"Wolverine" Stack (BPC-157 + TB-500)
The "Wolverine" Stack (BPC-157 + TB-500) — the popular healing combo with no combination studies: the honest evidence

Class: blend
Synonyms: "Wolverine Stack" (after the Marvel character's rapid healing)
BPC-157 + TB-500
"the healing/recovery stack"
Function tags: soft-tissue healing (tendon/ligament/muscle)
recovery
angiogenesis + cell-migration (combined rationale)
(all combination claims are theoretical)
Overall evidence grade: C
WADA prohibited: yes
WADA note: Sport both fall in WADA-relevant territory (BPC-157 is on the Prohibited List; Tβ4/TB-500 as growth/repair factors).
Last updated: 2026-07-13

In brief: the "Wolverine Stack" is the popular nickname (after the self-healing Marvel character) for combining two research peptides — BPC-157 (#11) and TB-500 (#12) — for injury and soft-tissue recovery. Its appeal is a genuinely elegant synergy story: BPC-157 reopens blood supply to damaged tissue (angiogenesis, growth factors), while TB-500 mobilizes and migrates the repair cells that rebuild it — two coupled bottlenecks, so fixing one without the other leaves you "half-healed." The problem: that story is assembled entirely from the two peptides studied separately. As of 2026 there are zero published studies of any kind on the combination — no animal work, no human trials, no pharmacokinetic or safety data — reportedly making it the most-used peptide combo with no direct evidence at all. Worse, the components are thin even alone (BPC-157: one retrospective clinical series; the TB-500 fragment: no completed RCT), and both are FDA Category 2 (significant safety concerns, barred from compounding). So the honest read: a compelling mechanistic hypothesis and enormous popularity — resting on no combination data, built from two under-characterized peptides. A coherent rationale is not demonstrated synergy.

## Identity not a compound but a **combination** — the co-administration of two synthetic research peptides, **BPC-157** (a 15-amino-acid gastric-juice-derived peptide) and **TB-500** (a synthetic fragment of the actin-binding protein Thymosin β4). It's the register's first **stack** entry, included because it is, by demand, **the most popular peptide combination** in the healing/recovery space — which makes the gap between its popularity and its evidence the whole point. ## Mechanism (as proposed) the rationale rests on **complementary, non-overlapping pathways**. **BPC-157** acts largely **locally**: promoting **angiogenesis** (VEGF/EGF, nitric-oxide pathway), supporting **growth-factor signalling**, and — in animal tendon/muscle models — accelerating repair; it **restores perfusion** to injured tissue. **TB-500**, through **Thymosin β4 biology**, acts more **systemically**: its **actin-sequestering** activity (linked to the Ac-SDKP motif) **reduces inflammation** and **drives migration** of endothelial cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts into the wound bed. The **coupling logic** is real — new tissue needs *both* blood supply *and* mobile repair cells — and because the two don't share rate-limiting steps, they **shouldn't compete**. But "**shouldn't compete**" and "**demonstrated to work better together**" are different claims, and only the first is supported. The **interaction — synergistic, merely additive, or neither — has never been measured.**

Evidence grades by outcome:
outcome: The combination's synergy / healing (the entire selling point)
grade: F
base: Zero published studies on BPC-157 + TB-500 together (human or animal); no PK, no safety data
caveat: The defining fact: the stack itself has never been studied. "Synergy" is inference from separate compounds, never tested vs either alone
outcome: Mechanistic rationale (coupled angiogenesis + cell migration)
grade: C
base: Coherent: BPC-157 (angiogenesis/GF) + TB-500 (actin/cell migration) address different repair phases
caveat: Genuinely elegant reasoning — but a rationale is not evidence of synergy or safety
outcome: BPC-157 alone (soft tissue/gut)
grade: D
base: ~35 preclinical + 1 retrospective clinical (per 2025 review)
caveat: Animal-heavy; minimal human data — see full BPC-157 entry (#11)
outcome: TB-500 fragment alone
grade: D
base: No completed published RCT; parent Tβ4 has some Phase 2 data
caveat: The fragment sold isn't the parent molecule that has trial data — see #12
outcome: Combination safety
base: None
caveat: No data on additive/interactive risk; both components FDA Category 2; stacking multiplies unknowns

Legal status:
region: US
status: neither component is approved
note: neither component is approved; both are FDA Category 2, barred from compounding. The stack has no approved status and no combination safety data.
region: EU
status: Not FDA-approved (gray-market)
note: not approved; research-chemical status; sold pre-blended or as separate vials.

Cosmetic claims:

Note: The most popular healing peptide combination in the world — with zero published studies on the combination itself. This is the register's first combination entry, and its honest angle is unusually sharp: the "Wolverine" stack is the single most widely used peptide pairing, yet as of 2026 there is not one published study — human or animal — on the two together. Three threads: (1) the synergy story is mechanistically elegant (BPC-157 restores blood supply; TB-500 mobilizes repair cells — two coupled bottlenecks); (2) that story is built entirely from the individual compounds, not from any trial of the stack; (3) combining two under-characterized research peptides multiplies the unknowns — and both are now FDA Category 2 (significant safety concerns). Peak demand, zero direct evidence.
Status note: the decisive event would be the first actual combination study — none exists yet; until then "synergy" stays hypothetical

Sources:
2025 systematic review of BPC-157 (orthopaedic, peer-reviewed, literature 1993–2024): 36 studies (35 preclinical + 1 clinical retrospective series of 12 patients); zero studies on the BPC-157 + TB-500 combination.
TB-500 / Thymosin β4 mechanism: Malinda et al. FASEB J 1997 (endothelial migration); Smart et al. Angiogenesis 2007; parent Tβ4 Phase 2 (ulcer/cardiac/ocular) — note the fragment lacks a completed RCT.
BPC-157 angiogenesis/growth-factor and tendon-repair animal literature (see entry #11).
FDA Category 2 Bulk Drug Substances listing for BPC-157 and TB-500 (2023–2024); WADA Prohibited List. (No published combination study, PK, or safety data as of 2026.)