The peptide floodgates are about to officially open up. The Food and Drug Administration is reportedly preparing to lift a compounding ban on several peptides, fulfilling a promise recently made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
The New York Times first reported on the pending FDA reversal Tuesday, citing an anonymous senior administration official. The agency is expected to allow compounding pharmacies to produce over a dozen peptides that it had restricted in 2023. The FDA previously argued that these peptides had potential safety risks and limited data on how they might affect people’s health.
Peptides galore
RFK Jr. had previously pledged to end what he’s called the FDA’s “war on peptides.” During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he outlined what that would apparently look like.
In September 2023, the FDA made sweeping changes to its bulk drug substances list for compounding. It added 19 peptides on the Category 2 list, meaning pharmacies could no longer produce these compounds legally, while other peptides not on the list were flagged for potential concerns.
Kennedy stated on the podcast that many of these peptides were wrongly maligned, arguing the FDA banned them because they weren’t proven to be effective yet, not because they were necessarily unsafe. He went on to say that 14 peptides would be removed from the restricted list within a matter of weeks, though he didn’t name any specific ones.
Given that statement, it’s not altogether surprising that the FDA is formally moving ahead with the reversal. Then again, Kennedy’s power and influence in the Trump administration appear to have significantly waned in recent weeks, aided by crushing setbacks to his anti-vaccine agenda. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump even seemed to signal he would soon drop RFK Jr. ally Casey Means’ nomination for surgeon general, which has languished in the air for weeks amidst uncertain support from some GOP congressmembers (on Monday, the White House reaffirmed Trump’s backing of Means).
What this means for you
The full list of unbanned peptides still isn’t clear, though especially popular ones like BPC-157 (claimed to boost healing), cathelicidin LL-37 (immunity), and epitalon (anti-aging) are likely candidates.
Contrary to RFK’s bluster, the FDA has outlined specific safety concerns for some of the currently banned peptides, such as deaths possibly linked to the growth hormone-releasing peptide-2 (GHRP-2). And there should obviously be some hesitation about promoting or taking peptides with little human data on their safety or effectiveness.
Experts have previously told Gizmodo that some cases of near-miraculous benefits reported with these drugs could very well be an elaborate example of the placebo effect. And even researchers who are optimistic about the potential of peptides have cautioned people to tread lightly with these drugs and use them only under the supervision of a physician.
In any case, the wild, wild west of peptides looks set to get a big boost from RFK Jr.’s FDA.
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