For peptide enthusiasts, a new HHS policy means party time

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Set us as preferred San Francisco, Calif. — Tuxedo-clad party hosts moved through the crowd proffering trays of peptide creams and peptide-infused dissolvable strips as if they were hors d’oeuvres.

Jen Scott accepted a plastic cup and scooped up a pea-sized dab containing GHK-Cu, a copper tripeptide frequently used in topical beauty products for its reported skin-firming properties.“I love it.I can’t get enough,” Scott said, massaging the white cream into her neck.Scott, 59, was also interested in trying the sublingual strips containing BPC-157 and TB-500, two peptides often recommended by biohackers and wellness influencers for tissue repair and healing.Neither BPC-157, TB-500 nor injectable GHK-Cu is approved by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration for human use in any form, though topical GHK-Cu is a legal cosmetic ingredient.The sublingual strips’ foil packet read “Warning: For research use only” in tiny print on the back, an indication the contents are meant for lab study only and haven’t been vetted for human consumption.

Science & Medicine Driven by social media hype and a growing distrust of public health guidance, consumer demand for experimental peptides has exploded over the last decade.Peptide parties — social gatherings where attendees mingle, chat about peptides and perhaps sample a few — have cropped up lately in San Francisco and other cities with large concentrations of the wellness-curious.But last week’s event aboard the S.S.Jeremiah O’Brien — a World War II Liberty ship and event space on San Francisco’s Embarcadero — took place during “probably the most historic week in the history of consumer peptides,” according to party co-host and peptide entrepreneur Jeff Tang.On Oct.

28, the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services issued an enforcement discretion po...