Peptide encyclopedia
Every compound indexed here carries mechanism, route of administration, half-life, legal status, and the primary sources backing every claim — graded and dated.
- Compounds
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- Source links
- 249
- Therapeutic classes
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- 75
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Healing & repair
Tissue repair, angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory cytoprotection.
4 compounds
01
Research use only
BPC-157
Body Protective Compound 157 · PL 14736
BPC-157 has the deepest mechanistic literature of any peptide on this site — and almost no human RCTs.
Half-life·~4 hours plasma half-life when injected subcutaneously; biol…
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02
Research use only
GHK-Cu
Copper tripeptide-1 · GHK-copper · et al.
GHK-Cu is the only peptide on this list with mainstream cosmetic adoption — three decades of topical RCTs in photoaged skin, paired with a deeper preclinical literature on tissue regeneration than is widely appreciated outside dermatology.
Half-life·Topical exposure dominates clinical use; systemic plasma hal…
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03
Research use only
KPV
Lys-Pro-Val · Lysine-Proline-Valine · et al.
KPV's mechanistic case for inflammatory bowel disease is one of the cleanest in the corpus — orally bioavailable, transporter-targeted, NF-κB-suppressive — and almost the entire human evidence base is yet to be written.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is brief (minutes); the published anti-infl…
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04
Research use only
TB-500
Thymosin β4 · Thymosin beta-4 · et al.
TB-500 stacks with BPC-157 in the most common practitioner repair protocol, but the human evidence base is even thinner than BPC-157's — the bulk of what's published describes thymosin β4 in cell-line and rodent cardiac and dermal repair models.
Half-life·~2 hours plasma half-life on subcutaneous administration; ti…
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GH secretagogue
Pulsed growth-hormone release via the GHRH / ghrelin pathways.
13 compounds
01
Prescription only
Anamorelin
ONO-7643 · RC-1291 · et al.
Anamorelin is the only ghrelin-receptor agonist with a regulatory approval for a muscle-wasting indication anywhere in the world — and the lean-mass-without-strength endpoint pattern that won Japan PMDA approval is the same pattern that produced an EMA refusal three years earlier.
Half-life·~6 to 7 hours plasma half-life with oral dosing, supporting …
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02
Research use only
CJC-1295
CJC-1295 with DAC · DAC:GRF · et al.
CJC-1295 with DAC produces 2- to 10-fold elevations in plasma GH for six days and 1.5- to 3-fold elevations in IGF-1 for nine to eleven days from a single subcutaneous injection — the longest sustained GH-axis stimulus of any peptide on this site.
Half-life·~6 to 8 days plasma half-life with the DAC moiety; the non-D…
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03
Research use only
GHRP-2
pralmorelin · GHRP-6 · et al.
GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 are first-generation ghrelin-receptor agonists with rich Bowers-group human pharmacology — and the cortisol, prolactin, and appetite spillover findings are the reason the modern selective-secretagogue stack moved to Ipamorelin instead.
Half-life·Plasma half-life roughly 20 minutes after intravenous admini…
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04
Research use only
Ghrelin
ghrelin · octanoyl-ghrelin · et al.
Ghrelin is the reference molecule for the entire ghrelin-mimetic class — every GHRP and small-molecule GHSR-1a agonist on this site is engineered to mimic some subset of its pharmacology, and native ghrelin's own clinical use remains essentially investigator-only six years past the molecular identification of its required acylation enzyme.
Half-life·Plasma half-life of the acylated form is approximately 10 to…
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05
Research use only
Hexarelin
Examorelin · EP-23905
Hexarelin has the deepest published human pharmacology of any GHRP — and the cortisol, prolactin, and tachyphylaxis findings are the reason the modern selective-secretagogue stack moved to Ipamorelin instead.
Half-life·Plasma terminal half-life approximately 55 minutes after int…
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06
Research use only
IGF-1 LR3
Long Arg3 IGF-1 · R3 IGF-1 · et al.
The molecule was engineered specifically to evade IGFBP sequestration and extend the free-active half-life of IGF-1 in circulation. The preclinical anabolic biology that follows from that engineering is well characterized. Published human pharmacology of IGF-1 LR3 specifically is essentially absent — the closest clinical evidence base is for native IGF-1 in pediatric growth-failure syndromes, a different molecule and a different population.
Half-life·Published practitioner literature and recombinant-protein ve…
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07
Research use only
Ipamorelin
NNC 26-0161
Ipamorelin's distinguishing feature is what it does not do — no meaningful elevation of cortisol, prolactin, or ACTH at doses 200-fold above the threshold for GH release.
Half-life·~2 hours plasma half-life; the GH pulse is brief but the dow…
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08
Prescription only
Long-acting somatropin (lonapegsomatropin, somapacitan, somatrogon)
lonapegsomatropin · Skytrofa · et al.
The three long-acting somatropins represent three distinct chemistry approaches to converting daily injections into weekly therapy — TransCon carrier release, fatty-acid albumin binding, and CTP fusion — and each is FDA-approved on the basis of non-inferiority against daily somatropin in narrow deficiency populations rather than on improved outcomes in healthy adults.
Half-life·Lonapegsomatropin releases unmodified somatropin with an eff…
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09
Research use only
MK-677
Ibutamoren · Ibutamoren mesylate · et al.
MK-677 is the GH-secretagogue most biohackers actually try, because it works orally — and the only one with a 65-patient two-year RCT (Nass et al., Annals 2008) measuring what daily dosing in older adults actually does.
Half-life·~4 to 6 hours plasma half-life with oral dosing; the GH and …
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10
Prescription only
Pegvisomant
Somavert · B2036-PEG · et al.
The only molecule on this site that lowers IGF-1 by blocking the growth-hormone receptor rather than suppressing the pituitary — and the only molecule whose efficacy can be monitored only by IGF-1, because circulating growth hormone rises during treatment by design.
Half-life·~6-day mean serum elimination half-life following single or …
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11
Prescription only
Sermorelin
GRF (1-29) · GHRH (1-29) NH2 · et al.
Sermorelin is the molecular grandfather of the GHRH-analog peptide class — the only one whose published RCTs sit in pediatric GH deficiency, and the only one whose modern biohacker-adjacent use case the original FDA file was never designed to test.
Half-life·~10 to 20 minutes plasma half-life after either intravenous …
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12
Prescription only
Somatropin
rhGH · growth hormone · et al.
Somatropin is the reference molecule for every GH-secretagogue claim on this site — the substance the secretagogues ask the pituitary to release more of, with the deepest evidence base, the narrowest approved indications, and the only criminal-statute restriction on off-label distribution of any prescription drug in U.S. law.
Half-life·~2 to 4 hours plasma half-life for daily subcutaneous somatr…
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13
Prescription only
Tesamorelin
Egrifta · Egrifta SV · et al.
The only peptide on this site with an FDA approval and a 412-patient placebo-controlled NEJM trial behind it — and even so, the indication it earned is narrow.
Half-life·~26 to 38 minutes plasma half-life; the GH and IGF-1 pulse i…
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Metabolic / GLP-1
GLP-1 receptor agonists and the obesity / diabetes pharmacology cluster.
21 compounds
01
Research use only
5-Amino-1MQ
5-amino-1-methylquinolinium · 5-amino-1-methylquinolinium iodide · et al.
5-Amino-1MQ is a small molecule, not a peptide — and despite vigorous biohacker interest in oral body-recomposition use, the published human evidence base is zero trials.
Half-life·Plasma half-life and oral bioavailability in humans have not…
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02
Research use only
AOD-9604
Anti-Obesity Drug 9604 · Tyr-hGH(177-191) · et al.
The only peptide on this site whose pivotal trial conclusively failed — and the one most commonly stacked into compounded weight-loss protocols anyway. The page exists to reconcile that gap.
Half-life·~30 minutes plasma half-life following intravenous administr…
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03
Research use only
Apraglutide
FE 203799 · apraglutide · et al.
The once-weekly successor to teduglutide — same mechanism, longer half-life, positive Phase III primary endpoint, and an unusually instructive regulatory holdup that turns on dose preparation rather than efficacy.
Half-life·~30–50 hours plasma elimination half-life in humans after su…
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04
Research use only
Cagrilintide
AM833 · AM-833 · et al.
In REDEFINE-1 (n=3,417), CagriSema produced a 22.7% mean weight loss at 68 weeks under the trial-product estimand — below Novo Nordisk's stated 25% target, with cagrilintide-alone delivering 11.8% versus semaglutide-alone 16.1%.
Half-life·~159–195 hours (roughly 6.6–8.1 days) in healthy adults acro…
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05
Prescription only
Exenatide
Byetta · Bydureon · et al.
Exenatide is the founding GLP-1 receptor agonist — the molecule that opened the incretin pharmacology era for diabetes and produced the largest Parkinson's-disease randomized-trial body of any peptide, with a Phase 2 positive readout that the Phase 3 confirmatory trial did not replicate.
Half-life·~2.4 hours plasma half-life for the immediate-release (Byett…
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06
Research use only
GIP
glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide · gastric inhibitory peptide · et al.
Physiological GIP was the metabolic peptide that was historically considered a 'fat hormone' for its lipid-storage promotion in adipose tissue — and yet pharmacological GIP-receptor agonism inside tirzepatide produces weight loss, not weight gain. The resolution of that paradox is the editorial center of why the dual-agonist class outperforms GLP-1 monoagonism.
Half-life·~7 minutes plasma half-life for native intact GIP(1-42); rap…
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07
Research use only
GLP-1
glucagon-like peptide-1 · GLP-1 · et al.
GLP-1 is the reference molecule for the most clinically successful peptide drug class of the 21st century; its 1-to-2-minute plasma half-life is the single pharmacokinetic constraint every commercial GLP-1 receptor agonist is engineered to solve.
Half-life·~1 to 2 minutes intravenous plasma half-life in humans, with…
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08
Research use only
GLP-2
glucagon-like peptide-2 · GLP-2 · et al.
The reference molecule for the intestinotrophic peptide class — a 33-residue proglucagon fragment whose seven-minute plasma half-life is precisely the design problem teduglutide and apraglutide were engineered to solve.
Half-life·~7 minutes plasma elimination half-life in humans by intrave…
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09
Prescription only
Glucagon
Glucagen · Baqsimi · et al.
Native glucagon is hyperglycemic by design — the engineered glucagon-receptor agonism inside retatrutide and survodutide is the same receptor used in reverse, leveraged for energy expenditure rather than glycemic rescue.
Half-life·~8–18 minutes plasma half-life IV, 26–45 minutes IM, and 32–…
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10
Prescription only
Insulin
human insulin · regular insulin · et al.
Insulin is the reference peptide therapy — the first hormone purified and given to a patient, the first protein synthesized by recombinant DNA technology, and the molecule against which every subsequent peptide-pharmacology claim is implicitly measured.
Half-life·~4 to 6 minutes plasma half-life for native human insulin on…
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11
Prescription only
Liraglutide
Saxenda · Victoza · et al.
Liraglutide is the GLP-1-class agent that paved the road for semaglutide and tirzepatide — its 2014 Saxenda approval was the first GLP-1 receptor agonist authorized specifically for chronic weight management.
Half-life·~13 hours plasma half-life — a C16 fatty acid acylation enab…
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12
Prescription only
Lixisenatide
Adlyxin · Lyxumia · et al.
Lixisenatide is the only GLP-1 receptor agonist to date with a published double-blind randomized Phase 2 trial in Parkinson's disease that returned a positive primary motor endpoint — LIXIPARK 2024 — though the molecule was commercially discontinued in the US in 2023 and the disease-modifying claim awaits Phase 3 confirmation.
Half-life·~three hours mean terminal plasma half-life — sufficient to …
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13
Prescription only
Mazdutide
LY3305677 · IBI-362 · et al.
Mazdutide is the first dual GLP-1 / glucagon receptor agonist approved for chronic weight management in any major jurisdiction — and that jurisdiction is China. In GLORY-1 (n=610), the 6 mg dose produced 14.8% weight loss at week 48 versus 0.5% on placebo, with 50.6% of participants reaching ≥15% loss.
Half-life·~one week — fatty-acid conjugation to plasma albumin slows r…
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14
Prescription only
Pancragen
KEDW · Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp · et al.
Pancragen is the pancreatic entry in the Khavinson short-peptide catalog — same single-laboratory evidence base as Epitalon and Vilon, with a tissue-specificity claim that is mechanistically distinctive but unconfirmed by independent Western replication.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is brief (minutes); the proposed effects on…
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15
Research use only
Pemvidutide
ALT-801 · pemvidutide
Pemvidutide is the third GLP-1 / glucagon dual agonist with positive Phase 2b MASH and Phase 2 obesity readouts — Altimmune's smaller-cap entrant in the same engineered-pharmacology class as Boehringer's survodutide and Lilly's mazdutide, distinguished by a balanced 1:1 receptor-engagement ratio, an unusually preserved lean-mass body-composition signature in MOMENTUM, and a Phase 3 readiness contingent on a single-sponsor financing and execution path.
Half-life·~one week; EuPort glycolipid conjugation drives near-quantit…
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16
Prescription only
Pramlintide
Symlin · AC137 · et al.
Pramlintide is the clinical proof-of-concept that amylin agonism works in humans — a 0.3–0.4% HbA1c reduction and 1–2 kg of weight loss as an insulin adjunct, the foundation on which cagrilintide and the CagriSema program were later built.
Half-life·~48 minutes elimination half-life after subcutaneous adminis…
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17
Prescription only
Retatrutide
LY3437943
Retatrutide is the first triple-receptor agonist (GLP-1, GIP, glucagon) to reach Phase II in obesity — at the highest dose, mean weight loss reached 24.2% at 48 weeks, the largest published pharmacotherapy result to date.
Half-life·~6 days plasma half-life on weekly subcutaneous dosing; the …
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18
Prescription only
Semaglutide
Ozempic · Wegovy · et al.
In STEP 1 (n=1,961), once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide produced a mean 14.9% body-weight reduction at 68 weeks versus 2.4% on placebo.
Half-life·~1 week plasma half-life — the long-chain fatty acid binds a…
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19
Research use only
Survodutide
BI 456906 · NN1177
Survodutide is the GLP-1 / glucagon dual agonist whose Phase 2 obesity readout reached −14.9% mean weight loss at 46 weeks and whose Phase 2 MASH readout produced histologic MASH resolution in 62% of the 4.8-mg group versus 14% on placebo — the two trial results that anchor the most-anticipated Phase 3 program in the metabolic-hepatic pipeline outside of retatrutide.
Half-life·~132–179 hours (roughly 5.5–7.5 days) across the clinical do…
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20
Prescription only
Teduglutide
Gattex · Revestive · et al.
The only FDA-approved peptide on this site for a gastrointestinal indication driven primarily by mucosal-growth pharmacology — and the closest the literature has come to proving GI peptide pharmacology can survive a rigorous Phase III program.
Half-life·~2 hours plasma half-life after subcutaneous administration …
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21
Prescription only
Tirzepatide
Mounjaro · Zepbound · et al.
Tirzepatide is the first dual GIP / GLP-1 receptor agonist to reach approval — and across the SURMOUNT trials it produced obesity-class weight loss (≥20% at the highest dose) that no monotherapy in the history of pharmacotherapy had reached.
Half-life·~5 days plasma half-life — a C20 fatty diacid chain anchors …
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Cognitive
Nootropic and neuroprotective compounds with hippocampal action.
8 compounds
01
Prescription only
Cerebrolysin
FPF-1070 · Cerebrolysin Concentrate · et al.
Cerebrolysin is the peptide product on this site with the largest randomized-controlled-trial body and also the one for which the most authoritative independent reviewer — the Cochrane Stroke Group — has concluded the trial body does not yet support routine use; the page treats both facts as load-bearing.
Half-life·Pharmacokinetics are not characterized in the conventional s…
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02
Research use only
Dihexa
PNB-0408 · N-hexanoyl-Tyr-Ile-(6)aminohexanoic amide
Dihexa is the most ambitious cognitive peptide in this corpus and the one with the largest evidence gap — preclinical synaptogenesis and Alzheimer's-model results that landed on covers, paired with zero published human trials.
Half-life·~10 days plasma half-life in rodents on oral administration;…
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03
Research use only
Fosgonimeton
ATH-1017 · NDX-1017 · et al.
Fosgonimeton is the clinical-development case study in the dihexa pharmacology lineage — a small-molecule HGF/MET modulator engineered for subcutaneous bioavailability that reached a 554-patient Phase 2/3 in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease and missed every prespecified clinical endpoint despite moving p-tau217 in the direction the mechanism predicted.
Half-life·Subcutaneously administered prodrug rapidly converted to the…
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04
Research use only
GPE
Glycyl-Prolyl-Glutamate · Gly-Pro-Glu · et al.
GPE is unusual in this corpus: the parent peptide has thirty years of preclinical neuroprotection data and no human controlled trials of native GPE for any indication, while its engineered analog became the first FDA-approved drug for Rett syndrome in 2023. The gray-market case rides on the clinical-development success of a related molecule, not on its own.
Half-life·Plasma half-life of native GPE is short — minutes in rodent …
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05
Research use only
Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide
pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide · PACAP-38 · et al.
PACAP is the second-validated migraine-mechanism neuropeptide after CGRP — the same trigeminal-sensory-nerve release, the same migraine-provocation result when infused into migraineurs, and the same antibody-blockade therapeutic strategy that produced the CGRP class. The Lundbeck HOPE Phase 2 (NEJM 2024) is the first controlled-trial evidence that anti-PACAP blockade reduces monthly migraine days in patients who failed the CGRP class.
Half-life·Plasma half-life of intravenously infused PACAP-38 is short …
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06
Research use only
Selank
TKPRPGP · Selanc
Selank's evidence base is real but parallel — three decades of Russian clinical use sits alongside a much thinner Western peer-reviewed literature, and both belong on the page.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is brief (minutes), but the rodent and clin…
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07
Research use only
Semax
MEHFPGP · ACTH(4-7) Pro-Gly-Pro · et al.
Semax sits in the same evidence-depth gap as Selank — three decades of Russian clinical use in stroke and cognitive indications alongside a much thinner Western peer-reviewed literature, and the page covers both honestly.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is brief (minutes); the protective Pro-Gly-…
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08
Prescription only
Trofinetide
NNZ-2566 · Daybue · et al.
Trofinetide is the engineered descendant of the GPE pharmacology lineage that became, in March 2023, the first FDA-approved drug for any indication in Rett syndrome — and the page treats both halves of that fact as load-bearing: a genuine regulatory milestone for a previously drug-less condition, paired with a modest pivotal effect size and a diarrhea incidence of approximately 80% that defines real-world tolerability.
Half-life·The 2-methyl-proline substitution at the central residue con…
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Immune
Immunomodulation, thymopoiesis, mucosal repair.
4 compounds
01
Research use only
ARA-290
Cibinetide · Pyroglutamate helix B surface peptide · et al.
ARA-290 is a rare design success — eleven amino acids drawn from erythropoietin's helix B that engage the tissue-protective receptor without touching the hematopoietic one — paired with a clinical-development program that produced legitimate Phase II signals and then stalled before any Phase III.
Half-life·~20 minutes terminal plasma half-life on subcutaneous admini…
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02
Research use only
LL-37
Cathelicidin · hCAP-18 · et al.
LL-37 is the textbook endogenous antimicrobial peptide and the molecular bridge between the vitamin D literature and innate immunity — and the same biology that makes it interesting in chronic infection also implicates it in psoriasis, lupus, and rosacea pathology. Gray-market subcutaneous use lacks both an efficacy database and a clean safety record.
Half-life·Plasma half-life of native LL-37 is short — minutes — owing …
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03
Prescription only
Thymosin α-1
Thymalfasin · Zadaxin · et al.
Thymosin α-1 has more cumulative clinical exposure than any peptide on this list — three decades of approved use across 35+ countries — paired with a renewed evidence base in COVID-era T-cell immunity that revived modern interest.
Half-life·~2 hours plasma half-life on subcutaneous administration; th…
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04
Research use only
Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide
VIP · vasoactive intestinal peptide · et al.
VIP is a real neuropeptide with characterised receptor pharmacology, the most-rigorously-tested peptide in COVID-19 acute respiratory distress — and the most-rigorous trial program ended with negative primary endpoints and an FDA EUA rejection, while the parallel off-label CIRS and long-COVID use case has accumulated practitioner observation but no controlled-trial support.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is short — approximately two minutes — whic…
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Sexual function
Melanocortin-receptor activity and sexual-function indications.
3 compounds
01
Prescription only
Oxytocin
OXT · Pitocin · et al.
Pitocin in the obstetric ward is one of the most-used medications on earth. Intranasal oxytocin for social cognition is one of the most-replication-troubled stories in modern neuroscience — and the most-rigorous test of the biohacker-relevant hypothesis, the 290-participant Sikich 2021 NEJM trial in autism, was negative on its primary endpoint.
Half-life·Plasma half-life on the order of 1–6 minutes following intra…
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02
Prescription only
PT-141
Bremelanotide · Vyleesi · et al.
PT-141 is the only peptide on this list approved by the FDA specifically for sexual function — and the only one whose pivotal Phase III evidence (RECONNECT, n=1,267) is in women, while the dominant biohacker conversation is about off-label male use.
Half-life·~2.7 hours plasma half-life on subcutaneous administration; …
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03
Prescription only
hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin)
human chorionic gonadotropin · Pregnyl · et al.
An FDA-approved peptide hormone whose biohacker-popular use case — preserving fertility and testicular function during testosterone replacement — is mechanistically defensible, evidence-anchored at the dose-response level, and entirely off-label.
Half-life·~24 to 36 hours terminal plasma half-life after intramuscula…
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Longevity
Pineal-axis modulation and senescence-targeted compounds.
2 compounds
01
Research use only
Epitalon
Epithalon · Epithalamin · et al.
Epitalon is the longevity-icon peptide, and the one whose claims rest most heavily on a single Russian research lineage that Western RCTs have not independently replicated.
Half-life·Plasma half-life is brief (minutes); the proposed long-actin…
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02
Prescription only
Khavinson Short-Peptide Trio (Cortagen, Vilon, Thymalin)
Cortagen · Vilon · et al.
The Khavinson short-peptide trio is the most-contested area of peptide pharmacology in this corpus — real publications, real registered clinical use in Russia spanning four decades, very limited Western validation, and a peptide-bioregulator-of-aging framing that runs ahead of the data.
Half-life·Plasma half-lives are brief (minutes) for the synthetic shor…
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Sleep
Sleep-architecture modulators and HPA-axis stabilization.
1 compound
Mitochondrial
Mitochondrial-membrane and bioenergetics-axis peptides.
2 compounds
01
Research use only
MOTS-c
Mitochondrial open reading frame of 12S rRNA-c
MOTS-c is the first mitochondrial-encoded peptide to be characterized as a hormone-like signaling molecule — encoded inside the mitochondrial 12S rRNA, secreted into circulation, and reported to regulate insulin sensitivity through AMPK.
Half-life·Brief plasma half-life on subcutaneous administration; in mo…
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02
Prescription only
SS-31
Elamipretide · Bendavia · et al.
SS-31 is the only peptide on this site that targets the inner mitochondrial membrane directly through cardiolipin binding — and the only one whose pivotal Phase III trial in its lead indication missed its primary endpoint.
Half-life·~2.5 to 4 hours plasma half-life on subcutaneous administrat…
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Other
Compounds outside the primary corpus classes.
17 compounds
01
Research use only
C-peptide
proinsulin C-peptide · connecting peptide · et al.
C-peptide is the cautionary tale of how a real mechanism, decades of academic interest, and multiple positive Phase II readouts can still produce a negative pivotal trial — the 'almost made it' peptide in diabetic neuropathy.
Half-life·~30 minutes plasma half-life for native human C-peptide on s…
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02
Prescription only
CGRP-pathway migraine therapeutics (anti-CGRP antibodies and gepants)
erenumab · Aimovig · et al.
The CGRP class is the first mechanism-specific migraine prevention pharmacology in the field's history — and it succeeds against the gepant-generation failure of the 2000s, when telcagepant and MK-3207 were discontinued for hepatotoxicity that the second-generation molecules engineered out.
Half-life·The four monoclonal antibodies have terminal half-lives of a…
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03
Prescription only
Desmopressin
DDAVP · 1-deamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin · et al.
Desmopressin is the rare peptide on this site that needs no caveat about evidence depth — it has carried four FDA-approved indications across five decades. The load-bearing safety frame is not efficacy uncertainty but iatrogenic hyponatremia, and the FDA pulled the intranasal pediatric-enuresis indication in 2007 after 61 postmarketing hyponatremic seizures including two deaths.
Half-life·Plasma terminal half-life of roughly 2.5–4 hours after intra…
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04
Prescription only
Eptifibatide
Integrilin · GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor · et al.
Eptifibatide is the worked example on the site of a snake-venom-disintegrin-derived peptide that translated from rodent pharmacology to an FDA-approved acute cardiovascular therapeutic — and that has since seen its routine clinical use steadily contract as oral P2Y12 inhibitors and the EARLY-ACS readout reshaped the antiplatelet landscape around it.
Half-life·Plasma elimination half-life of approximately 2.5 hours in p…
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05
Research use only
Follistatin
FST · FS-288 · et al.
The preclinical case for follistatin in muscle hypertrophy is one of the strongest in any peptide category — and the human pharmacology of the gray-market peptide itself is essentially blank. The clinically-grounded data in this pathway sits on the antibody and gene-therapy side, where the failure track record is substantial.
Half-life·Native human FST-315 has a terminal serum half-life of appro…
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06
Prescription only
GnRH-agonist class (leuprolide, goserelin, triptorelin, nafarelin, histrelin, buserelin)
LHRH agonist · GnRH agonist · et al.
The agonist paradox is the load-bearing fact of the entire class: pulsatile native GnRH stimulates the HPG axis, while continuous GnRH-receptor occupancy by a long-acting analog desensitizes the receptor and shuts down LH/FSH secretion within two to three weeks. Every depot formulation in the class is designed to exploit the desensitization, not the activation — and the clinical entry point is the transient flare of LH, FSH, and testosterone that the agonist drives before desensitization completes.
Half-life·Plasma half-life of the parent peptides is short (approximat…
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07
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GnRH-antagonist class (degarelix, cetrorelix, ganirelix, relugolix, elagolix)
GnRH receptor antagonist · LHRH antagonist · et al.
The GnRH-antagonist class is the mechanistic complement of the GnRH-agonist class — same receptor, opposite pharmacology, no flare, faster castration, and a different post-treatment recovery profile that has rebuilt the hormonal-therapy conversation in advanced prostate cancer and endometriosis.
Half-life·Degarelix has a terminal half-life of approximately 53 days …
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08
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Gonadorelin
GnRH · LHRH · et al.
The decades-old academic-medicine case for gonadorelin rests on pulsatile pump infusion every 60 to 120 minutes — a delivery architecture the bro-medicine subcutaneous bolus protocols do not replicate, and which the half-life of the molecule itself essentially forbids.
Half-life·~2 to 4 minutes plasma half-life after intravenous administr…
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09
Prescription only
Icatibant
Firazyr · JE-049 · et al.
Icatibant is the cleanest worked example on the site of a synthetic peptide engineered around a specific endogenous-mediator-receptor pair — bradykinin and the B2 receptor — that translated from rodent pharmacology to FDA approval for an acute rare-disease indication, and that did so with a safety profile dominated almost entirely by the local injection-site reaction the mechanism predicts.
Half-life·Mean plasma elimination half-life of approximately 1.4 ± 0.4…
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10
Research use only
Kisspeptin
KP54 · KP-54 · et al.
The strongest mechanism story in the HPG-axis-restoration class — and the smallest chronic-dosing evidence base of any peptide marketed for it.
Half-life·Kisspeptin-54 plasma half-life is approximately 27.6 minutes…
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11
Research use only
Larazotide
AT-1001 · INN-202 · et al.
Larazotide is the case study the gut-permeability peptide field has had to absorb — a positive Phase IIb signal that did not survive Phase III futility analysis, and a mechanism whose own academic literature has become contested in the same window.
Half-life·Oral, acid-resistant, designed for luminal action in the sma…
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12
Research use only
Melanotan II
MT-II · MT2 · et al.
Melanotan II is the peptide on this site with the most adverse-event case-report literature: melanoma, dysplastic nevi, priapism, rhabdomyolysis, renal infarction, persistent mucosal hyperpigmentation. The pharmacology that drove its commercial appeal is the same pharmacology that produced the FDA-approved spin-off PT-141 at a fraction of the systemic receptor exposure.
Half-life·Plasma half-life approximately 30 to 60 minutes on subcutane…
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13
Research use only
Olcegepant
BIBN 4096 BS · olcegepant
Olcegepant is the proof-of-concept that opened the CGRP-receptor antagonist class — and the molecule that did not reach the market, because intravenous-only dosing made oral formulation impossible and the first-generation oral gepants that followed (telcagepant, MK-3207) were discontinued for hepatotoxicity that the second-generation gepants were specifically engineered around.
Half-life·Terminal plasma half-life of approximately 2.5 hours after s…
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14
Prescription only
Osteoporosis anabolic peptide class (teriparatide, abaloparatide, romosozumab)
teriparatide · Forteo · et al.
The osteoporosis anabolic class is the build-new-bone arm of fracture-prevention pharmacology — distinct from the bisphosphonate and denosumab antiresorptive arm by mechanism, by treatment duration, and by what happens when therapy stops: anabolic gains require a subsequent antiresorptive to be maintained, and the post-anabolic transition is part of the prescription.
Half-life·Teriparatide has a subcutaneous plasma half-life of approxim…
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15
Prescription only
Proteasome inhibitor class (bortezomib, carfilzomib, ixazomib)
bortezomib · Velcade · et al.
The proteasome inhibitor class is the worked example of peptidic pharmacology arriving by way of pharmaceutical chemistry rather than biotechnology — three molecules with a peptide backbone and a C-terminal electrophilic warhead that engage the chymotrypsin-like β5 catalytic site of the 20S proteasome, with bortezomib opening multiple myeloma to a new mechanism in 2003 and the class accumulating two follow-on approvals over the subsequent twelve years.
Half-life·Bortezomib has a multi-compartmental pharmacokinetic profile…
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16
Prescription only
Somatostatin-analog peptide class (octreotide, lanreotide, pasireotide)
octreotide · Sandostatin · et al.
Native somatostatin lasts about two minutes in human plasma. The somatostatin-analog class is the worked example of medicinal chemistry rescuing an endogenous peptide from clinical irrelevance — three molecules, three pharmacokinetic strategies, four decades of pituitary and gastroenteropancreatic-neuroendocrine practice built on top.
Half-life·Native somatostatin-14 and somatostatin-28 are degraded by u…
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17
Prescription only
Ziconotide
Prialt · SNX-111 · et al.
Ziconotide is the cleanest worked example on the site of a marine-venom peptide that translated from invertebrate neurochemistry to FDA approval — and the cleanest worked example of a peptide therapeutic whose mechanism was so potent and so non-selective for its target system that the only viable route of administration is a surgically implanted intrathecal pump.
Half-life·Cerebrospinal-fluid terminal half-life of approximately 4.6 …
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