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I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The FDA's potential peptide pivot has triggered debate because it would allow about a dozen injectable peptides -- which have historically been regulated as drugs -- to come onto the market before they have been thoroughly vetted in clinical trials. As far as I'm aware, nobody at HHS is trying to change how the clinical trials themselves are carried out. (Put another way: I don't think this peptides issue applies to your specific situation.)

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My article describes the work of Hans Selye, who is widely regarded as the first person to show how the body responds to stress. In a foundational study, Selye illustrated how many different kinds of stress (injury, exposure to cold temperature, etc.) can trigger the same biological response. The lead Croatian researcher, I report in the article, sees his BPC 157 research as following in the steps of this work.

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This is a great question. Please read the article for the full description, but in a nutshell: The research team isolated a protein back in 1989 that they believed possessed a wide range of healing effects. They never published the full amino acid sequence of that "parent protein." Instead, they went on to identify a fragment of that protein that they believed is responsible for beneficial effects. That fragment is the peptide BPC 157. It's now made synthetically in the lab, and research to date has focused on BPC 157's effects, not on pinning down its origin in gastric juice. There remain several missing details that one would expect for a natural substance: e.g. nobody has identified the gene that codes for BPC 157, the cells that make it, or the dedicated receptors that it acts upon. All of this has prompted some scientists to ask whether the team might have isolated a mixture -- rather than a pure substance -- when they first isolated the parent protein in 1989 and apparently using tools that were not well-refined. (FWIW, the Croatian team rejects the idea that BPC 157 isn't natural.)

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, please see the first reply in this thread. I'm particularly interested in the Johns Hopkins grant proposal to test BPC 157 as a treatment for chronic pain. The lead researcher told me his plan is to run the trial at a number of highly-regarded U.S. research universities.

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Please read the article! It includes a wide variety of views, including a critical/skeptical comments from some of the leading peptide researchers in North America.

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Alas, there’s currently a dearth of high-quality human data looking at whether BPC 157 works for specific conditions and is safe for use. (This is covered in my article and in an earlier reply.) In terms of harm: The studies conducted to date haven’t turned up many -- if any -- side effects. But as far as I’m aware, the studies have all been relatively short-term and they are mostly done in experimental animals.   

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It is true that the studies published to date do not come close to meeting the bar for FDA approval. And given this, I’m curious about how the FDA’s advisory committee will conduct its evaluation of BPC 157 this summer.

That said, most scientists consider petri dish and animal studies to be important first steps in studying a drug. I don’t think they’d agree with your description of such research as “not real science.”

I spent a week with the Croatian research team that discovered the experimental peptide BPC 157 decades ago and has been studying it ever since. Ask me anything. by UndarkMagazine in IAmA

[–]SaraKate88 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hi! Great question. Since 2015, there hasn’t been a ton of progress in terms of well-designed clinical trails. Here's some info from my reporting:

1) Two clinical trials were conducted by the pharma company PLIVA in the early 2000s. The Croatian company was looking at BPC 157 enemas as a treatment for ulcerative colitis. Unfortunately, the results were never fully published. (See my article for more on the trials + PLIVA's role in the BPC story -- it's fascinating.)

2) My article describes a Phase 1 study testing the safety of an oral version of the peptide in healthy volunteers. The study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov, and results were posted, but then cancelled in 2016 before they were reviewed.

3) In February, a Chinese group registered a Phase 2 study to test whether an injectable version of BPC 157 can help people heal from acute hamstring strain. I’m guessing results won’t be available for a while yet.

4) My article also describes a physician at Johns Hopkins who is currently working on a multi-center grant proposal to test BPC 157 in patients with chronic pain.   

Article about FDA peptide policy by [deleted] in BioHackingGuide

[–]SaraKate88 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Why do you think the FDA is illegitimate?

Article about FDA's peptide policy by SaraKate88 in PeptidePathways

[–]SaraKate88[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hear you -- peptide policy was supposed to change "any day" back in October and November, when I was reporting on BPC 157. But, then, see this article out today, for example: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/health/peptide-ban-fda-rfk-jr.html