Unproven Peptides Opposed By FDA Scientists Could Soon Be Easier To Get

THURSDAY, Oct. 29, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Six unapproved peptide injections popular in the wellness world could soon be sold by compounding pharmacies, under a draft federal policy released Wednesday.

The plan comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., rather than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

FDA scientists had little say in the latest draft policy and largely oppose it, the Associated Press reports, citing six people familiar with the process.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Some occur naturally in the body, and several have become approved drugs for diabetes and weight loss.

The six peptides in the draft policy haven’t passed FDA review for safety or effectiveness, so under normal rules they’d be illegal drugs. The policy would direct the FDA not to act against compounding pharmacies that make them. (Compounding pharmacies are specialty businesses that mix customized medications.)

These are the six peptides and the uses proposed for them, according to The Washington Post:

• BPC-157, proposed to treat ulcerative colitis

• Epitalon, proposed to treat insomnia

• KPV, proposed to help promote wound healing and treat inflammation

• MOTS-c, proposed to treat several conditions including obesity and osteoporosis

• Semax, proposed to treat migraines, cerebral ischemia (a condition in which the brain receives inadequate blood flow) and trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain disorder

• TB-500, proposed to promote wound healing

Kennedy has called himself a “big fan” of peptides and has said he used BPC-157 for a muscle injury, reports AP News.

An HHS spokesperson said the agency is “confronting the risks of black-market peptides.” Many Americans now order peptides online from overseas sellers.

FDA staff helped write safety provisions into the plan. Pharmacies would have to buy peptide ingredients from FDA-registered factories, test their purity and track side effects.

But Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who now leads the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, noted the FDA lacks legal power to enforce those requirements.

He added that well-tested, FDA-approved drugs already exist for conditions these peptides are promoted for, such as insomnia, anxiety and migraines.

As people “are diverted from those drugs toward this stuff, there will be more unnecessary pain and suffering,” Lurie told AP News.

In 2023, the FDA added BPC-157, TB-500 and other peptides to a list of substances pharmacies shouldn’t compound, citing tumor growth, kidney damage and allergic reactions.

Yet in July, an outside panel chosen by HHS, which included people who work in the peptide field, voted to lift limits on both of those peptides and four others.

Telehealth company Hims & Hers has said it plans to sell wellness peptides once the rules change, and AP News reports that analysts value the market at more than $2 billion.

The public will have two weeks to comment before the policy is finalized.

More information

Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for more information about compounded drugs.

SOURCES: Associated Press, Oct. 28, 2026; The Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2026