Questions beginners ask

What is a peptide?

A peptide is a short chain of amino acids, the small building blocks that proteins are made from. Your body makes many peptides itself, including the hormone insulin. What are peptides? explains it piece by piece.

What do peptides do?

Inside the body, many peptides work as messengers, carrying signals from one part of the body to another. That describes natural chemistry, not what any product will do for you. The basics page has examples.

Do peptides work?

It depends on which peptide, and for what. Approved medicines that contain semaglutide or tirzepatide were reviewed by the FDA for named uses. Compounded versions were not. Many peptides sold online have mostly lab and animal research behind them: a 2025 review of BPC-157 counted only three small human pilot studies. Nobody can honestly promise what any peptide will do for one particular person.

Are peptides safe?

There is no single answer, because "peptide" covers approved medicines, pharmacy-made ones and research-only vials. For research-only products no one is answerable to you for what is in the vial, it is hard to be sure what it contains, and an injection goes straight past the body's first defences against germs. Are peptides safe? looks at what is known and what is not.

Are peptides legal?

Some are, as prescription medicines. A research-only vial is not a lawful route to treatment: when it is sold for people to use, the FDA treats the sale as illegal. Selling a prescription medicine without a prescription is against the law. Are peptides legal? explains why status differs from one peptide to the next.

What is peptide therapy?

It is an everyday phrase, usually meaning a clinician prescribing a peptide medicine for a health goal. It is not a legal or medical category, so it can cover very different things. Peptide therapy explains what it means and what a first visit involves.

What does "research use only" mean?

It means the product is sold for lab research, labelled not for human use, and no one reviews your health before it is sold. The FDA judges a product by what it is sold for, so a vial sold next to mixing water and a dosing chart is treated as meant for people. Why that label is a warning.

What is a compounded medicine?

It is a medicine a pharmacy makes to order for one patient, from a prescription. It can be legal, but it is never FDA-approved: nobody at the FDA checks that it works, that it is safe, or that it was made well. Words explains this and other terms.

Is compounded semaglutide the same as the approved medicine?

No. Compounded semaglutide is not FDA-approved, and an FDA-approved version exists. The FDA says calling a compounded medicine a generic, or the same as an approved drug, is misleading. Now that the FDA lists neither semaglutide nor tirzepatide as in national shortage, pharmacies are limited in making copies of the approved versions.

Is BPC-157 in FDA Category 2?

Not on the FDA's page current as of April 22, 2026. BPC-157, TB-500 and injectable GHK-Cu appear there as "nominated but withdrawn", which means the requests to allow them were taken back; it is not an approval, and the FDA still prints its safety concerns beside each one. In July 2026 an FDA advisory committee met to discuss seven peptides, BPC-157 and TB-500 among them; FDA staff proposed against listing any of the seven, and as of September 2026 the FDA had published no record of the vote.

Can I see a clinician online?

Yes. The clinician must be licensed in the state where you are during the visit, and the care must meet the same standard as an office visit. A fixed tick-box form with no follow-up questions is not enough. What a first visit involves.

Will I need blood tests?

Maybe. Whether tests are needed depends on the medicine, your health and the rules that apply. Some medicines have specific testing requirements. If an assessment needs a test, the prescriber should arrange it or refer you.

How much does peptide therapy cost?

There is no single price. The bill usually has a visit or monthly membership fee, the medicine itself, and sometimes lab tests, and each varies widely. What finding out can cost shows how the parts add up.

How do I check a provider?

Ask who the prescriber is, which pharmacy makes the medicine, and whether it is FDA-approved, compounded or research-only. You can look up both the prescriber and the pharmacy in your state's public records. Questions to ask any provider is a full checklist.

What if I have a bad reaction?

A severe allergic reaction is an emergency: call 911. If someone takes the wrong amount of a medicine, Poison Control answers at 1-800-222-1222, free, day and night. Anyone can report a problem to the FDA through its MedWatch program.

Do I need a prescription?

For a prescription medicine, yes. A website that will sell you one without a prescription is breaking the law, which is the clearest warning sign there is.

Where should a beginner start?

Start with what peptides are, then read about safety and legal status. If you already have a goal in mind, the goals page explains the ten goal areas in plain words, and first peptides gives a plain first look at six common ones.

Does Neo sell peptides?

No. Neo is a guide, not a clinic, a pharmacy or a seller, and it cannot examine anyone. About Neo explains how the guide is paid for.

What is Promise Peptides' prescribing process?

Promise Peptides is a U.S. telehealth platform. Promise prescribes peptides now through licensed U.S. providers. A licensed U.S. provider reviews every request and your health history, then decides whether to prescribe. Not everyone qualifies, and the answer can be no. U.S. patients only. Availability varies by state and by treatment. Prescribed medicines are prepared by licensed U.S. compounding pharmacies. Each pharmacy separately decides whether it can lawfully prepare a prescription; a prescription does not guarantee it will be filled. Compounded medicines are not FDA-approved. Promise is LegitScript-certified. That certification is not FDA approval.

Ready to ask a clinician?

Promise Peptides is a U.S. telehealth platform. Promise prescribes peptides now through licensed U.S. providers. A licensed U.S. provider reviews every request and your health history, then decides whether to prescribe. Not everyone qualifies, and the answer can be no. Prescribed medicines are prepared by licensed U.S. compounding pharmacies. Each pharmacy separately decides whether it can lawfully prepare a prescription; a prescription does not guarantee it will be filled. Compounded medicines are not FDA-approved. How Neo is paid for sets out the rest. U.S. patients only. Availability varies by state and by treatment. Promise is LegitScript-certified. That certification is not FDA approval.

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Neo may earn money when readers become Promise patients.

Sources

1. Compounding and the FDA: Questions and AnswersU.S. Food and Drug Administration
2. FDA to Telehealth Companies: What to Know When Promoting Compounded DrugsU.S. Food and Drug Administration
3. FDA clarifies policies for compounders as national GLP-1 supply begins to stabilizeU.S. Food and Drug Administration
4. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety RisksU.S. Food and Drug Administration
5. Regeneration or Risk? A Narrative Review of BPC-157 for Musculoskeletal Healing (Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med, 2025)PubMed
6. The Appropriate Use of Telemedicine Technologies in the Practice of Medicine (2022)Federation of State Medical Boards
7. 21 U.S.C. 353, prescription drugsOffice of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
8. Anaphylaxis, MedlinePlus Medical EncyclopediaU.S. National Library of Medicine
9. Medication errors: What to knowPoison Control (National Capital Poison Center)
10. MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting ProgramU.S. Food and Drug Administration