Unapproved peptide drugs have become a trendy new hack among wellness influencers, fitness coaches and celebrities, pitched as a way to build muscle, shed pounds and look younger. Online stores offer injectable vials for $300 to $600 each, while longevity and wellness clinics provide in-office evaluations and injections, sometimes with membership fees of thousands of dollars per month. However, many of these products have never been extensively studied in humans, raising concerns about allergic reactions, metabolic problems, and other dangerous side effects.
Within the human body, peptides are short chains of amino acids that perform essential functions. Insulin, for example, controls blood sugar levels, and GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are based on a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both as drugs, but many other peptides have never been approved as safe and effective, though some have shown interesting results in rodents and other animals.
Synthesized peptides are not new; some doctors have prescribed them off-label for decades. Recently, however, they have become a focus for wellness gurus and public figures with large online followings, driving interest in obscure peptides for unsubstantiated uses like healing injuries, improving complexion, and extending life. Examples include BPC-157, thymosin alpha, and GHK-Copper. Some are banned by sports regulators as doping substances.
Experts are particularly concerned about people combining multiple peptides. Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research Translational Institute said: “These influencers are often advocating taking a stack of peptides each month, so it could be two, three, four different peptides. This is really what I consider dangerous.” Celebrities like Joe Rogan and Jennifer Aniston have publicly discussed using peptides, further popularising the trend.
Most unproven peptides promoted online are technically being sold illegally. The FDA considers many peptides to be biologics, requiring extra precautions in manufacture and storage. The agency has added more than two dozen peptides to a list of substances that should not be produced by pharmacies due to safety risks. Most injectable peptides sold in the US are produced by compounding pharmacies, which are regulated at the state level and not subject to the same scrutiny as FDA-overseen companies.
