D tier · weak
An enormous and largely single-group rodent literature has never been converted into a controlled human efficacy trial, and the compound is unapproved everywhere, WADA-banned, and flagged by FDA for immunogenicity and impurity risk.
bpc-157
BPC-157 is a synthetic 15-amino-acid sequence said to be derived from a fragment of human gastric juice protein, studied almost entirely in rodent models of tendon, muscle, gut and nerve injury. Reported effects are consistent across many animal papers but have not been confirmed in any randomised controlled human trial.
// we supply this one
available as a research reagent
≥ 99% HPLC · lyophilised powder · batch certificate published. Grade D above is our own and is not adjusted because we stock it.
the explanation
BPC-157 is a lab-made peptide that helps rats and mice heal wounds, torn tendons and damaged guts in a very large number of animal studies. Almost none of that work has been repeated properly in people, so whether it does anything in humans is genuinely unknown.
regulatory status
not FDA-approved; WADA-prohibited
Unapproved as a drug in the US and marketed nowhere; banned by WADA under class S0 since 2022; nominated for the FDA 503A compounding bulks list and flagged for immunogenicity and peptide-related impurity risk before the nomination was withdrawn. At the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting of 23 July 2026 the panel voted 8 to 6 with one abstention to recommend adding BPC-157 to the section 503A bulks list, against FDA staff advice. A recommendation is non-binding, confers no approval and is not a finding of efficacy; implementation would require notice-and-comment rulemaking. FDA has not published meeting minutes and these tallies are trade-press reporting from the room.
how it works · proposed mechanism
Proposed mechanisms are inferred almost entirely from rodent injury models rather than from a defined receptor interaction.
Nitric oxide system modulation
Animal studies report that BPC-157 counteracts the effects of NO-synthase blockade and NO donors in vascular and gastrointestinal injury. No specific enzyme or binding partner in this pathway has been isolated.
Angiogenesis and VEGF signalling
Rodent and cell work describes increased VEGFR2 expression and new vessel formation at injury sites. This is the most frequently proposed route for the reported tendon and muscle effects.
Fibroblast migration in vitro
Cultured tendon fibroblasts show increased migration, survival and F-actin formation via FAK-paxillin signalling when exposed to BPC-157. These are cell-culture observations at concentrations not shown to be achievable in human tissue.
No identified receptor
Despite roughly two decades of publication, no high-affinity receptor or primary molecular target has been confirmed for BPC-157. Mechanistic claims therefore remain descriptive rather than causal.
what’s reported
evidence shape
6 sourcesThe composition of the cited literature by study type. This describes the shape of the evidence, not its quality — and it does not by itself set the grade.
⚠ the catch
The entire efficacy case rests on animal work, a large share of it from a single research group, with no independent randomised human replication. The one frequently cited human report is a retrospective chart review of 16 patients with no control arm and no standardised outcome measures.
key published findings
- Systematic review (HSS Journal, 2025) of orthopaedic sports medicine literature identified 36 studies, of which 35 were preclinical and only 1 clinical, and reported that no clinical safety data were found.
- Retrospective human chart review (Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2021) of intra-articular injection for knee pain: 11 of 12 patients (91.6%) receiving BPC-157 alone reported significant improvement, and 14 of 16 (87.5%) overall - uncontrolled, unblinded, and retrospectively collected.
- Rodent pharmacokinetic work reports an IV/IM half-life of roughly 8-30 minutes, while the peptide remains intact in human gastric juice for over 24 hours in vitro.
- US Department of Defense Operation Supplement Safety states that marketed benefits have only been shown in lab or animal studies and that BPC-157 sits in WADA class S0 (non-approved substances).
- A 2015 clinical trial run under the name Bepecin did not result in any approved use for the substance.
limitations of the evidence
- No randomised, placebo-controlled human efficacy trial has been published for any indication.
- A large fraction of the preclinical literature originates from a small number of affiliated authors, raising independent-replication concerns.
- No human pharmacokinetic, bioavailability or long-term safety dataset exists, and FDA has specifically flagged immunogenicity and peptide-impurity risk.
- Eight ClinicalTrials.gov records naming research peptides — including BPC-157, TB-500, MOTS-c, GHK-Cu and melanotan II — share one sponsor, Hudson Biotech, and one site. A July 2026 investigation established that all eight are fabricated: at least two declare themselves fictional or mock in their own text, and two reproduce an Eli Lilly protocol design and compound code that Eli Lilly states it never authorised. The records were still listed as recruiting after the investigation was published. A registry entry is a form submission, not peer review, and this index does not treat one as evidence.
identity
| full name | Body Protection Compound 157 (pentadecapeptide BPC 157) |
| category | Healing & Repair |
| modality | peptide |
| formula | C62H98N16O22 |
| molar mass | 1419.56 g/mol |
| cas | 137525-51-0 |
| half-life | ~8-30 min (rat, IV/IM) |
| sequence | GEPPPGKPADDAGLV |
laboratory handling
| storage | Lyophilised powder is typically stored at -20 °C and protected from light; once reconstituted, laboratory handling guidance is refrigeration at 2-8 °C with use over a short window, or aliquoting and freezing at -80 °C to avoid freeze-thaw cycles. |
| solubility | Readily soluble in sterile or bacteriostatic water in laboratory settings; also soluble in dilute acetic acid or saline for research preparations. |
| co-studied with | Most commonly co-studied and co-marketed alongside TB-500, though no controlled study has evaluated the combination in humans. |
Handling information describes laboratory practice for a research reagent. It is not a preparation guide for use in humans.
the receipts
8 citedOperation Supplement Safety, US Department of Defense · 2024 · official
US Food and Drug Administration · 2026 · official
Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine · 2021 · peer-reviewed
HSS Journal · 2025 · review
Arthroscopy · 2025 · review
Dr Noc (Morgan McSweeney PhD) · 2026 · investigation
Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society · 2026 · trade press
Wikipedia · 2026 · tertiary
Sources marked tertiary or press release are the weakest citations on this page.
others in Healing & Repair