Andrew Huberman released a three-hour episode on peptides Monday. The human evidence base for the anchor compound, BPC-157, runs to three small studies and about thirty patients.
The guest is Dr. Abud Bakri, a board-certified internist whose practice centers on peptide medicine, and who posts publicly about the peptide he is “most excited about.” The episode walks through BPC-157, GHK-Cu, pinealon, epithalon, melanotan, the GLP-1s, retatrutide, and growth-hormone secretagogues. None of the three published BPC-157 trials had a placebo arm.
The three trials, plainly. A 2021 case series injected BPC-157 into the knees of sixteen chronic-pain patients; 87.5% reported significant relief at six to twelve months. A 2024 pilot delivered ten milligrams directly into the bladder walls of twelve women with interstitial cystitis; ten reported complete symptom resolution. A 2025 safety study gave intravenous BPC-157 to two healthy adults, ten milligrams on day one and twenty on day two. A Phase I trial registered for forty-two volunteers has never posted results. That is the human literature.
Most of the preclinical BPC-157 work comes from a single Croatian research group led by Predrag Sikiric. The rat and mouse data, mostly out of his lab, are the basis for nearly every claim about regenerative effects in people. There are no completed randomized controlled trials.
WADA placed BPC-157 in its S0 “unapproved substances” category, and USADA warns U.S. athletes the same way. Matthew Fedoruk, USADA’s chief science officer, told STAT in February what the buyer is actually buying: “You don’t even know what you’re buying inside that bottle.”
The FDA record is theater on both sides. In September 2023 the agency placed BPC-157 in Category 2 of its 503A compounding bulks review, the designation for substances pharmacies may not compound while under scrutiny. Compounding pharmacies sold it anyway. Enforcement was minimal. Lawmakers wrote in asking the agency to back off further. BPC-157 has since been withdrawn from that Category 2 status by its nominators. A Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting on July 23, 2026 will consider seven peptides (BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTs-C, emideltide, Semax, and epitalon) for inclusion on the 503A bulks list itself. A second meeting before February 2027 will do the same for GHK-Cu, melanotan II, LL-37, dihexa acetate, and PEG-MGF. The 2023 prohibition never bound the market it was aimed at. The reconsideration is a procedural step toward permission.
Melanotan made the discussion list. It has never been approved by the FDA for any indication. Dermatology reports have linked it to new and darkened nevi and to atypical-looking moles, which can complicate the visual surveillance clinicians use to catch early melanoma. The FDA has been issuing warning letters about it since 2007. The episode discussed it anyway.
Bakri’s framing throughout is that the animal-to-human gap is acknowledged, that sourcing matters, that practical clinical experience fills in the rest. His practice is built on that experience. His commercial and clinical stake in peptide medicine is not disclosed in the show notes.
The episode will likely be one of the year’s most-listened peptide briefings. The clinical evidence it draws from is three uncontrolled pilots and a registered trial that never posted.
Sources
- Huberman Lab – Peptides: The Science, Uses & Safety | Dr. Abud Bakri (2026)
- STAT News – BPC-157: unapproved peptide, limited human evidence, growing market (2026)
- Peptide Database – BPC-157 Human Clinical Trials: Complete Status and Results (2026)
- FDA Law Blog – FDA’s Peptide Rally: What Compounders and Industry Need to Know (2026)
- FDA Advisory Committee Calendar – July 23-24, 2026 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee Meeting
- Dr. Abud Bakri – physician website
- YouTube – Peptides: The Science, Uses & Safety | Dr. Abud Bakri (2026)