RFK Jr. Wants a Regulated Peptide Marketplace. Here Is What the Record Shows
The short version
- On 20 October Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Fox News that the aim is "a regulated marketplace" for peptides, "so that what they're getting is what they claim to be", according to Reuters.
- The FDA policy that could start it, "Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides", was still pending White House review on 23 October. Its text, the peptides it covers and its conditions are not public.
- Six outside parties have booked meetings with the White House reviewers between 21 and 28 October, from the American Academy of Peptide Medicine and Hims & Hers to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
- The record shows the gap: grey-market vials with the wrong ingredient, and, inside the pharmacy system, at least 30 patients with adverse events after compounded IV glutathione made from a supplement-grade lot.
- As reported, the route runs through compounding pharmacies and prescriptions. Nothing reported changes anything for research-use-only sellers, and retatrutide cannot be compounded under federal law.
On 20 October the Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the administration's aim for peptides is "a regulated marketplace". The policy that could start one is still under review at the White House, six outside parties have booked meetings on it, and the record on what is being sold today shows how far the current market is from that aim. Here is what was said, and what is documented, as of 23 October 2026.
What Kennedy said
Speaking on Fox News' "The Will Cain Show" on 20 October, Kennedy said, as reported by Reuters: "Americans are going to be buying these anyway. Our objective was to make sure that there is a regulated marketplace, so that what they're getting is what they claim to be, that is safe, that the factories are inspected."
Reuters reported that he was answering a question about the policy change the FDA sent to the White House for review, which "could make it easier for pharmacies to compound certain peptides". Reuters adds that the peptides under consideration "have not been approved by the FDA as safe or effective". One detail differs from the record: Reuters says the FDA submitted the proposal on a Thursday, while the White House listing gives a received date of Wednesday 14 October. We use the listing.
Where the policy stands
| Question | Answer on 23 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| What is it? | "Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides", from HHS / FDA (RIN 0910-ZD94) |
| What kind of action? | A notice, not a proposed or final rule |
| Status | Pending review at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), received 14 October |
| Is the text public? | No. The listing names no peptide and sets no date. |
| Federal Register notice? | None. The Federal Register API returns no FDA document mentioning "peptide" since 14 October. |
Source: reginfo.gov listing for RIN 0910-ZD94 and the OIRA list of actions under review, read on 23 October 2026; Federal Register API, queried 23 October 2026. What the filing does and does not say is in our report on the policy at the White House.
Under Executive Order 12866, people outside government can meet OIRA about an action under review, and OIRA keeps a public log. The log for this policy now lists six meetings:
| Date and time (as listed) | Requested by |
|---|---|
| 21 October, 3:00 pm | American Academy of Peptide Medicine |
| 23 October, 2:00 pm | Hims & Hers Health |
| 27 October, 2:00 pm | Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding |
| 27 October, 2:30 pm | Center for Science in the Public Interest |
| 28 October, 3:00 pm | Faegre Drinker Consulting, client listed as Collaborative for Evidence-Based Medicines |
| 28 October, 3:30 pm | Carmen Group, Inc., client listed as Medivant Healthcare |
Source: reginfo.gov EO 12866 meeting log for RIN 0910-ZD94, read on 23 October 2026, when every meeting was still marked "Scheduled". The log gives no time zone and does not say what any party will argue.
"What they're getting is what they claim to be": the record today
The grey market Kennedy describes is the one regulators and manufacturers have been documenting for months. Three findings stand out:
- The wrong drug in the vial. In Australia, a product labelled retatrutide that left a patient with a torn oesophagus contained no retatrutide, but undeclared semaglutide. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said: "The amount of semaglutide detected was approximately eight times higher than the level found in semaglutide products assessed by the TGA" (ABC News, 13 September).
- Wrong doses and contaminants. Eli Lilly told CBS News it has found suspect products with "too much, too little, or the wrong active ingredient", along with contaminants (13 October).
- Rising harm reports. America's Poison Centers logged 862 retatrutide exposures in the three months to September, up from 460 in the three months before, and the FDA received two reports of deaths after people took products sold as retatrutide. CBS, which obtained the reports, says they are unverified and do not show the product caused the deaths (13 October).
The details and their limits are in our report on black-market retatrutide. Retatrutide itself is outside any pharmacy route under current law: the FDA says "Retatrutide and cagrilintide cannot be used in compounding under federal law."
A pharmacy route is not a quality guarantee on its own
The policy, as reported, would work through compounding pharmacies. The FDA's own description of compounding sets the limits: "Compounded drugs are not FDA approved, which means the agency does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed."
This year already has an example from inside the pharmacy system. On 27 August the FDA said it was aware of reports of "at least 30 patients" with adverse events after intravenous glutathione, a three-amino-acid peptide, made by different compounding pharmacies. All of them had bought their glutathione from one supplier lot labelled dietary supplement grade, which the FDA says "is not an appropriate ingredient to make injectable drugs". The reported events included fever, chills, signs of shock and sepsis-like symptoms, "with some resulting in hospitalizations", and two Texas pharmacies recalled glutathione injectables over elevated endotoxin levels.
| What a regulated market would need | What the record shows on 23 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Product is what the label says | Grey-market vials found with the wrong active ingredient (TGA) and with too much or too little (Lilly) |
| Ingredients fit for injection | Compounded IV glutathione made from a dietary-supplement-grade lot, at least 30 patients with adverse events (FDA) |
| Safety and effectiveness reviewed | Not for compounded drugs: the FDA does not review them before they are marketed (FDA) |
| Rules published | No policy text, no list of peptides, no conditions (reginfo.gov, Federal Register) |
The conditions that could attach to the policy are not known. The Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding has said it asked the FDA for interim enforcement discretion with conditions "including enhanced disclosures to patients, serious adverse event reporting and data collection on peptide use", as reported by the Washington Post on 7 October.
What would not change, as reported
- Everything reported describes state-licensed compounding pharmacies and prescriptions. No report describes any change for sellers of peptides labelled for research use only.
- No approval. A policy of this kind says when the FDA does not intend to act; it does not approve any of the peptides.
- The FDA's own staff are against it. Pink Sheet reported on 8 October that "FDA drug center staff said they will not recommend allowing temporary compounding of unapproved peptides".
For the rules as they stand today, see are peptides legal in the US, and for state rules, the state pages, starting with California.
What to watch
- 23, 27 and 28 October: the remaining scheduled OIRA meetings.
- The reginfo.gov status for RIN 0910-ZD94 changing from "Pending Review" to concluded, and a Federal Register notice or FDA guidance page with the text, the peptides covered and the conditions.
- 29 October: Eli Lilly reports third-quarter 2026 results.
We will update this piece the day a document is published. Every regulator action on peptides we have verified is in the enforcement tracker.
Questions readers ask
What did RFK Jr. say about peptides?
On 20 October 2026, on Fox News' The Will Cain Show, Kennedy said: "Americans are going to be buying these anyway. Our objective was to make sure that there is a regulated marketplace, so that what they're getting is what they claim to be, that is safe, that the factories are inspected." Reuters reported the quote.
Is there a regulated peptide market now?
No. The FDA's "Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides" was still pending White House review on 23 October 2026, and its text has not been published. None of the peptides under consideration has been approved by the FDA.
Would the policy make BPC-157 legal to buy online?
Nothing published says so. The AP reported that the plan is intended to let pharmacies temporarily compound some of the most popular peptides, including BPC-157, and the route described by the Washington Post and the pharmacy trade group runs through state-licensed pharmacies and prescriptions. No report describes any change for research-use-only sellers.
Who is meeting the White House about the peptide policy?
The public meeting log lists six: the American Academy of Peptide Medicine (21 October), Hims & Hers Health (23 October), the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (27 October), and Faegre Drinker Consulting for the Collaborative for Evidence-Based Medicines and Carmen Group for Medivant Healthcare (28 October).
Are compounded peptides safe?
Compounded drugs are not FDA approved, so the FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are sold. In August 2026 the FDA reported at least 30 patients with adverse events after compounded IV glutathione made from a dietary-supplement-grade ingredient lot.
Sources
- Reuters: Kennedy says Trump administration aims for regulated market for peptides (Ryan Patrick Jones, Ahmed Aboulenein), via U.S. News, 20 October 2026
- reginfo.gov: Pending EO 12866 Regulatory Review, RIN 0910-ZD94, read 23 October 2026
- reginfo.gov: EO 12866 meetings for RIN 0910-ZD94, read 23 October 2026
- Federal Register API: FDA documents mentioning "peptide" published since 14 October 2026, queried 23 October 2026
- FDA: FDA reminds compounders not to use dietary supplement grade glutathione for injectables, 27 August 2026
- FDA: Human drug compounding, content current as of 15 June 2026
- FDA: FDA's concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss, content current as of 1 October 2026
- CBS News: Two deaths were reported to the FDA. Is the bootleg weight-loss drug "Reta" to blame? (Daniel Gilbert), 13 October 2026
- ABC News (Australia): Patient suffers torn oesophagus after using unapproved peptide (Rachel Carbonell), 13 September 2026
- Pink Sheet: US FDA staff push back against Trump administration interim peptide dispensing order (Maaisha Osman, Sue Sutter), 8 October 2026
- Washington Post: Trump administration paving way for temporary sale of some unapproved peptides (Rachel Roubein), 7 October 2026
- Associated Press: Trump administration advances plan for peptide drugs favored by RFK Jr. (as published by NBC News), 15 October 2026 (NBC copy posted 16 October)
- Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review (Federal Register, Vol. 58, No. 190), 4 October 1993
- Eli Lilly: Lilly confirms date and conference call for third-quarter 2026 financial results announcement, 15 October 2026