ten million times more potent than BDNF' refers to EC50 comparisons in an in vitro dendritic spine assay, not clinical efficacy.
Bromantane
Dihexa
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Bromantane
No pricing data yet.
Check Bromantane prices →Dihexa
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Bromantane
4
COAs
99.9%
Avg purity
3
Labs
Dihexa
4
COAs
99.1%
Avg purity
4
Labs
Human evidence is limited to Russian clinical use of Ladasten. The largest published dataset is an open-label, non-comparative multicenter trial (28 centers, N=728) in asthenic disorder at 50–100 mg/day for 28 days (Voznesenskaia et al., 2010), reporting symptomatic improvement (CGI-S response 76.0%, CGI-I 90.8%) with adverse effects in ~3% of patients. No blinded, placebo-controlled randomized trial exists and there is no ClinicalTrials.gov registration. All mechanistic and toxicology data are preclinical (rat, mouse, in-vitro). Approved only in Russia; not FDA/EMA-approved; not a peptide.
Key references
McCoy et al. (J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2013, PMID 23055539) is the original dihexa characterization: oral dihexa reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits and improved Morris water maze performance in aged rats at low doses. Sun et al. (Brain Sci 2021, PMID 34827486) reported that dihexa rescued cognitive impairment in the APP/PS1 Alzheimer's mouse via PI3K/AKT signaling, with increased synaptophysin and reduced neuroinflammation. Wright & Harding (J Alzheimers Dis 2015, PMID 25649658) reviewed the brain HGF/c-Met system as an Alzheimer's target. Note: Benoist et al. (JPET 2014, PMID 25187433), which reported the HGF/c-Met-dependent synaptogenesis mechanism, was retracted in 2025 and should not be relied on as primary evidence. The 'roughly seven orders of magnitude more potent than BDNF' descriptor refers to in vitro dendritic spine EC50 values, not clinical efficacy. Dihexa has never entered human clinical trials; Athira Pharma's related analog fosgonimeton failed its Phase 2/3 LIFT-AD Alzheimer's endpoint in 2024 and was discontinued, after which Athira shifted focus to ATH-1105 for ALS.
Bromantane and Dihexa are both in the Cognitive category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
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Key references
Disclosed Labs