In February 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that 14 previously restricted peptides would be moved from the FDA's Category 2 list back to Category 1 — effectively restoring legal access through licensed compounding pharmacies with a valid prescription.
This was the most significant regulatory shift in peptide therapy since the original restrictions were put in place in late 2023.
What Changed
The FDA had placed 19 popular peptides on its Category 2 list in late 2023, citing potential safety concerns with compounding. This effectively banned compounding pharmacies from preparing them, cutting off access for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who had been using them through legitimate medical channels.
The February 2026 reclassification moved 14 of those 19 peptides back to Category 1, meaning they can once again be legally compounded by 503A and 503B pharmacies with a valid prescription.
Which Peptides Are Now Legal?
The peptides restored to Category 1 include:
- BPC-157 — tissue repair and gut healing
- TB-500 — (Thymosin Beta-4) — regeneration and inflammation
- GHK-Cu — collagen production and skin repair
- CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin — growth hormone secretagogues
- AOD-9604 — fat metabolism
- Thymosin Alpha-1 — immune modulation
- Selank and Semax — cognitive enhancement
- KPV — anti-inflammatory
- MOTS-C — metabolic optimization
How to Access Them
The key rules are straightforward:
- You need a prescription. Peptides are not available over-the-counter. A licensed medical provider must review your profile and issue a prescription.
- They must be compounded by a licensed pharmacy. Either a 503A (individual patient prescriptions) or 503B (batch production) pharmacy. The API must be pharmaceutical-grade from an FDA-listed manufacturer.
- "Research use only" peptides are NOT legal for human use. Companies selling peptides labeled "not for human use" or "research only" are operating outside the legal framework. These products have no quality control, no purity testing, and no medical oversight.
What This Means for You
If you've been interested in peptide therapy but were put off by the regulatory uncertainty, the landscape is now clear. The peptides listed above are legal to compound and prescribe through proper medical channels.
At Derive, we make this process simple: you tell us your goals, our care team reviews your profile, and your protocol ships to your door monthly. Every formulation is compounded from single-source pharmaceutical-grade API and independently tested for purity and sterility.
The hard part isn't the peptides anymore — it's knowing which ones are right for you. That's what the care team is for.