How we grade peptide evidence.

What is the exact rule for each grade?

We run each peptide top-to-bottom through this decision tree and stop at the first rule that fires. That is the grade — no discretion, no “feel,” no exceptions for compounds we could earn a commission on.

1. 1FDA-approved for ≥1 indication?→ Grade A
2. 2Else, ≥2 published Western peer-reviewed human RCTs?→ Grade A
3. 3Else, ≥1 real human clinical trial OR prior FDA approval OR foreign approval backed by Western-recognizable trials?→ Grade B
4. 4Else, human pilot/observational data OR foreign-only (e.g. Russian) approval with weak RCTs?→ Grade C
5. 5Else, only animal/preclinical, no published human efficacy RCT?→ Grade D
6. 6Else, a human trial exists and was negative/null?→ Grade F

What does each grade mean in plain English?

The decision tree is precise; the labels are readable. Here is what each letter actually tells you about the human proof.

Does affiliate money influence the grades?

No — and this is the whole point of the site. Grades are assigned by the decision tree above, from the published evidence, full stop. A peptide we cannot monetize still gets the grade its evidence earns; a legal access route we can monetize never lifts a grade. If a famous, heavily-marketed peptide has only animal data, it gets a D on this page no matter how much traffic or revenue a higher grade would bring. That editorial firewall is why the grades are worth trusting.

How do you classify legal status?

Evidence grade tells you whether a peptide works. Legal status is a separate question — whether you can access it through a legal, supervised route right now. Every peptide gets exactly one of these five values.

FDA-approved

Prescription-legal via a licensed provider — the drug cleared the full FDA approval process for at least one indication.

Compoundable (503A)

Legal to obtain through a 503A compounding pharmacy or licensed telehealth, typically because of a prior FDA approval that keeps it on the compounding pathway.

Under FDA review

In regulatory limbo. The FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee votes July 23–24, 2026 on whether it can be legally compounded — no settled legal supervised route until then.

Research-only

No legal supervised US route. Sold only as "research use only," which is a gray-market status, not a legal way to use it in a person.

Cosmetic/topical

Legal as a topical cosmetic ingredient (e.g. copper-peptide serums) — a different regulatory lane from injectable drugs.

What does the safety flag mean?

A third, independent signal: a green / amber / red dot for how well the human safety of a peptide is characterized. It is not a verdict on whether a peptide is “safe to take” — it flags how much we actually know.

green

Well-characterized human safety (FDA-approved or long clinical history).

amber

Limited human safety data, no major documented harms.

red

Documented serious harms, or disproven but still sold.

How do the peptides we track fall across the grades?

This is the live distribution across all 16 peptides on the site, computed from our compound records — tap any name for its full evidence review and sources.

See the same set in one sortable place on the full peptide table.