Peptide Policy Watch

Image credits

Last updated

This site uses four kinds of pictures, and every one is listed here with what it is.

AI-generated images. Some header pictures are generated for this site with an AI image tool. Some are flat illustrations; others are made to look like everyday photographs (a desk, a trail, a shelf). They are made up: not real photographs, not real places or events, and not evidence of anything. They never show a real person, product, brand or document. Pages that use a photo-style one carry a small “Image: AI-generated” note at the end, and each one is marked “AI-generated” below.

Photos. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are either in the public domain or shared under a Creative Commons licence that asks for credit, which we give with the picture. We checked the licence on each file page and list it below. They show buildings and rooms, not the products or people a post discusses. A photo does not mean the agency shown has any connection to this site or endorses it.

Diagrams. The charts, timelines, molecule drawings and infographics are drawn by us in code from facts already stated, with sources, in the post they appear in. They are not AI-generated and are labelled “Diagram” below.

  • Front of FDA Building 1 at the agency's White Oak campus in Maryland: a brick building with the words Food and Drug Administration above the entrance.

    FDA Entrance (16792957331)

    Author
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
    License
    Public domain (PD-USGov-FDA)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    FDA topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • Sign reading U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, with a campus office building behind it.

    FDA Sign & Bldg 21 at Entrance (5204602349)

    Author
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
    License
    Public domain (PD-USGov-FDA)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Compounding topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • Rows of empty seats facing a screen with an FDA logo in a large public meeting room on the FDA campus.

    FDA Bldg 31 - Great Room (5161375376)

    Author
    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
    License
    Public domain (PD-USGov-FDA)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Advisory committee topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • The Apex Building in Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission, seen from the street with trees in front.

    ApexBuildingHighsmith

    Author
    Carol M. Highsmith (born 1946)
    License
    Public domain (PD-Highsmith)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Legal topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • The north side of the White House in Washington, D.C., with a fountain and flower beds on the lawn in front.

    North Façade White House

    Author
    Nishkid64
    License
    Public domain (PD-user)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Policy topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • Aerial view of the NIH Clinical Center and surrounding campus buildings in Bethesda, Maryland.

    NIH Clinical Center (29414704287)

    Author
    NIH Image Gallery from Bethesda, Maryland, USA
    License
    Public domain (PD-USGov-HHS-NIH)
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Clinical trials topic page
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • Illustration of a green tray and an orange tray each holding a chain of coloured beads, with a magnifying glass between them.

    Illustration: Categories

    Kind
    Illustration. This is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Original illustration generated for this site (AI-generated)
    What it shows
    two sorting trays with bead-chain molecules and a magnifying glass; style per reference/illustration-style.md
    Used on
    What FDA's "Category 1" and "Category 2" actually mean (and what they don't)
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Illustration of a laptop and a phone showing a heart and chat bubble, a clipboard, a mug of tea and a plant on a desk.

    Illustration: Telehealth

    Kind
    Illustration. This is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Original illustration generated for this site (AI-generated)
    What it shows
    laptop, phone, clipboard, tea mug and plant with heart/chat icons; style per reference/illustration-style.md
    Used on
    Hims & Hers, the FTC and the FDA: who has actually said what about telehealth and compounded drugs
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • A sunlit living-room corner with a rolled green yoga mat beside a potted plant, a linen throw and a glass of water on a wooden stool.

    AI-generated image: Hub wellness

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Living-room corner with yoga mat, plant and glass of water for the Wellness topic page. No people, text or brands.
    Used on
    Wellness topic page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • A foam roller, a looped resistance band and a kettlebell on dark rubber gym flooring in strong side light.

    AI-generated image: Hub recovery

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Foam roller, resistance band and kettlebell on a gym floor for the Fitness and recovery topic page. No people, text or brands.
    Used on
    Fitness and recovery topic page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Empty clear glass flasks, a beaker and a rack of empty test tubes on a pale bench beside a window.

    AI-generated image: Hub glassware

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Empty unlabeled laboratory glassware for the Evidence topic page. No liquids, labels, people or brands; not a real lab.
    Used on
    Evidence topic page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Seen from above: round reading glasses and a yellow highlighter on a stack of printed pages with unreadable text, next to a cup of tea on a light wooden table.

    AI-generated image: Hub reading

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Reading glasses and highlighter on pages (text unreadable) for the Safety topic page. No people, readable text or brands.
    Used on
    Safety and quality topic page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • A sofa in warm evening lamp light with a plain phone lying face down, a closed laptop, a knitted blanket and a mug on a side table.

    AI-generated image: Hub sofa

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Evening sofa with phone and closed laptop for the Telehealth topic page. No people, screens with content, text or brands.
    Used on
    Telehealth topic page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Two chains of colored beads. On the left a short chain of six beads is labeled peptide; on the right a long chain of many beads folded back and forth is labeled protein. A note says more than 40 amino acids counts as a protein under FDA's 2020 rule.

    Diagram: Peptide vs protein

    Kind
    Diagram drawn by us in code from facts stated, with sources, in the post. It is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Diagram made for this site
    What it shows
    A short bead chain (peptide) beside a long folded bead chain (protein); the 40-amino-acid line is FDA's 2020 definition. Schematic, not to scale.
    Used on
    Peptides, in plain English: what they are, and why one word covers so much, Home page, Start here cards
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Left: five stacked rungs from cells in a dish at the bottom up to approval and monitoring at the top. Right: a grid of 36 dots, 35 teal for studies in cells or animals and one orange for a study in people, from one review of BPC-157 research.

    Diagram: Evidence ladder

    Kind
    Diagram drawn by us in code from facts stated, with sources, in the post. It is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Diagram made for this site
    What it shows
    Five-rung evidence ladder (cells, animals, small human reports, controlled human trials, approval and monitoring) plus a 36-dot grid: 35 studies in cells or animals, 1 in people, from the review discussed in the post.
    Used on
    Everyone in the gym is talking about peptides. Here's what the research actually says, Home page, Start here cards
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Chemical structure drawing of the three-amino-acid peptide GHK, with glycine shaded green, histidine orange and lysine blue, and a note that copper binding is not drawn.

    Diagram: Ghk structure

    Kind
    Diagram drawn by us in code from facts stated, with sources, in the post. It is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Diagram made for this site
    What it shows
    2D structure of glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine drawn with RDKit from its SMILES string, residues color-coded. Free peptide only; copper not drawn.
    Used on
    GHK-Cu is in skincare and on FDA's compounding list. Here's what "except injectable" means
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Three side-by-side cards comparing regulatory status: FDA-approved medicines, compounded drugs, and substances with no FDA approval for human use, each with check, cross or dash marks for FDA review before sale and an FDA-approved label.

    Diagram: Three groups

    Kind
    Diagram drawn by us in code from facts stated, with sources, in the post. It is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Diagram made for this site
    What it shows
    Three-card comparison of FDA-approved medicines, compounded drugs and substances with no approval for human use, on two yes/no rows taken from FDA statements cited in the post.
    Used on
    "It's a peptide": three very different things hiding behind one word
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • A row of seven calendar cards for October 19 to 25, 2026, with Thursday the 22nd marked and a note that no new FDA rule or notice on peptides was found that week.

    Diagram: Week strip

    Kind
    Diagram drawn by us in code from facts stated, with sources, in the post. It is not a photo and not a real document.
    Credit
    Diagram made for this site
    What it shows
    Seven-day calendar strip for Oct 19-25, 2026; Oct 22 marked for the motion to dismiss filed in the FTC case against Hims & Hers; text says no new FDA action found.
    Used on
    This week in peptide policy: October 19–25, 2026, Home page, Start here cards
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Three sealed, empty-looking glass vials with gray caps and blank white labels stand on a stainless steel lab bench beside a closed gray notebook, with a blurred laboratory behind them.

    AI-generated image: Bench vials

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Three closed glass vials with blank labels and a closed notebook on a steel lab bench. No people, brands or readable text.
    Used on
    The glutathione injection recall: what FDA's October 1 notice says, and what it doesn't
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • An empty running track at dawn, with mist, a low sun behind trees, empty grandstands and a pair of metal starting blocks on the red lanes.

    AI-generated image: Track dawn

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Empty athletics track at dawn with starting blocks and empty stands. No people, text or brands.
    Used on
    Which popular gym peptides are banned in sport? What WADA's 2026 and 2027 lists name, Home page, Start here cards
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • A laboratory bench in soft morning light by a window with plants: a white microscope, three empty glass flasks and a small closed glass bottle, and an open blank notebook with a pencil.

    AI-generated image: Lab window

    Kind
    AI-generated image made to look like a photograph. It is not a real photograph, place or event, and it is not evidence of anything.
    Credit
    Image: AI-generated for this site
    What it shows
    Empty lab bench by a sunny window with a microscope, glass flasks, a small closed bottle and a blank open notebook. No people, text or brands.
    Used on
    Home page
    Changes
    Resized and compressed for the web.
  • Black-and-white archive photograph of a crowded 1920s university laboratory: a wooden bench with glass flasks, pipes and a large glass bottle on shelves above it.

    Photography of laboratory 221 (12308574505)

    Author
    Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
    License
    CC BY 2.0 (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (Commons file page and Flickr source checked))
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    From insulin to Ozempic: a timeline of how peptide medicines went from niche to mainstream
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.
  • The entrance of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., with pale stone walls carved with the department's name, glass doors and a trimmed shrub in a large planter.

    Dept Health and Human Services HQ entrance Washington DC 2025-02-07 13-59-35 1

    Author
    G. Edward Johnson
    License
    CC BY 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (own work; Commons file page checked))
    Source
    Wikimedia Commons file page
    Used on
    Where peptide regulation stands right now: a plain-English timeline, Home page, Start here cards
    Changes
    Cropped and resized; compressed. Nothing else was changed.