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PeptidesEvidence IndexSep 2026

Best Peptides by Goal: The 2026 Evidence Index

Best peptides is a search that assumes a clean winner list exists. It does not. The word peptide covers two very different things sold side by side: a small set of approved prescription drugs with large human trials behind them, and a much larger set of research compounds whose evidence is animal only, preliminary, or absent.1 This index ranks the compounds people search for by goal, and inside each goal by how strong the human evidence actually is, from regulatory-grade trials down to a complete absence of human studies.2 It is a map, not a menu. It does not tell anyone what to take.

~21%

Best approved weight-loss result at 72 weeks (tirzepatide)

35 to 1

BPC-157 studies that are preclinical versus clinical

0

Published human efficacy trials for MOTS-c, AOD-9604 or 5-amino-1MQ

This is general education, not medical or legal advice. Several compounds below are unapproved research compounds, not approved medicines, and animal results do not carry over to people.1 Every dose figure on this page is the exact dose used in the cited study, shown to explain the research, and it is not a recommendation, a protocol, or a source. Many of these peptides are prohibited in competitive sport.43 Confirm the status of any product with a licensed doctor and, in Vietnam, with the Drug Administration of Vietnam.

How to read this index

The useful question is not which peptide is best, it is how much is actually known about each one. A 2026 review of peptide therapies makes the split plainly: numerous peptide drugs have gone through a rigorous approval process that evaluates both safety and efficacy, while a parallel gray market of unapproved compounds has emerged that operates largely outside regulatory oversight, with favorable animal outcomes but scarce human safety data.1 Reviewers now sort these compounds into evidence tiers, from randomized trial data at one end to a complete absence of human studies at the other.2 That tiering is the backbone of this page.

  • Tier 1, approved with pivotal trials: FDA-approved peptide medicines backed by pivotal randomized controlled trials, such as semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide, setmelanotide and tesamorelin.
  • Tier 2, real trials but not FDA approved: compounds with genuine human trials that are approved only abroad or still investigational, such as mazdutide, retatrutide, survodutide and cagrilintide.
  • Tier 3, supplement grade: oral and topical peptides for skin, with modest randomized evidence and frequent risk-of-bias caveats.
  • Tier 4, animal or preclinical only: compounds whose evidence is animal, in vitro, or absent in humans, such as BPC-157, AOD-9604 and MOTS-c. One of them, 5-amino-1MQ, is not even a peptide.

Two cautions carry through the whole index. First, being sold as a peptide does not make something a peptide: 5-amino-1MQ is a single small molecule, not a chain of amino acids, and it is covered here only because it is marketed in the same aisle.48 Second, a product record is not an approval: retatrutide has a DailyMed listing, but its category is Export only and its labeler is an e-commerce company, not the drug developer.30 Keep both in mind as you read.

The index at a glance

One table, every compound this guide covers, sorted roughly by how much human evidence stands behind it. The dose column shows the exact figure used in the cited study. It is a study figure only, never a recommendation, a protocol, or advice, and this page does not tell anyone what to take.

CompoundWhat it isStatusStudy dose (not a recommendation)Strongest reported result
Semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic)GLP-1 receptor agonist, peptide. FDA approved 2017.Approved (US)2.4 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 33567185)Body weight down 14.9% vs 2.4% on placebo at 68 weeks
Tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro)GIP and GLP-1 agonist, peptide. FDA approved 2022.Approved (US)5, 10 or 15 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 35658024)Down 15.0% to 20.9% by dose vs 3.1% on placebo at 72 weeks
Liraglutide (Saxenda)GLP-1 agonist, peptide. FDA approved 2010.Approved (US)3.0 mg once daily (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 26132939)8.4 kg lost vs 2.8 kg on placebo at 56 weeks
Setmelanotide (Imcivree)MC4R agonist, 8 amino acid peptide. FDA approved 2020, rare genetic and hypothalamic obesity only.Approved (narrow)Up to 3.0 mg once daily (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 36356613)Significant loss in Bardet-Biedl syndrome, inconclusive in Alstrom (n=38)
Tesamorelin (Egrifta)GHRH analogue, 44 amino acid peptide. FDA approved 2010, HIV lipodystrophy.Approved (narrow)2 mg once daily (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 18057338)Visceral fat reduced, but the label states it is weight neutral
MazdutideGlucagon and GLP-1 agonist, peptide.Approved in China only9 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 42251595)Down 16.65% vs 1.50% on placebo at 60 weeks, Chinese adults
RetatrutideGIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple agonist, peptide.Not approved anywhereUp to 12 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 37366315)Down 24.2% at 48 weeks, phase 2, not a completed obesity approval
SurvodutideGlucagon and GLP-1 agonist, peptide.InvestigationalUp to 6.0 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 42253238)Down 13.0% vs 5.4% on placebo at 76 weeks
Cagrilintide and CagriSemaAmylin analogue, alone or with semaglutide, peptide.Investigational2.4 mg of each once weekly, CagriSema (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 40544433)Down 20.4% vs 3.0% on placebo at 68 weeks (CagriSema)
AOD-9604Growth hormone fragment (hGH 176-191), peptide. Unapproved.Animal onlyNo human trial. Rats given 500 micrograms per kilogram (animal study, rats, oral, PMID 11146367)Reduced weight gain in rats, no published human efficacy trial
BPC-157Synthetic peptide. Unapproved.Early human pilotsThe FDA identified five clinical studies, among them a meeting abstract of a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study of a PL 14736 enema, 80 mg once daily for two weeks in 53 people with ulcerative colitis (trial dose, not a recommendation, FDA briefing document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 2026)A systematic review counted 36 studies, 35 preclinical and 1 clinical, with no clinical safety data (PMID 40756949). A placebo controlled phase 2 trial in hamstring strain, 120 participants, is registered and recruiting, with no results posted
MOTS-c16 amino acid mitochondrial peptide. Unapproved.Animal onlyNo human administration trial. Mice, dose not stated in the abstract (animal study, mice, PMID 25738459)FDA states no human exposure data by any route
5-amino-1MQSmall molecule NNMT inhibitor, about 159 daltons. Not a peptide.Animal onlyNo human trial. Obese mice dosed once daily for 28 days, dose not stated in the abstract (animal study, mice, PMID 39161060)Limited fat gain in mice, no registered human trials
Oral and topical skin peptidesShort peptides in supplements and cosmetics.Supplement gradeDose not stated in the abstract (meta-analysis, PMID 41924746)Modest wrinkle reduction, driven by oral formulas, well tolerated
Hydrolyzed collagen peptidesOral collagen-derived peptides.Supplement gradeDose not stated in the abstract (systematic review, PMID 42342959)Hydration and wrinkle gains in most trials, but majority high risk of bias

The rest of this page walks the same compounds goal by goal, with the sourcing and safety context that a single table cannot hold.

Best peptides for weight loss

This is the goal with the most real evidence, and almost all of it belongs to the approved GLP-1 and dual-agonist drugs. In the only head-to-head randomized trial of the two market leaders, tirzepatide reduced body weight by 20.2% and semaglutide by 13.7% at 72 weeks.9 In their pivotal trials, semaglutide, an approved GLP-1 peptide,3 was given at 2.4 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 33567185) and cut weight by 14.9% versus 2.4% on placebo,4 while tirzepatide, an approved dual GIP and GLP-1 peptide,7 at 5, 10 or 15 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 35658024) reached 15.0% to 20.9% by dose versus 3.1% on placebo.8 Semaglutide is also the only compound here with a hard cardiovascular outcome trial, which found fewer major cardiovascular events in people with overweight or obesity and established heart disease.5 The deeper picture for one of them lives in the semaglutide guide, and the two are compared in full in the tirzepatide vs semaglutide guide.

Liraglutide, an approved GLP-1 peptide,11 at 3.0 mg once daily (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 26132939) is the oldest and weakest of the approved set, at about 8.4 kg lost versus 2.8 kg on placebo over 56 weeks, useful mainly as the baseline the newer drugs improved on.12 Two approved peptides are commonly misfiled under weight loss. Setmelanotide was first approved in 2020 for rare genetic forms of obesity,15 and its label now also covers acquired hypothalamic obesity but still excludes ordinary polygenic obesity,14 with a registrational evidence base of only a few dozen people, significant in some conditions but inconclusive in others such as Alstrom syndrome,1617 and adverse events in every participant of its largest trial.18 Tesamorelin, approved in 2010 for HIV-associated fat,20 is the sharpest trap: its own label states it is weight neutral and not a weight-loss drug,19 and a 2026 meta-analysis of its five trials found no significant change in BMI.22

Below the approval line sits a cluster of compounds with genuine trials but no FDA approval, which is where most of the online marketing comes from. Mazdutide is approved in China but not the United States,2325 and at 9 mg once weekly (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 42251595) it cut weight by 16.65% versus 1.50% on placebo in Chinese adults, with vomiting in 53% of that group.24 Retatrutide is the number the gray market advertises, a 24.2% reduction, but that figure is from 48 weeks of a phase 2 trial in 338 people (trial result, not a recommendation, PMID 37366315), not a finished obesity approval,27 and while a phase 3 trial in type 2 diabetes has reported, its phase 3 obesity program is still ongoing.2628 Survodutide reached 13.0% at 76 weeks (trial result, not a recommendation, PMID 42253238) but carried gastrointestinal side effects in nearly 90% of the higher-dose group.35 Cagrilintide is an amylin analogue, a different mechanism from GLP-1,37 and on its own it reached roughly liraglutide-tier weight loss in phase 2;38 combined with semaglutide as CagriSema it reported 20.4% versus 3.0% on placebo at 68 weeks, and 13.7% in people with type 2 diabetes.3940 None of these four is approved in the United States.293641

Two facts cut across the whole category. The muscle-loss worry that gets attached to these drugs is largely a class myth: a 2026 meta-analysis found that lean mass made up 25% to 39% of the weight lost on incretin drugs, statistically indistinguishable from dieting, and that resistance training, not the drug choice, is what protects it.13 And the effect depends on continued use: in the semaglutide withdrawal trial, stopping led to regaining roughly two-thirds of the lost weight,6 and the tirzepatide withdrawal trial likewise showed substantial regain of lost weight after stopping.10 At the bottom of this goal sits AOD-9604, a growth hormone fragment marketed for fat loss whose evidence is covered under muscle and the GH axis below, because it has no human efficacy trial at all.2

Best peptides for recovery and healing

This is the goal where the gap between reputation and evidence is widest. BPC-157 is the headline compound, and a 2025 systematic review is the clearest look at what actually exists: of 36 included studies, 35 were preclinical and only 1 was clinical, and the review stated that no clinical safety data were found.42 The single clinical entry was a retrospective report in which 7 of 12 people with chronic knee pain described relief lasting more than 6 months after an injection (dose not stated in the abstract, PMID 40756949).42 The review concluded that BPC-157 shows promise for musculoskeletal recovery, on level IV and level V evidence, which is honest shorthand for early and low-certainty. It is not FDA approved, and the World Anti-Doping Agency lists it as a substance with no approval by any government health authority for human therapeutic use.43

The other names in this aisle, thymosin beta-4 and its derivative TB-500, sit in the same evidence bracket: named on the prohibited list as growth factors affecting tissue repair, without the human trial base that would let anyone call them proven.43 The pattern to notice is that a real biological rationale and a genuine animal signal are not the same as a demonstrated human benefit, and for recovery peptides the human half is mostly missing. The category as a whole is walked through in the best peptides for injury healing guide.

Best peptides for muscle and the GH axis

The muscle and anti-aging aisle is built almost entirely on the growth hormone axis, and almost none of it is approved for that use. The growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogues, such as CJC-1295 and sermorelin, and the growth-hormone secretagogues, such as ibutamoren and ipamorelin, are research compounds, all named on the 2026 anti-doping list and prohibited at all times.43 The one approved growth-hormone-releasing peptide, tesamorelin, is approved only for HIV-associated visceral fat, is weight neutral by its own label, and its pivotal 2 mg daily trials measured visceral fat on a scan rather than muscle or bodyweight (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 18057338).1921 How the hormone itself compares to these peptides is the subject of the HGH vs peptides guide.

AOD-9604, a fragment of growth hormone marketed for fat loss and joint repair, is the clearest example of how thin this evidence can be. Its fat-loss reputation rests on a study in obese rats, dosed orally at 500 micrograms per kilogram for 19 days, where it reduced weight gain by more than half (animal study, rats, oral, PMID 11146367),53 and its joint reputation rests on an intra-articular study in 32 rabbits (animal study, rabbits, intra-articular, PMID 26275694).54 Human obesity trials were reported as underway back in 2002, but nothing has been published from them since,55 and the FDA, which evaluated AOD-9604 for obesity in a compounding review,56 states it has identified no or only limited safety information.45 Note that the rat study used the oral route, while the product is sold for injection.

For anyone whose real goal is protecting muscle, the evidence points away from exotic peptides and toward training. The same meta-analysis that debunked the GLP-1 muscle-loss scare found that resistance training produced the most favorable lean-mass profile of any approach studied.13 The wider category, and the compounds people compare, are covered in the best peptides for muscle growth and fat loss guide and individual profiles such as ipamorelin, CJC-1295 and tesamorelin.

Best peptides for skin and anti-aging

Skin is the one goal outside the injectable drugs where the evidence is real, modest, and oral or topical rather than injected. A 2026 meta-analysis of 19 randomized trials in 1,341 people found that peptides significantly improved skin hydration and brightness, with a small pooled effect on wrinkle reduction that was largely driven by oral polypeptides, and that they were well tolerated.57 Hydrolyzed collagen tells a similar story with a bigger asterisk: a systematic review of 25 trials found improvements in hydration, elasticity and wrinkle depth in most of them, but the majority of those trials were rated at high risk of bias, so the effect is promising rather than settled.58

Copper peptide GHK-Cu is often listed in the same breath, and it appears in the published roster of direct-to-consumer peptides,1 so it is named here without an evidence claim rather than promoted. The honest summary for skin is that oral peptides and collagen offer a small, well-tolerated cosmetic benefit, which is a very different proposition from the injectable compounds elsewhere on this page. The full breakdown is in the best peptides for anti-aging guide.

Best peptides for longevity and mitochondria

The longevity aisle sells the biggest promises on the thinnest human data. MOTS-c is a genuine 16 amino acid peptide encoded in mitochondrial DNA, and the 2015 mouse study that started its reputation showed it prevented diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice (animal study, mice, dose not stated in the abstract, PMID 25738459).44 Eleven years later the human column is still empty: the FDA states it has identified no human exposure data for MOTS-c by any route.45 An exploratory 2026 study actually cuts against the sales pitch, finding that circulating MOTS-c is higher, not lower, in people with obesity, and does not change after weight loss.46 A single MOTS-c administration trial appears in the registry, but it is unconfirmed, because a sibling record from the same registrant is self-labelled a mock study, so no human result can be claimed from it.47

5-amino-1MQ is the clearest mislabel in this whole index. It is sold beside peptides, but it is not one: it is a single small molecule, a quaternary quinolinium cation with the formula C10H11N2+ and a molecular weight of about 159 daltons, with no amino acid residues at all, next to setmelanotide at about 1,117 daltons.48 It is a nicotinamide N-methyltransferase inhibitor,49 studied in obese mice once daily for 28 days where it limited fat gain (animal study, mice, dose not stated in the abstract, PMID 39161060),51 and a 2026 review still describes the field as working on preclinical success with unknown safety profiles.50 There are no registered human trials of it.52 For the molecule people actually mean when they talk about cellular energy and aging, the NAD+ benefits guide sticks to what the science shows.

The research peptide gray market

Most of the compounds in the lower tiers reach people through an unregulated channel, and the risk there is not only the pharmacology. The FDA has warned companies for illegally selling unapproved drugs containing semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, survodutide or mazdutide, falsely labelled for research purposes or not for human consumption, and has urged consumers not to buy these products of unknown quality.32 The unknown-quality part is measurable: when three products sold as retatrutide were analysed in Australia, they contained real retatrutide but at 51%, 165% and 190% of the labelled amount, meaning a buyer could not know whether a dose was half or nearly double what the vial claimed.33

The consequences show up in the clinical literature. The FDA has logged 990 adverse-event reports tied to compounded semaglutide and more than 730 tied to compounded tirzepatide, and notes those figures are likely underreported.32 A 2026 case report describes a man with type 1 diabetes who developed severe vomiting, dehydration and rising ketones after self-administering an online product marketed as retatrutide, although the authors are careful that causation cannot be established and a concurrent Shigella infection confounded the picture.34 The retatrutide DailyMed listing that gets cited as proof of legitimacy is itself part of the problem: its marketing category is Export only, and all ten of its registry records come from a single Chinese cross-border e-commerce labeler, not the company that owns the molecule.3031

The practical takeaway is narrow and honest: with an unregulated injectable, careful reconstitution math cannot fix an unknown starting amount, because the content itself is not what the label says.33 If mixing is the question at all, the peptide reconstitution calculator shows the arithmetic, but it cannot verify what is in the vial.

Peptides in Vietnam

In Vietnam the split between approved medicines and research compounds is visible right in the pharmacy channel. The approved GLP-1 drugs are registered and gated: Ozempic carries the Vietnamese marketing authorisation number 570410174600 and Saxenda carries 570410090923, and the largest chain, Long Chau, lists both as prescription-only items that require a doctor order, with no price displayed.5960 In Vietnamese, the field labels to recognise are So dang ky for the registration number, Quy cach for pack size, and Thanh phan for composition.59

The research peptides are simply not there. A search of that same chain for ipamorelin returns zero products,61 and a search for peptide returns functional foods and a Nestle peptide-based nutrition formula rather than any injectable peptide drug.62 That is the honest retail picture: the approved medicines exist behind a prescription, and the compounds sold online as research peptides do not appear in the regulated pharmacy channel at all. Anyone weighing a purchase should confirm the current status with the Drug Administration of Vietnam rather than a forum, and the local picture for the approved drugs is in the semaglutide in Vietnam guide.

Banned in sport

If a reader competes under the World Anti-Doping Code, most of this index is off limits at all times, in and out of competition. The 2026 Prohibited List names growth hormone with its analogues and fragments, including AOD-9604, the growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogues such as CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin, the growth-hormone secretagogues such as ibutamoren and ipamorelin, and thymosin beta-4 with its derivatives such as TB-500, all under the peptide hormones and growth factors category.43 MOTS-c is listed separately as a metabolic modulator, and BPC-157 is listed as an unapproved substance with no government health-authority approval.43 An approved drug can still be a doping violation: tesamorelin is FDA approved and still prohibited in sport. The list is updated annually, so athletes should confirm the current version directly with the anti-doping authority they answer to.

The short version

  • Rank peptides by evidence, not popularity. The strongest human data belongs to the approved GLP-1 and dual-agonist weight-loss drugs.
  • For weight loss, tirzepatide and semaglutide have the largest trials; setmelanotide is rare-disease only and tesamorelin is weight neutral by its own label.
  • Retatrutide, survodutide, mazdutide and CagriSema have real trials but are investigational or approved only abroad, not by the FDA.
  • For recovery, muscle and longevity, most named peptides (BPC-157, AOD-9604, MOTS-c) are animal or preclinical only, and 5-amino-1MQ is not a peptide at all.
  • For skin, oral peptides and collagen show a small, well-tolerated cosmetic benefit, with frequent risk-of-bias caveats.
  • In one analysis, products sold as retatrutide contained 51% to 190% of the labelled amount, most of these compounds are banned in sport, and none of this is medical advice.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best peptides for weight loss?+

By evidence, the peptides with the strongest published trials are the FDA-approved GLP-1 and dual-agonist drugs. In head-to-head and pivotal trials, tirzepatide cut body weight by about 20 percent and semaglutide by about 14 to 15 percent over 68 to 72 weeks, versus a few percent on placebo. Those are trial results, not recommendations, and both are prescription medicines. A newer agent, retatrutide, reports an even larger figure, and CagriSema reports figures in the same range as tirzepatide, but both are investigational and not approved in the United States, and the muscle-building or fat-burning research peptides sold online do not have comparable human evidence. This page ranks them all by evidence level rather than by marketing, and it does not tell anyone what to take.

Are research peptides like BPC-157 and MOTS-c safe and effective?+

The honest answer is that the evidence is mostly preclinical. A 2025 systematic review of BPC-157 found 36 studies, of which 35 were preclinical and only 1 was clinical, and it stated that no clinical safety data were found. For MOTS-c the US FDA has stated it has identified no human exposure data by any route of administration. So these are compounds with animal signals and real biological rationale, but without the human safety and efficacy trials that would let anyone call them safe or effective in people. Neither is FDA approved, and both are prohibited in competitive sport.

Is retatrutide FDA approved?+

No. Retatrutide is a triple receptor agonist still in phase 3 obesity trials, and a Drugs@FDA search returns no approved application for it, while the same search returns approvals for semaglutide and tirzepatide. The FDA has stated that retatrutide has not been found safe and effective for any condition. A DailyMed product listing for retatrutide does exist, but its marketing category is Export only and its labeler is a Chinese cross-border e-commerce company, not the drug developer, so that listing is a registration artifact, not an FDA approval.

Is 5-amino-1MQ a peptide?+

No. Despite being sold alongside peptides, 5-amino-1MQ is a small molecule, a single quaternary quinolinium cation with the formula C10H11N2+ and a molecular weight of about 159 daltons, with no amino acid residues and no peptide backbone. For scale, the peptide setmelanotide weighs about 1,117 daltons. It is a nicotinamide N-methyltransferase inhibitor studied in obese mice, and there are no registered human trials of it.

Are peptides available in pharmacies in Vietnam?+

The approved GLP-1 medicines are. Ozempic and Saxenda both carry Vietnamese marketing authorisation numbers and are listed by the pharmacy chain Long Chau as prescription-only items that require a doctor order, with no price shown. The research peptides sold online are a different story: a search for ipamorelin on that chain returns zero products, and a search for peptide returns functional foods and an enteral nutrition formula rather than any injectable peptide drug. Confirm the current regulatory status of any product with the Drug Administration of Vietnam.

Are these peptides banned in sport?+

Most of the performance and recovery peptides are. The 2026 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List covers growth hormone analogues and fragments including AOD-9604, the growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogues such as CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin, the growth-hormone secretagogues such as ibutamoren and ipamorelin, thymosin beta-4 and its derivatives such as TB-500, and the metabolic modulator MOTS-c. BPC-157 is listed separately as an unapproved substance. All are prohibited at all times, in and out of competition.

Sources and references

Every figure on this page traces to one of these fetched sources. Numbers match the citation markers in the text.

  1. 1.George MP, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Medicine narrative review, 2026. PMID 41966639. PubMed 41966639
  2. 2.Narrative review, the emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating the GH-IGF1 axis, stratifying peptides into evidence tiers from randomized trial data to a complete absence of human studies. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2026. PMID 42395176. PubMed 42395176
  3. 3.WEGOVY (semaglutide) injection and tablet, prescribing information, DailyMed. Initial US approval 2017. DailyMed WEGOVY
  4. 4.Wilding JPH, et al. Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity (STEP 1). New England Journal of Medicine, 2021. PMID 33567185. PubMed 33567185
  5. 5.Lincoff AM, et al. Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes (SELECT). New England Journal of Medicine, 2023. PMID 37952131. PubMed 37952131
  6. 6.Wilding JPH, et al. Weight regain and cardiometabolic effects after withdrawal of semaglutide, the STEP 1 trial extension. 2022. PMID 35441470. PubMed 35441470
  7. 7.ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide) injection, prescribing information, DailyMed. Initial US approval 2022. DailyMed ZEPBOUND
  8. 8.Jastreboff AM, et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity (SURMOUNT-1). New England Journal of Medicine, 2022. PMID 35658024. PubMed 35658024
  9. 9.Aronne LJ, et al. Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity (SURMOUNT-5). New England Journal of Medicine, 2025. PMID 40353578. PubMed 40353578
  10. 10.Aronne LJ, et al. Continued Treatment With Tirzepatide for Maintenance of Weight Reduction (SURMOUNT-4). 2023. PMID 38078870. PubMed 38078870
  11. 11.SAXENDA (liraglutide) injection, prescribing information, DailyMed. Initial US approval 2010. DailyMed SAXENDA
  12. 12.Pi-Sunyer X, et al. A Randomized, Controlled Trial of 3.0 mg of Liraglutide in Weight Management (SCALE). New England Journal of Medicine, 2015. PMID 26132939. PubMed 26132939
  13. 13.Lean Mass Changes With Incretin Therapy Versus Lifestyle Intervention, a systematic review and meta-analysis of 20 randomised controlled trials (15,782 participants). 2026. PMID 41877354. PubMed 41877354
  14. 14.IMCIVREE (setmelanotide) injection, prescribing information, openFDA structured product label. openFDA IMCIVREE label
  15. 15.Drugs@FDA record for IMCIVREE (setmelanotide), NDA 213793, sponsor Rhythm, original approval 25 November 2020, priority review, new molecular entity, orphan. openFDA drugsfda endpoint. openFDA setmelanotide NDA213793
  16. 16.Clement K, et al. Efficacy and safety of setmelanotide in severe obesity due to LEPR or POMC deficiency, single-arm phase 3 trials. 2020. PMID 33137293. PubMed 33137293
  17. 17.Haqq AM, et al. Efficacy and safety of setmelanotide in Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Alstrom syndrome, phase 3 trial. 2022. PMID 36356613. PubMed 36356613
  18. 18.Setmelanotide for the Treatment of Acquired Hypothalamic Obesity (TRANSCEND), phase 3 trial. 2026. PMID 42418774. PubMed 42418774
  19. 19.EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin) prescribing information, openFDA structured product label. openFDA EGRIFTA label
  20. 20.Drugs@FDA record for EGRIFTA (tesamorelin), BLA 022505, sponsor Theratechnologies, original approval 10 November 2010. openFDA drugsfda endpoint. openFDA tesamorelin BLA022505
  21. 21.Falutz J, et al. Metabolic effects of a growth hormone-releasing factor (tesamorelin) in patients with HIV. New England Journal of Medicine, 2007. PMID 18057338. PubMed 18057338
  22. 22.Body composition, hepatic fat, metabolic and safety outcomes of tesamorelin in HIV-associated lipodystrophy, a meta-analysis of five randomized controlled trials. 2026. PMID 41545261. PubMed 41545261
  23. 23.Mazdutide: First Approval (China, 2025). Drugs, 2025. PMID 41028652. PubMed 41028652
  24. 24.Treatment With 9-mg Mazdutide for Weight Reduction in Chinese Adults With Obesity (GLORY-2), randomized clinical trial. 2026. PMID 42251595. PubMed 42251595
  25. 25.openFDA Drugs@FDA query for mazdutide, result NOT_FOUND, no matches. No approved US application. openFDA mazdutide (null)
  26. 26.Retatrutide for the treatment of obesity, obstructive sleep apnea and knee osteoarthritis, rationale and design of the TRIUMPH phase 3 trials. 2026. PMID 41090431. PubMed 41090431
  27. 27.Jastreboff AM, et al. Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity, a Phase 2 Trial. New England Journal of Medicine, 2023. PMID 37366315. PubMed 37366315
  28. 28.Efficacy and safety of retatrutide in people with type 2 diabetes (TRANSCEND-T2D-1), phase 3 trial. 2026. PMID 42250575. PubMed 42250575
  29. 29.openFDA Drugs@FDA query for retatrutide, result NOT_FOUND, no matches, while the identical query returns approvals for semaglutide and tirzepatide. No approved US application. openFDA retatrutide (null)
  30. 30.DailyMed structured product label, RETATRUTIDE PEN, marketing status Export only, labeler Guangzhou Yixin Cross-border E-commerce Co., Ltd., no application number. Updated 29 October 2025. DailyMed retatrutide (export only)
  31. 31.DailyMed SPL search for retatrutide, 10 records, all from the single labeler Guangzhou Yixin Cross-border E-commerce Co., Ltd., in strengths up to 40 mg. DailyMed retatrutide SPL search
  32. 32.US Food and Drug Administration, FDA Concerns with Unapproved GLP-1 Drugs Used for Weight Loss. Content current as of 1 September 2026. FDA unapproved GLP-1 drugs
  33. 33.Composition and Labelling Accuracy of Products Sold as Retatrutide in Australia, analytical letter. PMC13445994. PMC13445994
  34. 34.Online-Sourced Retatrutide Complicating Impending Diabetic Ketoacidosis in a Patient With Type 1 Diabetes, case report. 2026. PMID 42669023. PubMed 42669023
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  57. 57.Oral and topical peptides for skin aging, systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials (1,341 participants). 2026. PMID 41924746. PubMed 41924746
  58. 58.Efficacy and safety of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation on skin health, systematic review of 25 randomized controlled trials, majority high risk of bias. 2026. PMID 42342959. PubMed 42342959
  59. 59.Long Chau pharmacy product page, Ozempic 1 mg (semaglutide), Vietnam registration number 570410174600, prescription-only, no price displayed. Fetched 6 September 2026. Long Chau Ozempic listing
  60. 60.Long Chau pharmacy product page, Saxenda 6 mg/mL (liraglutide), Vietnam registration number 570410090923, prescription-only. Fetched 6 September 2026. Long Chau Saxenda listing
  61. 61.Long Chau site search for ipamorelin, page loaded (HTTP 200) with zero product results. Fetched 6 September 2026. Long Chau ipamorelin search
  62. 62.Long Chau site search for peptide, returns functional foods and a Nestle peptide-based enteral formula, zero injectable peptide drugs. Fetched 6 September 2026. Long Chau peptide search

Related reading

Ozempic Alternatives

Other weight-loss drugs and how they compare

Best Peptides for Muscle Growth and Fat Loss

The GH-axis compounds and what they rest on

Best Peptides for Injury Healing

BPC-157 and the recovery evidence, in full

Best Peptides for Anti-Aging

Oral and topical peptides for skin aging

HGH vs Peptides

The hormone compared to the peptides that release it

Semaglutide in Vietnam

The approved GLP-1 drug, locally

This guide is for educational purposes only and is not medical or legal advice. It describes what published research and current regulations say; it is not an endorsement or an instruction to use any compound, and the dose figures shown are study figures, not recommendations. Many of the compounds discussed are unapproved research compounds. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any decision about your health.

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