The development of a clinically effective neuroprotective drug to reduce the severity of brain injury and improve outcomes after stroke remains an urgent priority and unmet need. While many previous small-molecule drugs targeting specific components in the pathophysiology of ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke have been developed, they have invariably failed to demonstrate efficacy in clinical trials. Cationic arginine-rich peptides (CARPs) are a new emerging class of neuroprotective agents with multimodal cytoprotective actions, which have shown consistent efficacy in a variety of in vitro and animal models of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, and have demonstrated a favourable safety profile. The first CARP to be evaluated in clinical trials for ischaemic stroke is the NA-1 peptide. The recent ESCAPE-NA1 study demonstrated proof-of-principle efficacy of the peptide when administered as an adjunct therapy to thrombectomy. Other CARPs that are currently undergoing evaluation and have shown encouraging results include polyarginine-18 (R18), which has been developed as a treatment for ischaemic stroke and the CN-105 peptide for haemorrhagic stroke. This editorial provides a concise update on the current status of these agents as potential clinical stroke therapeutics.