Peak
Waitlist

Peak may earn money when readers become Promise patients.

Peptide library · Synthetic peptide

BPC-157

A synthetic peptide of 15 amino acids, based on part of a protein found in human gastric juice. Almost everything known about it comes from animal and cell studies.

Last reviewed September 22, 2026

The short version

BPC-157 is a lab-made chain of 15 amino acids, modeled on a fragment of a protein found in human gastric juice. Most of the research on it is in rats, and much of it comes from a single research group. Human evidence is limited to a few small pilot reports with no comparison group.

It is not FDA-approved. FDA’s current table lists its compounding nomination as withdrawn and retains a safety note. A licensed provider’s clinical decision does not change those FDA facts.

What it is

BPC-157 stands for Body Protection Compound 157. It is a pentadecapeptide, meaning a chain of fifteen amino acids, and it is made synthetically. Its sequence is modeled on part of a larger protein, called BPC, found in human gastric juice. BPC-157 itself is a stable synthetic fragment, not a peptide the body is known to circulate.

In the research literature it also appears as PL 14736, the code under which it entered early clinical trials in inflammatory bowel disease.1 Its sequence is Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val, its molecular formula is C62H98N16O22, and its CAS number is 137525-51-0.

Where the research stands

The honest summary is short: a large body of animal and cell research, and very little in people. A 2025 review of the musculoskeletal evidence found that only three pilot studies had examined BPC-157 in humans, that rigorous, large-scale trials are lacking, and that BPC-157 is best treated as investigational.2

How far the evidence has climbed

  1. Cell studiesYesTendon, blood-vessel and other cell work
  2. Animal studiesYesMost of the literature, mainly in rats
  3. Small human pilotsA fewSmall reports with no comparison group
  4. Controlled human trialsLackingNo rigorous, large-scale trials
  5. FDA approvalNoNot approved for any use

Here is what some of the most-cited studies looked at. Each names its species, because a result in a rat is not a result in a person.

  • RatsCells2003

    A cut Achilles tendon

    This study measured mechanical, functional and microscopic findings in a rat Achilles-tendon injury model and cell outgrowth in cultured rat tendon cells. It did not test people.3

  • Rats2004

    Stomach ulcers

    This study measured ulcer area and stomach-lining changes in rats with induced stomach ulcers. It did not test people.4

  • Rats2008

    Fistulas between the bowel and the skin

    This study measured colon and skin defects in rats with a surgically created colon-to-skin fistula. It was not a controlled human trial.1

  • Rats2010

    A cut sciatic nerve

    This study measured nerve tissue, myelination and movement after sciatic-nerve injury in rats. It did not test people.5

  • CellsAnimals2017

    Laboratory vascular models

    This paper measured VEGFR2-related signaling and blood-vessel formation in human cells, a chick membrane and rats with restricted leg blood flow. It did not establish a clinical use.6

  • Cells2014

    Growth-hormone receptors in tendon cells

    This paper measured growth-hormone-receptor expression and signaling in cultured rat tendon cells. It did not test a human treatment.7

  • RatsDogs2022

    Clearance in rats and dogs

    This pharmacokinetic study measured blood clearance and metabolites in rats and dogs, including a half-life under 30 minutes in those species. It did not establish a human half-life.8

  • Humans2024–2025

    The human reports

    One report recorded short-term observations in two healthy adults, and another described 12 women with interstitial cystitis.910 Neither had a comparison group, so neither establishes safety or effectiveness.

What the research can’t tell you

  • Human evidence is very thin

    Almost everything known comes from rodents. Animal results are not proven benefits in people, and the balance of benefit and risk in humans is unknown.2

  • Clearance data are not human data

    The cited pharmacokinetic study measured clearance in rats and dogs. It does not establish a human half-life or exposure pattern.8

  • Not an approved medicine

    BPC-157 is not FDA-approved for any use. A research-use label does not establish suitability for human use. An analytical test report, if available, does not by itself establish clinical safety, effectiveness or suitability for injection.

  • A theoretical question about tumors

    The cited preclinical work examined angiogenesis, or formation of new blood vessels.6 Tumors also depend on new blood vessels, which raises a theoretical concern. That is reasoning from mechanism, not a finding in people.

  • Long-term effects are unknown

    No long-term human safety data are identified in the cited studies. The tendon-cell work does not resolve that gap.7

  • Banned in sport

    The World Anti-Doping Agency prohibits BPC-157 at all times, under its category for non-approved substances.11

FDA status

Not FDA-approved for any use

FDA placed BPC-157 in Category 2 of its interim policy on compounding ingredients: the group of bulk substances for which FDA said it had identified significant safety risks.12

FDA’s current page, last updated April 22, 2026, no longer shows BPC-157 in Category 2. It is listed under “nominated but withdrawn”, because the organizations that had asked FDA to evaluate it took those requests back. FDA’s safety note still sits beside the entry. Withdrawal of a nomination does not establish eligibility for compounding. The applicable ingredient requirements and other compounding conditions still have to be met.

BPC-157 is also not on the short list of extra bulk ingredients that pharmacies compounding under section 503A may use.13 Ahead of a July 2026 meeting of FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, FDA staff proposed against listing BPC-157. FDA had published no record of the committee’s votes as of September 17, 2026, and has not issued a final decision.14

These FDA facts are separate from any licensed provider’s clinical decision. Promise Peptides is currently taking waitlist sign-ups. Joining is not a medical request and no prescription comes from it.

A prescription route

Promise is currently accepting waitlist signups. Joining is not a treatment request and does not result in a prescription. If treatment visits open, any treatment request would require clinical review; prescribing and pharmacy fulfillment would remain separate decisions.

  1. Start on Promise’s BPC-157 page

    It shows what the treatment involves and its current availability.

  2. Answer the BPC-157 questionnaire

    A licensed provider reviews your health history, your medicines and your goals, and can decline. Not everyone qualifies.

  3. Pharmacy review is a separate step

    A prescription does not guarantee preparation or dispensing. A pharmacy must separately determine whether it can fulfill the prescription under the applicable requirements.

A prescription does not make BPC-157 FDA-approved, and it does not change what the research above shows. It means a clinician who has looked at your health made the call.

BPC-157 at Promise

Read the treatment information and view the current waitlist.

Join the Promise waitlist

Peak may earn money when readers become Promise patients.

Joining does not guarantee future treatment availability. Availability would depend on the treatment, state, clinical review and separate pharmacy review.

Questions

Is BPC-157 a growth hormone?

No. It is a 15-amino-acid peptide with no structural relation to growth hormone. A rat tendon-cell study examined receptor expression; that does not make BPC-157 growth hormone or establish a treatment benefit.7

Is prescribed BPC-157 the same as research-use BPC-157?

A prescription records a licensed provider's decision for a named patient. Pharmacy preparation and dispensing are separate decisions subject to applicable requirements. Neither a prescription nor a research-use label makes a compounded preparation FDA-approved.

What did animal studies find about BPC-157 clearance?

The cited study measured clearance in rats and dogs, including a blood half-life under 30 minutes in those species.8 It does not establish a human dosing interval or a human half-life.

Sources

  1. Klicek R, et al. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157, in clinical trials as a therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (PL14736), is effective in the healing of colocutaneous fistulas in rats. J Pharmacol Sci. 2008;108:7-17. PubMed 18818478
  2. McGuire FP, et al. Regeneration or risk? A narrative review of BPC-157 for musculoskeletal healing. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2025. PubMed 40789979
  3. Staresinic M, et al. Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon and in vitro stimulates tendocytes growth. J Orthop Res. 2003;21:976-983. PubMed 14554208
  4. Xue XC, et al. Protective effects of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastric ulcer in rats. World J Gastroenterol. 2004;10:1032-1036. PubMed 15052688
  5. Gjurasin M, et al. Peptide therapy with pentadecapeptide BPC 157 in traumatic nerve injury. Regul Pept. 2010;160:33-41. PubMed 19903499
  6. Hsieh MJ, et al. Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation. J Mol Med (Berl). 2017;95:323-333. PubMed 27847966
  7. Chang CH, et al. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 enhances the growth hormone receptor expression in tendon fibroblasts. Molecules. 2014;19:19066-19077. PubMed 25415472
  8. He L, et al. Pharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157, a potential drug for treating various wounds, in rats and dogs. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:1026182. PubMed 36588717
  9. Lee E, Burgess K. Safety of intravenous infusion of BPC157 in humans: a pilot study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2025. PubMed 40131143
  10. Lee E, Walker C, Ayadi B. Effect of BPC-157 on symptoms in patients with interstitial cystitis: a pilot study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2024. PubMed 39325560
  11. World Anti-Doping Agency. The Prohibited List (S0, non-approved substances).
  12. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks. Content current as of April 22, 2026.
  13. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bulk drug substances used in compounding under section 503A of the FD&C Act.
  14. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. July 23-24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee.