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erythropoietin (Epocain / Epokine)

✓ Approved

HK inno.N · EPOR · Recombinant Proteins

What is erythropoietin?

erythropoietin is a recombinant proteins developed by HK inno.N. It is approved for therapeutic indications via injectable (others) or intravenous (iv) or subcutaneous injection.

Drug Profile

Brand NamesEpocain, Epokine
CompanyHK inno.N
Drug ClassRecombinant Proteins
Molecular TargetEPOR
RouteInjectable (Others), Intravenous (IV), Subcutaneous Injection
StatusApproved
Sources: ClinicalTrials.gov, HK inno.N

Mechanism of Action

Molecular Targets

erythropoietin acts on 1 molecular target:

EPORerythropoietin receptor (EPO-R)
Want deeper analysis?Noah AI can explain complex mechanisms and compare to similar drugs.

Therapeutic Indications

erythropoietin is developed for 1 unique indication across 1 therapeutic area.

Therapeutic AreaConditionPhase
Blood and lymphatic system disordersAnaemia✓ Approved

Related Research Articles

PubMedClinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry2026-05-24

JAK2 V617F as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Bhat Asif Ahmad AA, Fuloria Shivkanya S, Thapa Riya R, Narain Kamal K et al.

Molecular analysis of BCR-ABL1-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms has shown a shared codon 617 substitution of JAK2 that leads to a constitutively active tyrosine kinase and a pathogenic lesion that unites all three polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and primary myelofibrosis. This mutation interferes with the autoinhibitory regulation and results in persistent downstream JAK-STAT signaling, and thereafter, myeloid, megakaryocytic, and inappropriate erythroid proliferation. JAK2 V617F has emerged as a major molecular biomarker in the diagnostic workup and classification of myeloproliferative neoplasms in laboratory medicine when used together with blood counts, bone marrow morphology, serum erythropoietin, and other molecular markers, such as CALR and MPL. Outside its diagnostic application, variant allele burden has also been linked to thrombosis, disease phenotype, clonal growth, fibrotic development, and survival but not uniformly across disease subtypes and clinical contexts. JAK2 V617F detection in laboratories has moved beyond traditional approaches based on PCR to sensitive quantitative technologies, such as digital PCR and next-generation sequencing-based technologies, making the standardization of assays, assurance of quality and more clinically integrated interpretation more important. In general, JAK2 V617F is an effective prognostic and diagnostic biomarker in myeloproliferative neoplasms. It can be further enhanced in diagnostic laboratory hematology with further optimization of the strategies of molecular testing, reporting systems, and multi-marker diagnostic algorithms.

PMID 42176929
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PubMedMonoclonal antibodies in immunodiagnosis and immunotherapy2026-05-24

Establishment of a Novel Anti-EphA4 Monoclonal Antibody, Ea4Mab-3, for Versatile Applications.

Saga Ayano A, Li Guanjie G, Tanaka Tomohiro T, Kaneko Mika K MK et al.

Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular carcinoma (Eph) receptor A4 (EphA4) binds to a broad range of ephrin ligands and is upregulated in various tumors. EphA4 activation plays crucial roles in the maintenance of cancer invasiveness, immune evasion, and stem cell properties. Furthermore, a novel EphA4 ligand, secretory ribonuclease 1, has been identified, and its interaction stimulates EphA4 signaling, leading to the promotion of cancer stem cell properties. Therefore, EphA4 has been considered an attractive target for cancer therapies. Thus, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against EphA4 are essential for basic research and mAb-based treatment in the clinic. In this study, we developed a novel anti-human EphA4 mAb, Ea4Mab-3, using the Cell-Based Immunization and Screening (CBIS) method. Ea4Mab-3 reacted with EphA4-overexpressed Chinese hamster ovary-K1 (CHO/EphA4) and endogenous EphA4-positive lung squamous cell carcinoma LK-2 in flow cytometry. The binding affinities (apparent dissociation constant KD values) were determined as 4.5 × 10-9 M for CHO/EphA4 and 2.5 × 10-9 M for LK-2. Furthermore, Ea4Mab-3 did not exhibit cross-reactivity with other Eph receptor-overexpressed CHO-K1 cells. In addition, Ea4Mab-3 is suitable for immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. These results indicate that Ea4Mab-3, established using the CBIS method, facilitates basic studies of EphA4 and is expected to be useful for mAb-based tumor diagnosis and therapy.

PMID 42175888
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PubMedThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2026-05-22

Early erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in preterm or low-birthweight infants.

Anarna Kia K, Fiander Michelle M, Mitra Souvik S, Supported by the Cochrane Neonatal Group

Preterm and low-birthweight infants are at risk of anemia due to a variety of factors, including low levels of erythropoietin. They may therefore benefit from erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). However, controversy remains about their effectiveness and safety, not only in reducing blood transfusions but also in improving clinical outcomes. To assess the benefits and harms of early administration of ESAs in preterm or low-birthweight infants. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, DOAJ, and trial registries to 31 March 2025, and checked the reference lists of studies and systematic reviews for potentially relevant studies. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing early (initiated before eight days of life) ESAs (erythropoietin or darbepoetin) to placebo or no intervention among preterm (< 37 weeks' gestation) or low-birthweight (< 2500 g) infants. Outcomes included mortality during initial hospital stay (all-cause mortality), moderate to severe neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 18 to 26 months' corrected age, proportion of infants exposed to one or more red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and severe intraventricular hemorrhage (sIVH). We used the Cochrane RoB 1 tool to assess risk of bias. We performed data collection and analyses according to the methods of Cochrane Neonatal (fixed-effect meta-analysis using the inverse-variance method). We analyzed categorical data using risk ratio (RR) and continuous data using mean difference (MD), and reported the 95% confidence interval (CI) on all estimates. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence. We included 37 studies (n = 6724), five (n = 3052) of which are new. Two studies (n = 752) investigated darbepoetin, and 35 studies (n = 5972) investigated erythropoietin. ESAs compared to placebo or no intervention Mortality: ESAs probably result in little to no difference in mortality during initial hospital stay (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.09; I² = 0%; 24 studies, 5217 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests that early use of erythropoietin probably results in little to no difference in mortality (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.09; I² = 0%; 23 studies, 4505 participants), and early use of darbepoetin probably results in little to no difference in mortality (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.43; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 712 participants). NDI: ESAs may reduce moderate to severe NDI at 18 to 26 months' corrected age (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.95; I² = 86%; 3 studies, 1707 participants; low-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests that early use of erythropoietin may reduce moderate to severe NDI at 18 to 26 months' corrected age (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.95; I² = 93%; 2 studies, 1239 participants), while early use of darbepoetin may result in little to no difference in moderate to severe NDI at 18 to 26 months' corrected age (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.28; I² not applicable; 1 study, 468 participants). Transfusions: ESAs may reduce the proportion of infants exposed to one or more RBC transfusions (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.83; I² = 56%; 21 studies, 3507 participants; low-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests that erythropoietin may reduce the proportion of infants exposed to one or more RBC transfusions (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.76 to 0.84; I² = 56%; 20 studies, 2795 participants); darbepoetin may reduce the proportion of infants exposed to one or more RBC transfusions (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.84; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 712 participants). ROP (any stage): ESAs result in little to no difference in incidence of ROP (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.00; I² = 0%; 14 studies, 3844 participants; high-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests the use of either erythropoietin (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.02; I² = 0%; 13 studies, 3230 participants) or darbepoetin (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.17; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 614 participants) results in little to no difference in incidence of ROP. NEC (any stage): ESAs probably reduce the incidence of NEC (RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.62 to 0.87; I² = 0%; 20 studies, 5749 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests that early use of erythropoietin probably reduces the incidence of NEC (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.85; I² = 0%; 19 studies, 5041 participants), while early use of darbepoetin probably results in little to no difference in incidence of NEC (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.54 to 2.15; I² = 0%; 2 studies, 708 participants). sIVH (grade ≥ 3): ESAs probably reduce the incidence of sIVH (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.89; I² = 43%; 9 studies, 2458 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Subgroup analysis suggests that early use of erythropoietin probably reduces the incidence of sIVH (RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.91; I² = 47%; 9 studies, 2396 participants), while early use of darbepoetin probably results in little to no difference in incidence of sIVH (RR 0.40, 95% CI 0.11 to 1.41; I² not applicable; 1 study, 62 participants). Of note, the test for subgroup differences between erythropoietin and darbepoetin revealed no evidence of a difference for the outcomes of mortality, moderate to severe NDI, NEC, sIVH, ROP, and the proportion of infants exposed to RBC transfusion. We downgraded the certainty of evidence for inconsistency, imprecision, and high risk of bias in the included studies. Early use of ESAs probably results in little to no difference in mortality (moderate-certainty evidence); may reduce moderate to severe NDI at 18 to 26 months' corrected age (low-certainty evidence); has little to no effect on ROP (high-certainty evidence); may reduce the proportion of infants exposed to one or more RBC transfusions (low-certainty evidence); and probably reduces both NEC and sIVH (moderate-certainty evidence). Given the benefits of ESAs, future research should focus on cost-effectiveness, equity, feasibility of implementation, and acceptability to different stakeholders of the routine use of erythropoietin or darbepoetin among preterm or low-birthweight infants. No funding was received for this review. Protocol (and previous versions) available via 10.1002/14651858.CD004863; 10.1002/14651858.CD004863.pub2; 10.1002/14651858.CD004863.pub3; 10.1002/14651858.CD004863.pub4; 10.1002/14651858.cd004863.pub5; 10.1002/14651858.CD004863.pub6.

PMID 42170845
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PubMedAmerican journal of translational research2026-05-22

Significance of surgical margin width versus anatomical resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liu Ping P, Zhao Ting T, Shi Yang Y, Yang Ning N et al.

Extensive research has examined the survival benefits of anatomical resection versus wide surgical margins in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Yet how to choose between them in practice remains unsettled. We therefore investigated whether tumor size could inform this surgical decision. We retrospectively analyzed 302 patients with HCC who underwent curative liver resection at three centers between December 2009 and December 2010. Patients were divided into two groups according to tumor diameter: ≤3 cm (n=104) and >3 cm (n=198). Baseline clinicopathologic characteristics and longterm oncologic outcomes were compared between the two groups. We also assessed how surgical margin width (≥1 cm vs. <1 cm) and anatomical resection influenced overall survival (OS) and recurrencefree survival (RFS) in each subgroup. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). The effect of surgical margin width on prognosis differed based on tumor size. Among patients with tumors >3 cm, a margin ≥1 cm was associated with better OS and RFS (P<0.05) and lower rates of early recurrence. For tumors ≤3 cm, survival correlated with multiple factors-including Hepatitis B Virus Deoxyribonucleic Acid (HBV-DNA) level, serum Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), tumor number, Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage, tumor capsule, microvascular invasion, and vascular thrombus but not with surgical margin width. Tumor diameter influences the choice of surgical strategy for HCC. Anatomical and nonanatomical resection yielded comparable prognosis for tumors ≤3 cm. For lesions larger than 3 cm, however, wide-margin resection offered better survival than anatomical resection alone.

PMID 42170426
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PubMedCureus2026-05-22

Anchor-Related Granulomatous Reaction After Single-Incision Mid-urethral Sling Placement: A Case Report.

Triantafyllidou Olga O, Angouridaki Emmanouela E, Karkalemis Konstantinos K, Vlahos Fotios F et al.

Urinary incontinence is a common condition in adult women, significantly affecting quality of life, daily activities, and psychosocial well-being. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most frequent subtype, and it often coexists with pelvic organ prolapse (POP), as both conditions result from pelvic floor dysfunction and share risk factors such as childbirth and menopause. The Altis® mid-urethral sling (Coloplast Corp., Minneapolis, MN, USA) is a minimally invasive mesh implant designed to treat stress urinary incontinence in women by providing urethral support. Although it demonstrates high success rates, potential complications, such as early-onset groin pain, urinary tract infection, voiding difficulties, subepithelial erosion or mesh extrusion, labial nodule, or paraurethral granuloma, may arise, sometimes requiring medical or surgical intervention. Our patient, a 43-year-old woman (P2002), developed severe early-onset groin pain, subepithelial vaginal erosion, a left paraurethral granuloma, and a labial subcutaneous nodule following the placement of an Altis® single incision sling system for stress urinary incontinence confirmed by urodynamic studies. Her symptoms began within days of the procedure. On examination, there was ulceration of the left vaginal wall with granulation tissue, though no mesh fibers were visible. MRI showed inflammation along the left sling's anchoring arm. The patient underwent surgical excision of the granuloma, removal of the left sling arm, and resection of the labial nodule, resulting in complete resolution of her symptoms. This case highlights an uncommon early complication of single-incision mid-urethral sling placement related to anchor-associated granulomatous inflammation. Early-onset groin pain and subepithelial vaginal erosion may occur without visible mesh exposure. Prompt recognition and targeted surgical management can result in symptom resolution and favorable clinical outcomes.

PMID 42170154
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PubMedMolecular biology reports2026-05-22

Hypoxia inducible factor-1α-driven signaling networks regulating adult neurogenesis via Notch, Wnt, and MAPK pathways.

Cornelio-Martínez Sergio S, Lagunas-Rangel Francisco Alejandro FA

The ability to detect and adapt to changes in oxygen availability is essential for survival, especially in the mammalian brain, where oxygen demand is high and tightly regulated. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a key transcriptional regulator of oxygen homeostasis that coordinates cellular responses to hypoxic stress. In the brain, HIF-1 is widely expressed and plays particularly important roles in neurogenic niches, where subtle variations in oxygen tension decisively influence cell fate. This narrative review systematically integrates and organizes current knowledge on the regulation of HIF-1 signaling in the brain under hypoxic conditions, with a focus on its role in mammalian neurogenesis. We highlight the temporal dynamics of HIF-1 activation and its biphasic actions following hypoxic or ischemic injury. Early activation of HIF-1 can exacerbate oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuronal apoptosis, while late activation promotes antioxidant defenses, angiogenesis, tissue repair, and neurogenesis. HIF-1α regulates the proliferation, maintenance, and differentiation of neural stem and progenitor cells through interconnected signaling pathways, such as the Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, and MAPK cascades, as well as by inducing erythropoietin and VEGF. This review provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the critical role of HIF-1 in mammalian neurogenesis and highlights future avenues for mechanistic and translational research.

PMID 42171828
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