Nearby still needs a California check
Ask what the evidence is about.
A claim is easier to check when it names a product, a use, and the evidence behind it. Start there before reading broad promises.
Approval and registration are different
An approved product
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval applies to a specific medicine and its stated uses.
Approved US products include semaglutide under the Ozempic and Wegovy names, plus tirzepatide under Mounjaro and Zepbound (as of September 26, 2026).
A registration or product code
A National Drug Code is the number linking a drug product with its entry in FDA’s list. If an offer shows this number, ask which medicine it names.
A drug code does not mean FDA approval. A business may also be listed with FDA; that is called registration. Neither listing approves its medicines (as of September 26, 2026).
An approval for a particular use is not evidence for every claim made about a peptide.
Research labels do not answer treatment questions
Some weight drugs are offered for people to use even though the labels say “for research purposes” or “not for human consumption”. FDA warns about these products (as of September 26, 2026). Their quality is not known; they could be harmful.
As of September 26, 2026, BPC-157, ipamorelin, and MOTS-c have no approved US drug product.
No FDA approval means there is no approved US product. It does not answer whether a pharmacy may make that ingredient to order. Ask which current ingredient rule applies.
For retatrutide and cagrilintide, FDA expressly says federal law does not allow compounding (as of September 26, 2026).
Open the sources for this check
Read what the evidence cannot establish
- Was the product studied in people?
- What health problem was studied?
- What result was measured?
- What remains uncertain?
- Is the seller promising help for a problem that FDA has not approved this medicine to treat?
FDA says reports of unwanted events do not prove a medicine caused them or show how often a problem occurs.
An unwanted event is a problem reported during medicine use, not proof of the cause.
Keep that distinction when someone presents a report count as proof. Ask for the study or regulator page behind the statement.
Check claims about compounding