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Unregulated Use of Peptides Raises Alarm Among Researchers
The unregulated market has drawn demand because the peptide appears to mimic exercise in mice, researchers said.
- A few months ago, Pinchas Cohen, dean of the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, learned of a thriving online trade in MOTS-c, a peptide that when injected into mice seems to mimic the effects of exercise.
- Frustration with the decade-long traditional drug approval process—requiring at least 10 years and hundreds of millions of dollars—has driven consumers to unregulated online marketplaces, fueled by social media hype and distrust of public health guidance.
- While proponents claim MOTS-c aids weight loss and muscle mass, Cohen warns that no comparable evidence exists for human use, as his lab identified the peptide years ago through research on the 95% of the human genome directing bodily systems.
- A regulatory committee voted to recommend that compounding pharmacies be allowed to manufacture six peptides including MOTS-c, despite concerns that insufficient safety data justifies the move, operating within a loophole where unapproved products retain significant latitude.
- Cohen said if compounded peptides gain approval, society would be transitioning toward consumer-driven health models, reflecting departure from 20th-century physician-dictated care toward consumers demanding wellness products they believe will benefit them.
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left2Leaning Right1Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution77% Center
Bias Distribution
- 77% of the sources are Center
77% Center
15%
C 77%
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