BPC-157 is rumored to heal almost anything: a sore shoulder, a bum knee, a pulled hamstring, ulcerative colitis. Maybe even traumatic brain injuries and multiple sclerosis, too. The drug—part of a class called peptides—has been around for decades. But it has recently experienced a surge in popularity, thanks in part to great peptide publicity from influencers, podcasters, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services. Thousands of Americans are taking it. And almost all of them are sourcing it from sketchy online vendors, many of which are supplied by manufacturers in China.
But BPC-157 may soon become easier to obtain through more reputable channels. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration voted yesterday to recommend that compounding pharmacies be allowed to make the peptide, even though it has little human-safety data and hasn’t passed through the normal FDA drug-approval process. For BPC-157 enthusiasts—and they seem to be legion—it’s welcome news. For telehealth companies, it might mark the beginning of a peptide gold rush.
Before yesterday’s vote, the prospects for BPC-157 appeared bleak. At the meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee—which last month added eight new members, many with ties to telehealth companies and wellness clinics—FDA researchers argued that the scientific evidence supporting BPC-157 was weak. They insisted there weren’t enough data to be sure that BPC-157 is safe, that it works, or even which sequence of amino acids it necessarily contains. As one FDA official put it: “We don’t actually know with any certainty what it is.”
[Read: The peptide boom is getting out of hand]
Those doubts didn’t convince the committee, which voted 8–6 to recommend that BPC-157 compounding be allowed. Among those who voted yes was Kris Wusterhausen, a recent addition to the committee who is a doctor and the founder of a Texas wellness clinic that recommends peptides, including BPC-157. “Once you’ve seen the effects of BPC, you can’t unsee it,” Wusterhausen said after his vote. (“All committee members underwent the same ethics review and vetting process required of all FDA advisory committee members,” Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, told me in an email.) The decision is only a recommendation, and the FDA would still need to sign off on an actual rule change. But ultimate approval seems likely given Kennedy’s demonstrated enthusiasm for peptides. In a conversation with the podcaster Joe Rogan in February, Kennedy called himself a “big fan” and said he was eager to make them more accessible.
Several telehealth companies have said they intend to offer BPC-157 to customers if the FDA follows through on the committee’s recommendation. The telehealth industry, after all, is more or less built on compounding pharmacies; Hims & Hers actually bought its own in 2024. Anant Vinjamoori, the chief medical officer of Hims, told the committee that allowing his company and others to sell the drug is the safer choice. The published human data supporting BPC-157 may not be strong, but, he argued, forbidding American companies from providing it would “move it deeper into a market with no production or sourcing standards, no physician, no monitoring, and no record.” That view was echoed by Jeffrey Egler, the chief medical officer at the telehealth company Noom.
Vinjamoori and Egler do have a point. Many popular peptides are readily available online because they’re marketed for “research use only.” That loophole allows companies to get around the regulations for human use, and customers to avoid a conversation with a health-care provider. The companies making and selling them are generally difficult to track down or not based in the U.S., which means American authorities have little recourse to enforce standards for quality or legality. In some cases, the drugs contain impurities; customers have no way of knowing whether they’re actually receiving the peptide they purchased unless they pay for third-party testing. U.S.-based compounding pharmacies, by contrast, are licensed by state boards of pharmacy. And in order to get BPC-157 from one, patients would need to get a prescription from a doctor.
Then again, allowing American companies to sell BPC-157 for human use could create the impression that the peptide, which hasn’t passed through the rigorous process the FDA uses to approve new drugs, nonetheless has the agency’s blessing. Brian Lee, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California, who serves on the committee, argued as much yesterday. He voted against allowing compounding pharmacies to sell it.
[Read: The longevity scam]
BPC-157 isn’t the only peptide the committee voted to recommend. TB-500, which is often paired with BPC-157 in a combo known informally as the “Wolverine Stack” (named after the comic-book character who can heal quickly after being injured), also received the go-ahead yesterday. So did the peptides KPV, which is promoted for reducing inflammation, and MOTS-c, which is touted for boosting metabolism and improving endurance. FDA researchers argued against approval for all of the peptides being considered. This morning, the committee finally rejected one: Emideltide, a peptide thought to induce sleep. Two more peptides will be voted on later today.
Each peptide that’s recommended this week represents the possibility of a new profit stream for compounders and telehealth companies. By some estimates, the total market for these seven peptides could be worth billions of dollars. And, if they’re ultimately approved, it will also serve as another example of Kennedy getting his way over the objections of the researchers who work for him.