What is a peptide, in plain words?

Get the description straight

• Write down the ingredient name.

  Tiny chemical parts link together in a short chain called a peptide, rather like beads on a string. Proteins contain the same kinds of parts. Insulin belongs to this group.

• Ask which finished product is proposed.

  As of September 2026, approved products include semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for type 2 diabetes, a blood-sugar condition. Semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound) have approval to help people lose weight and maintain that loss. Each product has its own rules about who can use it.

• Ask whether it is made to order.

  A compounded medicine is prepared when a ready-made product may leave a medical need unmet.

Sort the offer into its own category

Review by the US drug agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), concerns a specific product and its specific uses.

Compounded preparations have no FDA approval. Before sale, the agency does not check their safety, quality or effect.

Some sellers label chemicals “for research use only” but offer them to treat people. In warning letters to those sellers, FDA said they were selling unapproved drugs against the law. The letters did not approve those products.