AMNA NAWAZ: An FDA advisory committee began a two-day meeting today to consider lifting a ban and widening access to seven popular peptides.

While some peptides are approved by the FDA and widely used, like insulin and GLP-1s, three years ago, the FDA blocked compounding pharmacies from producing other peptides, citing inadequate evidence of their safety and efficacy.

But they have seen a surge of support from wellness influencers and others, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who talked about his own peptide use on Joe Rogan's podcast in February of this year.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S.

Health and Human Services Secretary: I'm a big fan of peptides.

I have used them myself and used them with really good effect on a couple of injuries.

My hope is that they're going to end up with - - they're still looking at the science.

My hope is that they're going to get moved to a place where people have access from ethical suppliers.

AMNA NAWAZ: Joining us now is Dr.

Dhruv Khullar.

He's a physician with Weill Cornell Medicine and author of the "New Yorker" article "Why Are People Injecting Themselves With Peptides?"

Dr.

Khullar, welcome to the "News Hour."

Thanks for joining us.

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR, Weill Cornell Medicine: Thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, before we jump into the details of this meeting and what it means, just in simplest terms, can you please explain to us, what exactly is a peptide?

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR: Sure.

So peptides are basically microproteins.

So people are probably familiar with proteins as strings of amino acids.

And if a molecule has more than 50 or so amino acids, it's called a protein.

And, generally, if it has less than 50 or so, it's called a peptide.

And our bodies make thousands and thousands of peptides.

They do all sorts of things within the body.

They regulate various systems.

They send signals to one another.

And, as you know, there are many peptides that have already been approved for use.

So, insulin is a peptide.

It moves glucose from our bloodstream into our cells.

These days, the most famous peptides are probably GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1s.

The difference here is that these are unapproved peptides and ones that haven't been rigorously studied for safety and efficacy in the way that those prior peptides have been.

AMNA NAWAZ: So we mentioned that ban that came down in the previous the Biden administration that said compounding pharmacies cannot create those peptides, the ones that are being considered today.

Secretary Kennedy says that basically created what he called gray and black markets.

What is he talking about there?

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR: Well, it's important to note that these peptides were circulating even before that ban.

That ban would not have been necessary if no one was already compounding and using these peptides.

So the gray market use of unapproved peptides preceded what happened in 2023.

And the reason that they that ban was put into place is because we have so little clinical data on whether these molecules are safe, whether they are effective in people, and they haven't cleared any of the regulatory hurdles that we typically expect for drugs to be advertised and used in people.

And the argument about we're not going to allow things happening, and that's pushing things into a gray market, that could be used for all sorts of things that we don't otherwise allow.

I mean, you think about something like fentanyl or heroin.

No one argues that we should make those legal and accessible just because banning them somehow moves them into the gray market.

And so that argument seems to be the one that's being made here, but doesn't carry a lot of water, in my opinion.

AMNA NAWAZ: And yet we have still seen this big surge in demand and people pushing them in the wellness spaces, a lot of online influencers sharing the kinds of videos people may have seen.

Here's just a few.

WOMAN: I actually dropped almost 20 pounds in just a few weeks.

MAN: The peptide I can give you, and within a day, you will be tanner than you have ever been tanned.

WOMAN: Better skin, better elasticity and collagen production.

MAN: Peptides are going to be making us look youthful and beautiful and all of that.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Dr.

Khullar, why are we seeing this surge of support in this online community right now?

What's driving that?

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR: Well, there are all sorts of stories and anecdotes that are circulating on social media.

I mean, influencers have claimed that these peptides do everything from enhancing strength to improving energy and recovery and endurance, better tans, better libido.

These are all the types of claims that are being made.

Again, it's important to note that we don't have any evidence that this is actually happening.

But because influencers and others are talking about these peptides in this way, they have really caught fire.

And I think we should be open to the idea that some of these peptides could have important clinical uses in people.

But we need to do the work to figure out at what doses should they be taken, who should be taking them, do they actually produce the types of effects that people are claiming that they produce?

We don't know any of those things.

And by making these things easily accessible without requiring any clinical study, it's going to make it harder still to figure out what they're actually doing inside the body.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, as you and I speak right now, we know this panel has already voted to broaden access to at least one of the peptides they're considering.

It's BPC-157.

And it's been reported they heard testimony from a number of speakers, including some scientists who said this should not be made more accessible.

But, also, the majority of voices, it seems, were doctors, chemists, and peptide business owners who pushed for approval.

What does all of this say to you about that approval process, about how these decisions are being made?

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR: Well, we know that some of the people who are on the committee that's making these recommendations do have conflicts of interest.

They are either people who have been involved in the compounding pharmacy industry or otherwise involved with peptides.

And so that creates serious concerns about the recommendations that are coming forward.

Just taking that one peptide, BPC-157, Body Protection Compound-157 is probably one of the most commonly used and widely recognized of these unapproved peptides.

That peptide does not have a single controlled human study to support its use.

There are interesting theoretical reasons why it might work.

There are some interesting animal studies that show that it could have some positive benefits, but there are also reasons to be really concerned about it.

So, for instance, one of the things that BPC-157 does is promote angiogenesis, and that is helpful for tissue repair and recovery.

But it also allows cancerous cells to grow.

Cancers are hungry for blood vessels, and angiogenesis is the process by which blood vessels are formed.

And so, without doing the requisite studies, we're not going to know what the potential benefits are and what the risks are of this compound.

AMNA NAWAZ: Dr.

Dhruv Khullar, we really appreciate your time.

Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

DR.

DHRUV KHULLAR: Thank you for having me.