BPC-157
Also written: Bepecin · PL-14736 · PL 14736 · Body Protection Compound 157
BPC-157 is a 15-amino-acid peptide with animal data, almost no human trials and no published human half-life. FDA advisory-committee status and side effects.
Not an FDA-approved drug. On Jul 23–24 2026 the FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted 8–6 (1 abstention) to recommend adding it to the 503A bulk drug substances list; FDA has not finalized that listing (as of Sep 24 2026).
Last verified against its sources on September 24, 2026. Education and self-tracking only — nothing on this page is medical or dosing advice.
What it is
BPC-157 is a synthetic peptide of 15 amino acids, described as a fragment of a “body protection compound” first reported in human gastric juice in 1993 [1]. It is also known as Bepecin or PL-14736 [1]. It has no United States Adopted Name, and FDA has found that products sold as “BPC-157” may be the free base or the acetate salt, which are different substances [1]. There is no USP or NF monograph for it, and it is not a component of any FDA-approved drug [9]. Almost all of what is known about it comes from animal studies; FDA’s 2026 review found only five small human studies, most reported as meeting abstracts [1]. Nominators proposed it for compounding as an injection, capsule, nasal spray, suppository and cream [1].
How it works
The mechanism is not established. The authors of the only published pharmacokinetic study state that “the mechanism of action of BPC157 remains unclear” while summarising animal reports of protective effects on the stomach, intestine, tendon, muscle and other tissues [2]. FDA’s review notes that the nominators submitted a list of 25 nonclinical studies, including rat models of gut fistula and injury, but that these do not establish how the peptide acts in people [1]. In rats and dogs the peptide is broken down quickly into small fragments and then into single amino acids that enter normal metabolism, with urine as the main route of elimination [2]. Whether any of these animal findings translate to humans has not been shown [1]. STACK presents this as an open question, not as a proven pathway.
What the evidence shows
FDA evaluated BPC-157 for ulcerative colitis, the only use with any human trial data, and concluded there is “a lack of evidence to support the effectiveness” of the substance for that condition [1]. The single trial was a meeting abstract: 53 people with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis were randomised to a BPC-157 enema or placebo once daily for two weeks, and the difference between groups in the disease activity index was not statistically significant [1]. FDA identified no studies that gave BPC-157 by injection, mouth, nose or skin to people with ulcerative colitis [1]. The other human reports are tiny: 24 healthy volunteers given enemas, 17 people with knee pain given intra-articular injections, 12 with interstitial cystitis, and 2 healthy subjects given an intravenous infusion [1]. A registered phase 1 oral study in Mexico has no posted results [1]. FDA staff told the committee the substance is “not well-characterized” and cited a lack of effectiveness evidence [4].
Regulatory status
Not an FDA-approved drug. On Jul 23–24 2026 the FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted to recommend adding it to the 503A bulk drug substances list; FDA has not finalized that listing (as of Sep 24 2026). The vote was 8 in favour, 6 against and 1 abstention, for the proposed use of ulcerative colitis [3][4], and it went against FDA staff’s own proposal not to list the substance [1]. FDA must complete notice-and-comment rulemaking before any formal listing, which could take until 2027 or later, and a listing would not make BPC-157 an approved drug [5]. In September 2023 FDA had placed BPC-157 in 503A Category 2 as a substance that “may present significant safety risks”; that entry was removed in April 2026 after the nominations were withdrawn, which by itself did not authorise compounding [6][7]. BPC-157 is also named on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List under S0, non-approved substances, banned at all times [8].
Half-life and what it means for a level curve
STACK has no reference half-life for this compound because no human value has been published; you can enter your own estimate. FDA’s 2026 review found no human pharmacokinetic data after oral, subcutaneous, nasal or transdermal use, and two enema studies could not detect the peptide in plasma [1]. The only pharmacokinetic study is in animals: the intravenous elimination half-life averaged 15.2 minutes in rats and 5.27 minutes in beagle dogs, and after intramuscular doses it was under 30 minutes, with the peptide undetectable four hours later [2]. Absolute bioavailability after intramuscular injection was about 14%–19% in rats and 45%–51% in dogs [2]. If those numbers held in people, a level would fall away within hours and never accumulate, so an estimated curve would look like a series of short spikes. That is speculation from animal data; STACK draws no curve without a value you supply. STACK’s curve is an estimate from this published half-life, not a blood level.
Reported side effects
Human safety data are sparse. FDA reviewed five small, short studies and found no serious adverse events reported, but noted small sample sizes, exploratory doses and unclear safety monitoring [1]. In the healthy-volunteer enema studies the most frequent adverse events were headache and flatulence [1]. A search of FDA’s adverse event reporting system through December 4 2025 found three reports, all with injectable BPC-157: nine days of redness and swelling at the injection site in a woman also using injected thymosin; shortness of breath leading to an emergency-room visit in a 28-year-old man; and diffuse skin and gum darkening in a woman using a BPC-157 and TB-500 product, which recurred on rechallenge [1]. FDA could not attribute these events to BPC-157 with certainty [1]. FDA also flagged an unstudied immunogenicity risk from peptide aggregates and impurities, especially with injected or nasal use [1]. Tell your prescriber about any injection-site reaction, breathing change or skin change.
Storage and handling
There is no approved label, so the label from the pharmacy that dispensed your product governs. FDA’s review reports that lyophilised BPC-157 free base is stable at room temperature for about three weeks and is expected to be stable in storage below −18 °C [1]. The animal pharmacokinetic study likewise describes the peptide as stable at room temperature and resistant to hydrolysis and enzyme digestion [2]. FDA also notes that peptide stability and activity are highly sensitive to formulation and handling, and that aggregation can form during processing [1]. In practice that means: keep unopened vials as the pharmacy label says, protect them from light and heat, and do not use a vial that looks cloudy or discoloured. If your product is a powder that needs mixing, STACK’s reconstitution calculator converts the label’s numbers into a concentration; it does not suggest what to draw up.
What STACK tracks for it
STACK logs each BPC-157 dose as your prescriber wrote it, with the date, time, route and injection site, so you and your prescriber can see the pattern. Because there is no published human half-life, STACK does not draw an estimated level curve unless you enter your own estimate, and it labels any such curve as user-supplied [1]. You can record the symptom or goal your prescriber is treating and rate it over time, which matters for a compound with no effectiveness evidence in people [1]. Side-effect logging covers injection-site redness or swelling, breathing changes and skin changes, the categories seen in FDA’s adverse event reports [1]. STACK also tracks vial inventory, the mixing date and the product form (free base or acetate) if the label states it, since FDA treats those as different substances [1].
The reference half-life in STACK
STACK ships BPC-157 without a default half-life: No human value; rat and dog IV half-life under 30 minutes. You enter your own estimate before a curve is drawn. Measured in: Sprague-Dawley rats and beagle dogs, intravenous and intramuscular; no human pharmacokinetics published.
BPC-157
No published human half-life. Animal studies (rats and dogs) report elimination in under 30 minutes after intravenous dosing; set your own estimate. Educational only — not medical or dosing advice.
Estimate only. Modelled from the published half-life you selected and the doses you logged — not a measured blood level. Do not use it to make medication decisions.
Free tools for BPC-157
Read next
Sources
- FDAFDA Briefing Document for BPC-157-Related Bulk Drug Substances (BPC-157 (free base) and BPC-157 acetate), Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 23–24 2026
- OtherPharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157, a potential drug for treating various wounds, in rats and dogs (He et al., Front Pharmacol 2022)
- FDAJuly 23-24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee
- OtherFDA advisory committee backs two controversial peptides (RAPS, Jul 23 2026)
- OtherBulk List Bound: PCAC backs majority of peptides in two-day public meeting (McDermott Will & Schulte)
- OtherFDA Announces Removal of 12 Peptides from Category 2 and Schedules PCAC Meetings (Orrick, Apr 16 2026)
- FDACertain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks
- OtherThe Prohibited List — World Anti-Doping Agency
- FDAFDA Briefing Document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee Meeting, July 23–24 2026 (introduction)