Vintor is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis, or red blood cell production. It is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow. Also called hematopoietin or hemopoietin, it is produced by the peritubular capillary endothelial cells in the kidney, and is the hormone that regulates red blood cell production. It also has other known biological functions. For example, Erythropoietin plays an important role in the brain's response to neuronal injury. Erythropoietin is also involved in the wound healing process.

When Vintor is used as a performance-enhancing drug, it is classified as an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA). Vintor can often be detected in blood, due to slight difference from the endogenous protein, for example in features of posttranslational modification.

Vintor increase yield of autologous blood, anaemia of chronic renal failure, anaemia in zidovudine-treated HIV infected patients, anaemia related to non-myeloid malignant disease chemotherapy. Vintor belongs to an identical type of human glycoprotein hormone called erythropoietin. Vintor works by stimulating red blood cell production. 

Common side effects are: hypertension, myalgia, arthralgia, flu like syndrome, rashes and urticaria, hypertensive crisis with encephalopathy-like symptoms e.g. headache, confusion, generalised seizures., thrombosis., arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, conjustive heart failure and precipitation of myocardial infarction.