As U.S. shifts peptide rules, these are the risks experts want you to know

U.S. health officials are moving forward with a plan to allow specialty pharmacies to produce certain peptides , a class of drugs that have been taking over the wellness industry.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a proponent of peptides, describing himself as “a big fan.”

Prior to joining the administration, he publicly declared that the “FDA’s war” on peptides must end.

But as peptides are increasingly pushed by self-prescribed “wellness influencers,” experts are increasingly weighing in on their targeted uses, consequences of misuse, and how they became a social media trend.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein, which trigger hormones inside the body needed for growth, metabolism and healing.

They have more recently made headlines in the form of GLP-1s and other weight loss drugs, but peptides are not new to the field of medicine.

“Peptides have been a very important healthcare industry for a while,” Tim Caufield, research director of the University of Alberta Health Law Institute, told Global News. “If you look at insulin, that’s a peptide.”

Peptides are naturally produced within the body, each with a different role. But scientists can also create synthetic peptides which are used to mimic the natural communications within the body’s cells.

Peptides are pharmaceuticals and are regulated as such in Canada, but that hasn’t stopped unauthorized drugs from entering the market.

Caufield said many people are buying peptides online from wellness companies, who are claiming to have a pill or a supplement that will cure a range of ailments or conditions.

“We’ve seen wellness people push things that we’re not even sure if they’re peptides; they’ll just use the word peptide in their product,” he said, referring to what he calls “scienceploitation.”

Some peptides are also brought in from other countries, mainly China, under the arm of research. These drugs are labelled as “not for human use,” but Caufield said that is not always a deterrent.

The concern experts have with the move to expand the sale of peptides in the U.S. is with a process known as compounding.

Compounding pharmacies mix pharmaceuticals from scratch, rather than selling a pill or medication that arrives from a manufacturer.