Editorial policy
We grade every peptide on two separate questions — how strong is the human evidence, and can you legally access it — using a fixed rubric, not opinion. This page publishes that rubric in full, including the exact decision tree, so you can check every grade against the rule that produced it.
Evidence Grade: the decision tree
The Evidence Grade answers one question: how strong is the human proof? It is assigned by walking these rules in order and stopping at the first one that fires. Affiliate status, hype, and popularity have no input.
- FDA-approved for at least one indication? → A
- Otherwise, at least two published Western peer-reviewed human RCTs? → A
- Otherwise, at least one real human clinical trial, or a prior FDA approval, or a foreign approval backed by Western-recognizable trials? → B
- Otherwise, human pilot/observational data, or foreign-only (e.g. Russian) approval with weak RCTs? → C
- Otherwise, only animal/preclinical data with no published human efficacy RCT? → D
- Otherwise, a human trial exists and was negative or null? → F
| Grade | What it means in plain English |
|---|---|
| A | FDA-approved / proven in humans |
| B | Real human trials, limited or historical |
| C | Early or foreign human data only |
| D | Animal studies only, unproven in humans |
| F | Tested in humans and failed |
Why not a single 0–10 score? Because peptides are not comparable services — an FDA-approved drug and an animal-only research compound aren't points on one line. A blended number would manufacture a false "7.5" the gray market could screenshot. Two independent, individually-defensible outputs keep the axes honest.
Legal status: five factual states
The legal badge answers a different question: can you access this through a legal, supervised route right now? Every peptide is tagged with exactly one of these, as a matter of fact, not judgment:
- FDA-approved drug — prescription via a licensed provider (e.g. tesamorelin, PT-141).
- Compoundable (503A) — legally available via a compounding pharmacy or telehealth (e.g. sermorelin, on its prior-approval pathway).
- Under FDA review — July 2026 PCAC — currently in regulatory limbo, pending the July 23–24, 2026 advisory vote (BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, MOTS-c, DSIP/Emideltide, Semax, Epitalon).
- Not compoundable — research-only — no legal supervised US route; gray-market only (e.g. CJC-1295 after its nomination was withdrawn).
- Cosmetic/topical (legal) — legal as a topical cosmetic (e.g. GHK-Cu serums).
Safety flag: green, amber, red
- Green — well-characterized human safety (FDA-approved or a long clinical history).
- Amber — limited human safety data, but no major documented harms (most preclinical peptides).
- Red — documented serious harms, or disproven-but-still-sold (e.g. Melanotan-2; AOD-9604).
The firewall: grades are never influenced by affiliate status
This is the non-negotiable rule. The Evidence Grade and the legal badge are assigned by the rubric above and nothing else. A peptide we cannot monetize keeps the grade it earns — AOD-9604 is an F because it failed its human trial, full stop. A peptide with a lucrative legal access route never gets a grade lift because of it. Affiliate revenue can decide placement within a page; it can never decide a grade, a badge, or a verdict. Objective sections sort by the metric, not by who pays us.
Independence
No provider, pharmacy, or vendor we cover has input into our grades or rankings. We never link gray-market or "research use only" vial vendors, no matter what commission they offer — naming them for transparency is fine, sending you to them is not.
Corrections
We correct mistakes immediately when surfaced, even when the correction hurts an affiliate partner. Regulatory facts move fast in this niche — we re-verify FDA status, the PCAC docket, and cost anchors on a schedule, and pages carry a last-verified date. Email editorial@bestpeptideforthat.com.
Medical disclaimer
Best Peptide For That is an independent editorial directory, not a medical provider. We do not diagnose, treat, prescribe, or give dosing advice. Most peptides we cover are not FDA-approved. Peptide use can carry real risks, and gray-market sourcing carries more. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider about your specific situation. Information on this site is for general educational purposes only. See our methodology for how we source and verify claims.