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Research and editorial

Peptide Insider Editorial Team

The Peptide Insider editorial team researches, writes and maintains the compound profiles, research reviews and evidence ratings on this site. We work from primary sources — regulatory filings, trial registrations and peer-reviewed literature — and we say plainly when the evidence does not support a conclusion.

Peptide researchEvidence evaluationRegulatory analysis

How we handle authorship

Peptide Insider does not publish invented authors, reviewers or credentials. Where a page lists a reviewer, that person reviewed that page. Where no named expert has reviewed a page, none is claimed.

We are building a network of reviewers with real, verifiable expertise. If that describes you, the contact page explains how to get in touch. Our editorial policy sets out the standards every page is held to.

Compound profiles

Peptide profile

BPC-157

A synthetic 15-amino-acid sequence derived from a protein found in human gastric juice. Extensively studied in rodent injury models; almost no published controlled human data.

Peptide profile

CJC-1295

A long-acting analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone. Early human trials established that it raises GH and IGF-1 for days after a single dose — but hormone levels are a surrogate, not a clinical outcome.

Peptide profile

GHK-Cu

A naturally occurring three-amino-acid peptide that binds copper, found in human plasma and widely used as a topical cosmetic ingredient. Strong mechanistic and gene-expression data; thin controlled clinical evidence.

Peptide profile

Ipamorelin

A selective growth hormone secretagogue that reached Phase 2 human trials for postoperative ileus — where it missed its primary endpoint. One of the few compounds in this space with a published, well-conducted negative trial.

Peptide profile

MOTS-c

A 16-amino-acid peptide encoded by mitochondrial DNA rather than the nuclear genome. Striking metabolic effects in mice; no published controlled human trials.

Peptide profile

Retatrutide

An investigational triple agonist at the GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptors. Phase 3 results report the largest mean weight reductions yet published for a pharmacological agent — and it is not approved.

Peptide profile

Semaglutide

A long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist and one of the most extensively trialled peptide drugs ever developed, with approvals spanning diabetes, weight management, cardiovascular risk reduction and liver disease.

Peptide profile

TB-500 / Thymosin Beta-4

Thymosin β4 is a naturally occurring 43-amino-acid actin-binding peptide that has completed randomised human trials as an eye drop. "TB-500" is a shorter synthetic fragment sold as a research chemical — and the two are not interchangeable.

Peptide profile

Tesamorelin

The only GHRH-class analog with FDA approval. Approved narrowly — for reducing excess visceral abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy — and explicitly not indicated for weight loss.

Peptide profile

Tirzepatide

A dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. The first drug approved for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with obesity, and the compound that established that multi-receptor agonism outperforms GLP-1 alone.

Articles

Peptide Science

What Are Peptides?

Peptides are short chains of amino acids. What separates a peptide from a protein, why the body uses them as signals, and why that makes them both useful drugs and difficult ones.

Regulation

What Does “Research Use Only” Mean?

The phrase appears on nearly every research peptide sold online. It is a statement by the seller about intended use — not a regulatory designation, and not a safety assessment.

Peptide Science

Peptides vs Proteins

The peptide/protein boundary is a convention, not a chemical fact — but it has real consequences for how these molecules are made, dosed and regulated.

Peptide Science

What Does Half-Life Mean in Peptide Research?

Half-life is the single number that decides whether a peptide can be a once-weekly medicine or nothing at all. How it is measured, how it is engineered, and how it is misused in marketing.

Clinical Trials

Peptide Clinical Trials Explained

How to search ClinicalTrials.gov for a peptide, what each field on a trial record means, and how to tell an active programme from an abandoned one.

Regulation

Investigational vs Approved Peptides

Investigational, approved, discontinued and unstudied are four different states, and compounds in all four are sold side by side. How to tell them apart.

Guides

How to Read a Peptide Study

Nine questions that separate a study which tells you something from one that only looks like it does — written for readers without a research background.

Peptide Science

How Peptides Are Studied

The methods behind peptide research — receptor binding assays, animal injury models, pharmacokinetics — and what each one can and cannot establish.

Regulation

How FDA Drug Approval Works

From IND to NDA: the stages a peptide has to pass through to become a medicine, what each one tests, and why most compounds never finish.

Regulation

Are Peptides FDA Approved?

Some peptides are FDA approved drugs. Most compounds sold as "peptides" are not. Here is how to tell the difference, and what approval does and does not mean.