Rankings / Sleep & Recovery

BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157)

Sleep & Recovery · Pentadecapeptide

Tier D

High-risk evidence profile

Reviewed by Read Off Label · Last reviewed · How we grade

peptidebannedresearch-only
High-risk evidence profile
2.9 / 10
Tier D
Ev 2 Bn 5 Sf 3

Bottom line

Read Off Label grades BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) as D (2.9/10) based on preclinical only evidence, variable benefit magnitude, and a unknown-high-risk safety profile.

Its high-risk evidence profile reflects a Safety score of 3/10; reported benefits and harms can differ by indication, dose, route, duration, and population.

The canonical 'biohacker healing peptide.

Studied, labeled, or reported-use context: 250-500 mcg subQ 1-2x daily (anecdotal); also oral capsule forms — Not FDA-approved; FDA classified as Category 2 on interim 503A bulks list — prohibited from US compounding pharmacies per Jan 7, 2025 final guidance; WADA-banned; sold as research peptide; removed from the Category 2 interim list April 2026 (nominators withdrew), with an FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee review of BPC-157 for the 503A bulks list set for July 23, 2026; PCAC voted 8-6 in favour of adding BPC-157 to the 503A bulks list (Jul 23-24, 2026) — advisory only, not an FDA approval or a final compounding decision; not individualized guidance.

Frontier potential — editorial judgment, not evidence

This is a separate axis from the grade above. It asks a different question: if this worked in humans, how much would it matter? It is our judgment, it is not part of the composite score, and it cannot raise a grade. A high number here is a statement about the idea, not about whether it works or whether anyone should take it.

4/10
Mechanistic story only Preclinical

What the ceiling rests on

An unusually broad and consistent body of rodent work on tendon, ligament, muscle, and gut healing, spanning decades from the originating group — enough repetition that the effect in rodents is not seriously in doubt.

Why it may not get there

Almost the entire literature originates from a single research group, which is the classic setup for a result that does not survive independent replication. There are no published human randomised trials at all. The FDA has flagged immunogenicity and peptide-impurity concerns for compounded product, and the peptide sold online is of unverified identity and purity.

What would change this A published human randomised trial from an independent group.

If you were testing this on yourself

Two properties decide whether an n-of-1 experiment is readable and recoverable. These describe the experiment — they are not a judgment about whether to run it, and nothing here is a recommendation.

Can you undo it?

Slow to reverse

No human safety data exist, so reversibility is genuinely unknown rather than established as benign. The FDA has flagged immunogenicity — an immune response to a peptide is not something stopping reliably undoes.

Can you tell if it worked?

Readable — Weeks

Pain and function in the injured area. Real, but see the confounder — it is close to uninterpretable here.

What would fool you Soft-tissue injuries heal on their own over exactly the timescale people report improvement, which makes an uncontrolled n-of-1 almost worthless for this use. Product identity and purity are unverified, so a result cannot even be attributed to the labelled compound.

What the evidence says

The canonical 'biohacker healing peptide.' Extensive Sikiric preclinical work on tendon, ligament, GI healing. Zero published human RCTs. FDA Jan 2025 final guidance ended legal US compounding access (previously a gray-zone). Ongoing litigation (Evexias/Farmakeio) challenging the FDA process. Widely anecdotally reported to accelerate tendon/joint recovery; evidence base remains preclinical. Consumer supply is unverified research-peptide material rather than a regulated medication. April 2026: FDA removed BPC-157 from the Category 2 interim 503A list after the nominations were withdrawn; a Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) meeting is set for July 23, 2026 to review it for the 503A compounding bulks list - the next decision point on legal compounding access. FDA briefing documents for the Jul 23-24, 2026 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee hearing were posted ahead of the meeting: FDA's stated position is to recommend against adding this peptide to the 503A bulks list, citing poor characterization, weak human efficacy/safety evidence, and unassessed immunogenicity risk (same position taken on BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, and MOTS-c). PCAC is advisory only; no final decision yet. A Phase 2 RCT (Hudson Biotech, NCT07437547, n=120) testing BPC-157 for acute Grade II hamstring strain began recruiting Feb 2026 -- the first registered human efficacy trial for this peptide; no results yet. The July 23-24, 2026 PCAC hearing convened as scheduled; outcome not yet published as of this sweep. The FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) met Jul 23-24, 2026 and voted on seven peptides for the 503A bulk drug substances list. Committee votes are advisory: the FDA is not bound by them, adding a substance to the 503A list would follow notice-and-comment rulemaking, and inclusion would permit compounding — it would not constitute FDA approval, an efficacy finding, or a safety determination. FDA's own review staff had recommended against the four Jul 23 peptides, citing poor characterization, weak human efficacy and safety evidence, and unassessed immunogenicity; press coverage also noted committee members' financial ties to the peptide industry. The underlying human evidence base for these compounds is unchanged by the vote. On this compound the committee voted 8-6 in favour of adding BPC-157 to the 503A bulks list.

Mechanism

Synthetic fragment of a gastric 'body protection' protein; proposed pro-angiogenic via VEGFR2 pathway; nitric oxide pathway modulation; reported tendon/ligament/GI healing in rodent models

Studied, labeled, or reported dose & route

250-500 mcg subQ 1-2x daily (anecdotal); also oral capsule forms

This records doses and routes described in studies, approved labeling, clinical practice, or documented use. It is not individualized guidance and does not establish safety; context changes with indication, formulation, health history, monitoring, and other medicines.

Citations

A link means the source informed this entry; it does not mean every claim on the page comes from that source. If a citation looks wrong or you want a claim re-checked, send a correction.

Common questions

What does the evidence show about BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157)'s effects?
Read Off Label rates the evidence for BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) as Preclinical only and the benefit magnitude as variable, producing an overall grade of D (2.9/10). The canonical 'biohacker healing peptide.
What safety findings are reported for BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157)?
BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) has a unknown-high risk profile in the database. Unknown-High (essentially no controlled human safety data; FDA flagged immunogenicity and peptide-impurity concerns for compounded products) Legal status: Not FDA-approved; FDA classified as Category 2 on interim 503A bulks list — prohibited from US compounding pharmacies per Jan 7, 2025 final guidance; WADA-banned; sold as research peptide; removed from the Category 2 interim list April 2026 (nominators withdrew), with an FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee review of BPC-157 for the 503A bulks list set for July 23, 2026; PCAC voted 8-6 in favour of adding BPC-157 to the 503A bulks list (Jul 23-24, 2026) — advisory only, not an FDA approval or a final compounding decision.
What does the low Safety score for BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) represent?
The Safety score is 3/10. It records the substantial harms described for one or more use contexts; the Benefit score, indication, dose, route, duration, population, and legal status remain separate parts of the evidence profile.
What doses or routes are reported for BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157)?
250-500 mcg subQ 1-2x daily (anecdotal); also oral capsule forms This is context from studies, approved labeling, clinical practice, or documented use; it is not individualized guidance and does not establish safety.
How does BPC-157 (Body Protection Compound-157) work?
Synthetic fragment of a gastric 'body protection' protein; proposed pro-angiogenic via VEGFR2 pathway; nitric oxide pathway modulation; reported tendon/ligament/GI healing in rodent models

This is an independent synthesis of published research by a non-clinician. Scores are opinions supported by citations, not prescriptions. See the full disclaimer and methodology for how this score was produced and what it does and doesn't mean.