US FDA Expected to Lift Restrictions on Dozen Peptides Previously Banned | Hacker News Reader

US FDA Expected to Lift Restrictions on Dozen Peptides Previously Banned

nytimes.com

10 pointsck215 comments

The reason they were banned is because they never went through complete safety testing. There are still unknowns. For example BPC-157 is used for recovery from injury and has good reviews.. but there are also a small number of people who say after taking it they become depressed and emotionally numb for months. Another odd symptom some people report is insensitivity to stimulants.

Some reported they don't even feel powerful stimulants like Adderall anymore. And if you're reliant on a stimulant for adhd treatment, you're kind of screwed. No one can tell you why it happens and you basically have to wait weeks to months for the effects to wear off.

If you don't even know all the risks how can you make an informed decision? It's all very experimental and while there are success stories there are also much less talked about horror stories.

The sad thing is that the people pushing the hardest for the use of these russian-roulette meds will be the same ones who refused to get vaccinated because the Covid vaccine was $insert-medical-conspiracy-here.

I don't really understand the sudden push around Peptides from the "Health" influencers.

Is their plan really to just keep injecting themselves with amino acids all day every day?

Why not something like an mRNA injection so you just produce more of whatever amino acids or proteins are supposedly "Needed"?

This feels more like Vitamins are played out for the supplements industry and they need a new market with vague benefits to milk.

Peptides can have very powerful effects. Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) is a peptide, and it's probably the most exciting pharmaceutical in a generation.

There are also peptides that seem to have similar effects as regular exercise; a weekly injection might give you the same benefits as a daily mile run. These haven't been well studied, however, and we don't understand their safety profiles.

But the influencer set has taken these possibilities and run with them, because they're more interested in clicks and views that science and facts.

The push around peptides stems from a supplier realization that consumers are much more open to injections than previously assumed. This means drugs that were previously thought to be non-marketable might in fact have demand.

Producers love recurring and subscription sales models. It's consumers who get the short end of the stick.

Health influencers push whatever they get paid to push. Presumably whoever makes the stuff saw a market opportunity. As you say, it could be that the vitamins market is tapped out, meaning it's a booming market but too much competition has erased margins, so they need a new thing to push.

Personally I'm waiting for influencers to push sodium-chlorinated dihydrogen monoxide injections. Clinically proven to be extremely safe in terms of side-effects, and look at all the benefits!

Nice. I would love to have a reputable clean source for PDA (penta deca arginate). Some countries have awesome med-spa's or med-bars that are essentially coffee shops where one can get whatever injections they want such as NAD+, peptides, others. That would be a great business opportunity for the US. People could go there for GLP peptides, insulin and whatever else they desire.

wondering if there's a startup opportunity for lab testing peptide batches somehow

doubt current supplement labs would be up to the task of certifying things injectable

very risky to bypass gut digestion safety in the human body with unknowns

I would expect whomever does the certification for insulin and GLP's would be up for it. existing peptides on the market not counting all the peptides people eat daily in foods

It already exists. There's no reason anyone would know if they never ventured into the backwaters of PEDs for sport, but third-party labs are out there which will send you back a full analysis of any sample you send it, and reputable sellers anyone bothers to actually buy from will reimburse the testing expense provided you publish the results on any number of web forums that exist for the purpose of vetting these sellers on quality and purity of their products. It's nothing like buying heroin from the street or at least it hasn't been since 20 years ago.

Also US MedSpas and other boutique pseudo not-quite-medical clinics will already inject you with just about any peptide other than insulin as well as NAD+ if you feel you need it for some reason. You don't, but they'll still do it.

> That would be a great business opportunity for the US.

They already exist here. The restrictions only seemed to be on compounding pharmacies. But the US has "med-spa" and "rejuvenation center" chains that offer them; I'm guessing at significant markup compared to ordering from random chat-app or website. Since it was a "grey" area who knows if those centers are more trustworthy about their supply sources.

I was operating under the assumption that if they are being promoted by the government that they would be less taboo and states would be less likely to put pressure on such businesses thus allowing them to flourish. If I utter the word peptide in my state people act like I am asking about cocaine whereas some countries it's treated just like a Starbucks.

That probably depends on which state you're talking about. The FDA's reputation isn't great in a lot of places these days.

https://archive.ph/z3HzZ

“…with mint frosting.”

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