The master list
Peptide legal status: approved, banned, or “research only”?
A plain-English rundown of where every peptide on this site stands with the law and the regulators: what’s an approved medicine, what’s sold as a “research chemical,” and what’s banned in sport. No hype, and nothing for sale.
Covers 53 peptides · Last updated July 15, 2026
Approved medicine
Cleared by a regulator (such as the FDA) for a specific medical use, and prescription-only. “Approved” means for that defined use under a doctor, not a green light to buy an online “research” copy of the same molecule.
| Peptide | Studied / used for | Legal & regulatory status |
|---|---|---|
| Gonadorelin | Fertility, hormone testing/diagnosis, and supporting the body's own sex-hormone signals | A prescription medicine, used under a doctor's care. Not something meant to be bought and used on your own; copies sold online as 'research chemicals' aren't the approved drug. |
| HCG | Fertility treatment; certain male hormonal problems | FDA-approved, prescription-only. Banned in males in sport (WADA). |
| Liraglutide | Type 2 diabetes and chronic (long-term) weight management | FDA-approved, prescription-only (Saxenda, Victoza). Grey-market 'research' versions are not the regulated medicine. |
| Orforglipron | Obesity / weight management and type 2 diabetes | FDA-approved on 1 April 2026 as Foundayo for chronic weight management. Prescription-only, and carries a boxed warning. Approval status outside the US varies, so check what's approved where you live. |
| Oxytocin | Labor and breastfeeding (approved); bonding, anxiety, and social connection (research/off-label) | FDA-approved as a prescription hospital medicine (Pitocin) for labor and milk let-down. Nasal sprays for bonding/anxiety are off-label or sold as research; not approved for those uses. |
| Pramlintide | Blood sugar control at mealtimes in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, alongside insulin | FDA-approved, prescription-only (Symlin). Carries a boxed warning for severe low blood sugar. Grey-market 'research' versions are not the regulated medicine. |
| PT-141 | Low sexual desire and arousal | FDA-approved (2019) as Vyleesi, by prescription only. Online 'research' PT-141 is not the approved drug. |
| Semaglutide | Type 2 diabetes and chronic (long-term) weight management | FDA-approved, prescription-only (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus). Grey-market 'research' versions are not the regulated medicine. |
| Sermorelin | Prompting the body to release its own growth hormone | Was FDA-approved as Geref (now discontinued as a brand). Still legally prescribed through compounding pharmacies under a doctor. Banned in sport (WADA). |
| SS-31 | Barth syndrome (approved use), primary mitochondrial myopathy, heart and eye conditions | US: FDA accelerated approval (September 19, 2025) as Forzinity, for Barth syndrome in patients weighing at least 30 kg, prescription only. Not approved for any other use. Status in other countries not verified by us as of September 2026. |
| Tesamorelin | Reducing excess belly fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy | FDA-approved, prescription-only (brand Egrifta). Grey-market 'research' versions are not the regulated medicine. |
| Tirzepatide | Type 2 diabetes and weight management | FDA-approved as a prescription medicine (Mounjaro, Zepbound). Prescription-only. Online 'research' or grey-market copies are not the approved drug. |
Not approved (US/EU)
Not approved as medicines in the US or the EU. Some are drugs still in clinical trials, or approved only in another country; others are sold online as “research chemicals,” which legally means they are not intended for human use and are not quality-checked. Being legal to sell as a chemical is not the same as being safe or legal to use on yourself, and many are banned in sport.
| Peptide | Studied / used for | Legal & regulatory status |
|---|---|---|
| Amycretin | Weight loss and blood sugar control (obesity and type 2 diabetes) | Not approved as a medicine anywhere. Still investigational. Anything sold online under this name isn't the trial drug and isn't quality-checked. |
| AOD-9604 | Fat loss / weight (development stalled after weak trial results) | Not FDA-approved as a medicine. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a regulated treatment. |
| ARA-290 | Nerve pain, small-fibre neuropathy, and sarcoidosis-related nerve damage | Not approved by any regulator. Sold as 'research use only.' Prohibited in sport. |
| BPC-157 | Tissue, tendon, and gut healing | US (FDA): not approved, and not on FDA's 503A bulks list of substances pharmacies may compound with. No longer in FDA's Category 2 safety-risk list because its nominations were withdrawn; FDA staff proposed not adding it to the 503A list, and an FDA advisory committee vote on July 23, 2026 is advice, not a final decision. Sport (WADA): prohibited at all times under S0 of the 2026 Prohibited List. Often sold online as a 'research chemical.' Checked September 15, 2026. |
| Cagrilintide | Weight loss and appetite control (often tested with semaglutide as 'CagriSema') | Not approved in the US or EU as of September 15, 2026, alone or as CagriSema. Novo Nordisk submitted CagriSema to the FDA in December 2025 and expects a US decision in Q4 2026. Copies sold as 'research chemicals' aren't the trial drug and aren't quality-checked. |
| Cerebrolysin | Stroke, dementia, and traumatic brain injury | Approved and used in some countries (parts of Europe/Asia). Not FDA-approved in the US. |
| CJC-1295 | Raising growth hormone / IGF-1, body composition, sleep | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| Cortexin | Stroke recovery, memory, cognitive decline, and brain injury | Not FDA/EMA-approved. Registered as a prescription medicine in Russia and some CIS countries. |
| Dihexa | Synapse formation, memory, and cognition in animal models of dementia | Not approved anywhere. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a dietary supplement. |
| DSIP | Sleep, and the body's stress and hormone systems | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Rules differ by country. |
| Ecnoglutide | Type 2 diabetes and weight management (approved in China); sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis with obesity, and teen obesity (in trials) | China: approved by the NMPA as an injection for type 2 diabetes (announced January 30, 2026) and for long-term weight management (announced March 6, 2026). EU: not authorized (no entry in the European Commission's Union Register or EMA medicines data). US: not FDA-approved (no FDA approval record found). Checked September 15, 2026. Copies sold online are not the approved product. |
| Efinopegdutide | MASH and MASLD (forms of fatty liver disease), and earlier, obesity | Not approved by the FDA (US) or the EMA (EU) as of 15 September 2026, and we found no approval anywhere else. Merck lists it at Phase 2. It is only legitimately given inside supervised clinical trials. Copies sold online are not the trial drug. |
| Epitalon | Ageing, telomeres, and sleep | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a licensed anti-ageing treatment. |
| Follistatin-344 | Blocking myostatin to allow more muscle growth | Not approved as a medicine. Sold as 'research use only.' Long-term safety in healthy people is not established. |
| GHRP-2 | Triggering growth hormone release | Not FDA-approved for general use. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| GHRP-6 | Triggering growth hormone release | US: no FDA-approved drug product contains GHRP-6 (checked September 15, 2026). FDA compounding lists: 503B Category 2, significant safety risks (added 2023-09-29); 503A Category 3. Often sold as 'research use only.' Prohibited in sport at all times (WADA 2026 List, S2.2.4). |
| Hexarelin | Triggering growth hormone release | Not FDA-approved for general use. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| Humanin | Ageing, brain protection, and how the body handles energy | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Rules differ by country. |
| IGF-1 LR3 | Muscle growth and cell growth | Not FDA-approved as used here. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| Ipamorelin | Growth hormone release, body composition, recovery, sleep | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| Kisspeptin | Libido, arousal, and fertility | Not an approved medicine or consumer product. Studied in research and clinical settings. |
| KPV | Calming inflammation, gut inflammation (IBD), and immune modulation | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' |
| Larazotide | Celiac disease symptoms; gut tight junctions (the 'leaky gut' idea) | No approval found in the records we checked (15 September 2026). Investigational. |
| LL-37 | Fighting microbes and helping wounds heal | Not approved as a medicine. Sold as 'research use only.' |
| MariTide | Obesity / weight loss and type 2 diabetes | Not approved by the US FDA as of 15 September 2026. Amgen still describes it as a Phase 3 investigational medicine, so it legitimately exists only inside supervised clinical trials. Anything sold online under this name is an unregulated copy. |
| Mazdutide | Obesity / weight loss and type 2 diabetes | China: approved (2025). US: not FDA-approved (no FDA approval record found). EU: not authorized (no entry in the European Commission's Union Register or EMA medicines data). Checked September 15, 2026. Other countries not checked. Copies sold online aren't the approved product. |
| Melanotan-2 | Tanning and libido | Not approved anywhere. Sold illegally as a 'research chemical'; warned against by regulators. |
| MOTS-c | Metabolism, insulin sensitivity, exercise / energy | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a regulated medicine. |
| Pemvidutide | Obesity, fatty liver disease (MASH/MASLD), and more recently alcohol-related conditions | Not approved by the FDA or any other regulator. Investigational only: legal use is inside a supervised clinical trial. Products sold online are unregulated and are not the trial drug. |
| Petrelintide | Weight loss and weight management, including in people with type 2 diabetes | Not approved as a medicine anywhere. Still investigational. Anything sold online under this name isn't the trial drug and isn't quality-checked. |
| Pinealon | Memory, brain ageing, and neuroprotection | Not FDA/EMA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a licensed treatment. |
| Retatrutide | Obesity / weight loss and type 2 diabetes | Not approved anywhere yet. Still investigational. 'Research use only' copies sold online are unregulated. |
| Selank | Anxiety, stress, and calm focus | Approved in Russia; not approved in the US. Sold as 'research use only' elsewhere. |
| Semax | Focus, memory, neuroprotection, and stroke recovery | Approved in Russia; not approved in the US. Sold as 'research use only' elsewhere. |
| Survodutide | Obesity / weight loss and MASH (a fatty liver disease) | Not approved by any major regulator. Still investigational: only legitimately used inside supervised clinical trials. Copies sold online aren't the trial drug. |
| TB-500 | Tissue repair, wound healing, and injury recovery | Not FDA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Banned in sport (WADA). |
| Thymalin | Immune function and ageing | Not FDA/EMA-approved. Registered as a medicine in Russia. Sold elsewhere as 'research use only.' |
| Thymosin Alpha-1 | Supporting and balancing the immune system | Approved as Zadaxin in ~35 countries; not FDA-approved in the US, where it's sold as 'research use only.' |
| Vilon | Immune function, cell ageing, and skin ageing | Not FDA/EMA-approved. Sold as 'research use only.' Not a licensed treatment. |
| VK2735 | Obesity and weight management (injection and oral tablet forms) | Not approved by the FDA or any other regulator. Investigational only: legal use is inside a supervised clinical trial. Anything sold online under this name is unregulated and is not the trial drug. |
Supplement / cofactor
Sold as dietary supplements or cofactors. The rules are looser than for medicines, and “sold as a supplement” is not a safety guarantee.
| Peptide | Studied / used for | Legal & regulatory status |
|---|---|---|
| NAD+ | Cellular energy, ageing, and DNA repair | Sold as a dietary supplement or IV wellness product. Not an approved anti-ageing drug. |
How to read this
The status here is the regulatory bucket, not medical or legal advice. Rules differ by country and change over time, so we date this page and link every peptide to its full profile, where the specific regulators and sources are cited. If you think a status is out of date, tell us. We’d rather fix it fast than be wrong.
Educational only. This page does not tell you to use, buy, or avoid anything, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified doctor. See our disclaimer.
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