Neuro and cognition — the Russian bloc and what has a label
Noopept, phenylpiracetam, bromantane, and cortexin together have 0 registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov; lecanemab and donanemab already have active registration
Experimental material. Read before using anything from here.
Nothing on this page is a medical recommendation, prescription or treatment plan. It is an organized translation of protocols circulating in research communities and, where it exists, of what published trials tested. The two are marked differently — and they are not equivalent.
Most of the compounds here have no FDA approval for human use. Several are sold labeled "research use only", which means they have not gone through purity, sterility or dosage controls for human consumption. A community-reported dose is not a validated dose: it is what someone reported having done.
Talk to a licensed health professional before considering any of these compounds. If you already use one and feel anything unexpected, seek care — do not wait for the next routine test.
Summary
Thirteen lines split into two halves that don't look alike. On one side, the nootropics from the East — noopept, phenylpiracetam, bromantane, cortexin — and the experimental dihexa and P021. On the other, the ones with a package insert: modafinil, esketamine, zuranolone, KarXT, and the two anti-amyloids lecanemab and donanemab. The split shows up in a single column. The four from the Russian bloc total 0 registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, despite totaling 435 articles on PubMed. Already, lecanemab and donanemab have active registration — LEQEMBI and KISUNLA — in the nervous system and anti-dementia classes.
Two halves the conversation usually lumps together
The conversation about cognition lumps together, on the same list, a Russian powder bought online and a monoclonal antibody approved by an agency. The table below measures both with the same ruler — number of articles, number of registered studies, number of phase 3 trials — and the ruler does the separating on its own.
Four methodological caveats, written before the numbers. One: the KarXT search uses xanomeline AND trospium, the two active ingredients, because that's how the registration is written. Two: "P021" in quotes returns articles that use the code for other things — the number is a ceiling. Three: the only phase 3 registration for XPro1595 that the search returns is for COVID-19, not Alzheimer's. Four: esketamine appears under the spelling ESCETAMINA, which is the one the database uses.
No number on this page came from the site's secondary source.
How much evidence exists, compound by compound
The numbers below were compiled by me on September 12, 2026, on PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov. Each row's query is written out in full, next to the number, so anyone can repeat it and contradict me — and so the script that rechecks this site's counts can run all of them.
The condition column is not a claim about mechanism: it's the Condition field copied from the phase 3 records that the search itself returned. When there is no phase 3 record, the cell says so.
| Compound | Condition in phase 3 registrations | Query | Articles in PubMed | Studies on ClinicalTrials.gov |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noopept | no phase 3 registration in this search | noopept OR "GVS-111" | 113 | 0 |
| Phenylpiracetam | no phase 3 registration in this search | phenylpiracetam OR fonturacetam | 31 | 0 |
| Bromantane | no phase 3 registration in this search | bromantane OR ladasten | 74 | 0 |
| Cortexin | no phase 3 registration in this search | cortexin | 217 | 0 |
| Dihexa | no phase 3 registration in this search | dihexa | 18 | 0 |
| P021 | no phase 3 registration in this search | "P021" | 45 | 0 |
| Modafinil | Cocaine Addiction; Cocaine Dependence; Narcolepsy; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | modafinil | 2.412 | 216 |
| Lecanemab | Alzheimer's Disease; Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease; Early Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease; Early Alzheimer's Disease | lecanemab | 919 | 34 |
| Donanemab | Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI); Alzheimer Disease; Dementia; Plaque | donanemab | 464 | 19 |
| KarXT | Schizophrenia | xanomeline AND trospium | 159 | 45 |
| Zuranolone | Major Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder; Major; Insomnia | zuranolone | 190 | 17 |
| Esketamine | Treatment Resistant Depression; Major Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder; Major | esketamine | 2.420 | 353 |
| XPro1595 | COVID-19 | XPro1595 | 75 | 5 |
What exists in phase 3, and who it belongs to
Article count measures academic attention, not outcome evidence. The table below separates what has a registered phase 3 trial — and shows the largest registration the search returned in each row, with the declared number of participants and the sponsor.
A registration is not a result. A recruiting phase 3 trial is declared intent with money behind it, and nothing more than that.
| Compound | Query | Registered phase 3 trials | The largest registration I opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noopept | (noopept OR "GVS-111") AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| Phenylpiracetam | (phenylpiracetam OR fonturacetam) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| Bromantane | (bromantane OR ladasten) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| Cortexin | (cortexin) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| Dihexa | (dihexa) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| P021 | ("P021") AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 0 | — |
| Modafinil | (modafinil) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 52 | NCT00343811 · n = 120 · Cephalon Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder |
| Lecanemab | (lecanemab) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 6 | NCT03887455 · n = 1,906 · Eisai Inc. Early Alzheimer's Disease |
| Donanemab | (donanemab) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 8 | NCT05508789 · n = 1,500 · Eli Lilly and Company Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, Brain Diseases |
| KarXT | (xanomeline AND trospium) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 23 | NCT05304767 · n = 290 · Karuna Therapeutics, Inc., a Bristol Myers Squibb company Schizophrenia |
| Zuranolone | (zuranolone) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 8 | NCT03672175 · n = 581 · Biogen Major Depressive Disorder |
| Esketamine | (esketamine) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 30 | NCT03039192 · n = 226 · Janssen Research & Development, LLC Depressive Disorder, Major |
| XPro1595 | (XPro1595) AND AREA[Phase]PHASE3 | 1 | NCT04370236 · n = 79 · Inmune Bio, Inc. COVID-19 |
Where the numbers don't add up
- The four in the Russian block add up to 0 registered studies. Noopept (0), phenylpiracetam (0), bromantane (0), and cortexin (0). The literature exists — 217 articles for cortexin alone — and the trial registration, in the international database, doesn't.
- Dihexa and P021 are preclinical, and the database shows it. 18 and 45 articles, 0 and 0 registered studies. Whoever sells the two as a “next-generation nootropic” is selling a lab bench.
- Lecanemab and donanemab have active registration in Brazil. LEQEMBI and KISUNLA, both in the biological category. It's the harshest contrast on this page: two hospital-infusion antibodies entered the Brazilian registration system while not a single nootropic did.
- Esketamine has 8 active registrations, in two classes — injectable general anesthetic and antidepressant. Modafinil has 2. They are the only two stimulants/psychoactive drugs on this list with a legal product here, and the two are controlled prescriptions.
- XPro1595's only phase 3 record is for COVID-19. 75 articles, 5 registered studies, 1 phase 3 — and that one is for pulmonary complications. The promise going around is neuroinflammation; the phase 3 record is a different matter.
In Brazil
I searched every active ingredient in the open data on registered medicines, downloaded on September 12, 2026 — 43,508 rows, counting only Active status. The therapeutic class column is the one the dataset itself declares.
The pattern is clean: the four in the Russian block, plus the xanomeline in KarXT and zuranolone, come back empty. Modafinil, esketamine, lecanemab, and donanemab have a product. Not being in the database isn't a ban — it's the absence of a legal product with that active ingredient.
| Active ingredient | Search pattern | Active registrations | Declared therapeutic class | Products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noopept | NOOPEPT | 0 | — | — |
| Phenylpiracetam | FENILPIRACETAM | 0 | — | — |
| Bromantane | BROMANTAN | 0 | — | — |
| Cortexin | CORTEXIN | 0 | — | — |
| Modafinil | MODAFINIL | 2 | OTHER PRODUCTS ACTING ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM | NUVIGIL, STAVIGILE |
| Lecanemab | LECANEMAB | 1 | OTHER PRODUCTS ACTING ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM | LEQEMBI |
| Donanemab | DONANEMAB | 1 | OTHER ANTI-DEMENTIA MEDICATIONS | KISUNLA |
| Xanomeline | XANOMELIN | 0 | — | — |
| Zuranolone | ZURANOLON | 0 | — | — |
| Esketamine | ESCETAMIN | 8 | INJECTABLE GENERAL ANESTHETICS; ANTIDEPRESSANTS | CLORIDRATO DE ESCETAMINA, KETAH, KETAH LC, KETAMIN, SPRAVATO |
References
- Public ClinicalTrials.gov API, version 2 — the source for all the study and phase 3 counts on this page.
- PubMed E-utilities (esearch) — the basis for all article counts on this page.
- Registration NCT04370236 on ClinicalTrials.gov — INB03/XPro1595 in pulmonary complications of COVID-19, the only phase 3 the search returns.
- Registration NCT04468659 on ClinicalTrials.gov — lecanemab, sponsored by Eisai, one of the phase 3 trials the search returns.