If you heard about peptide therapy online this year, chances are you also heard about the “wolverine stack,” a mix of peptides injected by biohackers, pilates influencers and tech execs for its alleged ability to supercharge muscle growth and speed ligament and gut recovery. You may also have discovered the “glow protocol” adopted by TikTok wellness influencers, which is said to promote skin health, reduce inflammation and deliver supercharged anti-aging benefits.
It’s all part of the rise of injectable peptide therapy, a controversial wellness practice that has grown in popularity this year. The problem? Most injectable peptides are technically illegal to manufacture for human use, and most come with scant research. Plus, doctors warn of safety and purity issues plaguing the market. And peptides are one way athletes get in trouble for “doping” before Olympic competition.
Still, it didn’t stop the trend from barreling into the mainstream in 2025.
Peptides are short-chain amino acids that occur naturally in the body. In the simplest terms, peptides act as signaling molecules, telling the body how to use its energy and resources. Some providers explain them in social content as text messages to the body: ‘Heal that torn tendon!’ or ‘Reduce inflammation in the gut!’
Well-known peptides include insulin, created in 1922 and used to treat type I diabetes. GLP-1s are peptides, too — and have been taken by an estimated one in six Americans for fat and weight loss. But this is just a teaser for what peptides can do, experts told Glossy.
There are many well-studied peptides not available in the U.S., like Semax, a peptide for stroke victims, and Selank, prescribed for anxiety. Both are available in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Then there are the peptides in the popular “peptide stacks” mentioned above — all of which have science-y names like TB-500 or GHK-Cu. But it’s BPC-157, also called the “body protection compound,” that anchors both stacks mentioned above and is the most popular among biohackers today.
BPC-157 is hailed in fitness circles online as a miracle drug for its ability to accelerate muscle recovery, heal ligament and tendon injuries, improve blood flow, and reduce inflammation in the gut, along with a laundry list of other alleged benefits. One Los Angeles-based doctor Glossy spoke to, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the potential is remarkable, but safety is a major concern until formulating, manufacturing, dosing and distribution can be regulated by the FDA. Some known risks of using peptides today include injection site reactions, organ strain and allergic reactions, for example, especially when used without the care of a doctor.
Similar to GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegoy, BPC-157 is a synthetic version of a naturally occurring compound found in human gastric juice.
Fitness influencers like Liana Levi, founder of Forma Pilates, have routinely raved during Instagram AMAs about BPC-157’s power to build muscle tone and heal old injuries. Podcaster Joe Rogan told his listeners in 2021 and 2023 that it helped heal his old sports injuries. Meanwhile, on the podcast Modern Wisdom, actor Jeremy Renner said it helped him recover from a near-fatal snowplow accident in 2023 .
“[Peptides] aren’t really new, but [all of a sudden], they’re just everywhere,” said Dr. Jonathan Leary, a former Los Angeles concierge doctor turned founder and CEO of Remedy Place, a privately-held wellness center launched in 2019 with locations in West Hollywood, Manhattan and Boston. “All of a sudden, in the past five or six months, everyone’s learning about peptides like crazy on TikTok and social media.”
This is, in part, because of a Tweet posted in October of 2024 by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” he wrote. “This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells…and anything else that advances human health and can’t be patented by Pharma.”
In a few seconds, peptide therapy, which is not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, went from illegal to gray area — and set off an avalanche of change across content, commerce and culture. Still, it’s difficult to know just how many people are using peptide therapy today.
“The rise of innovative delivery systems, such as vitamin injections and IV drips, has paved the way for interest in injectable formats, but there is limited data on their specific growth trajectory,” said Anna Keller, principal beauty and personal care analyst at Mintel market research company. “The current administration’s potential easing of FDA restrictions could play a pivotal role in accelerating this trend.”
According to Mintel, 3.7 million people globally will be 100 years old or older by 2050, eight times as many as in 2015, which is one reason why consumers are making concerted efforts to improve health and live longer.
“The genie is out of the bottle with peptides,” said Jay Campbell, a leading voice in the U.S. peptide community and author of five health- and longevity-focused books including bestseller “The Testosterone Optimization Therapy Bible.” “We know what they can do. We know that there are millions of people in the world now using them for various reasons. So it’ll be really, really hard for the FDA, or any other government oversight, to regulate them. … 2026 is going to be a very interesting year.”
Campbell is a first mover in the space: In November of 2024, a month after RFK, Jr. made his declaration, he launched BioLongevity Labs, an e-commerce seller of peptides and bioregulators. He co-founded the company with Josh Felber, formerly the CMO of dental care company Primal Life Organics, and YouTube content creator Hunter Williams.
Campbell isn’t nervous about operating in a gray market — he told Glossy that his team anticipates a marked change coming from the Trump administration in 2026 that will further energize the market.
In a September article in “The San Francisco Standard,” physician Dr. Molly Maloof, a Stanford lecturer and media personality who reportedly treats many tech execs using peptides today, was quoted as saying that “we’re going to see a lot of the gray market become the white market in the next decade.”
There are also several international pharmaceutical companies pouring money into alternative delivery systems, like transdermal patches, to appeal to needle-adverse users — these could hit the market in the next 18 months.
However, price is also a hurdle for most, which could drop if U.S.-based manufacturers have FDA approval to launch and scale operations. Currently, most peptides are created by compounding pharmacies that source the peptides from the U.S., India or China, then make their own small batches. Users’ monthly cost can range from hundreds to thousands. One peptide therapy patient who Glossy spoke to in Los Angeles, but preferred to remain anonymous, pays just under $500 per month to a longevity center for the “wolverwine stack,” a mix of BPC-157 and TB-500. Similar to many other users, she was prescribed a multi-week cycle that includes several self-administered injections per week separated by rest days.
“Could there be a peptide for everything that we’re trying to achieve? It has the potential to be one of the biggest advancements in healthcare in general,” Dr. Leary told Glossy. He has offered peptide therapy in his Los Angeles Remedy Place location for years, but to meet the moment happening now, he expanded the offering to New York and Boston in November. “Peptides are going to be a major part of our future.”
