GoKawiilAnti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has long dismissed reams of data on lifesaving vaccines as being insufficient to prove safety—is pushing the Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on over a dozen injectable peptide treatments. The treatments have little to no efficacy data behind them and were previously banned by the FDA for posing significant safety risks.
Kennedy is a self-proclaimed “big fan” of the risky treatments. Peptides, generally, are chains of amino acids linked together with peptide bonds, a link between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another. Bioactive peptides can have a range of cellular functions and influence various biochemical processes. Well-established, FDA-approved types of peptide drugs include GLP-1s for obesity and insulin for diabetes. But online, peptide drugs are now seemingly synonymous with unproven, non-FDA-approved treatment. They’ve grown extremely popular among wellness influencers, celebrities, and “biohackers,” who claim without evidence that peptides can treat various diseases, reverse aging, and improve appearance.
On February 27, Kennedy touted such unproven peptides as a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast, saying he had used them to treat injuries with “really good effect.” He also vowed to end the FDA’s “war on peptides” and revealed his plan to reverse the FDA’s restrictions on many of them.
Kennedy was likely referring to the FDA’s 2023 decision to reclassify over a dozen unproven peptide drugs for potentially posing “significant safety risks” amid a rise in unproven claims about their benefits. The reclassification took the peptides off a list of drugs that can be made by compounding pharmacies—a type of pharmacy that makes customized drugs for individual patients. As a result, such pharmacies can no longer make them for human use. But, the black and gray markets are still awash with the questionable peptide products, some outright illicit and others sold to individuals for “research use.” Some of Kennedy’s supporters and allies are among those selling unproven peptide treatments.