BPC-157
BPC-157 — evidence, uses & regulatory status

Class: peptide
Synonyms: Body Protection Compound-157
Body Protective Compound 157
pentadecapeptide BPC 157
PL 14736 (original Pliva/Pharma code)
Bepecin
"stable gastric pentadecapeptide"
Function tags: tissue repair
gastrointestinal
tendon & ligament
angiogenesis
cytoprotection
Overall evidence grade: B
WADA prohibited: no
Last updated: 2026-07-11

In brief: BPC-157 is a synthetic 15-amino-acid peptide derived from a protein found in gastric juice, studied chiefly in animal models for effects on tissue repair — the gastrointestinal lining, tendon and ligament in particular. Its preclinical record is unusually broad and directionally consistent, but it has essentially no completed human clinical trials, and no regulatory agency has approved it for any use.

## Identity synthetic pentadecapeptide, **15 amino acids** (< 40 aa → peptide). Molecular formula C₆₂H₉₈N₁₆O₂₂; MW ≈ 1419.6 g/mol. A partial sequence of "Body Protection Compound" originally isolated from human gastric juice; notably stable in gastric juice. ## Development & history - Derived from a protective protein isolated from **human gastric juice** in the early 1990s; the research programme has been led by **Predrag Sikirić and colleagues at the University of Zagreb** (Croatia) for ~30 years.
- In **1993** the Croatian pharmaceutical company **Pliva** (then a major regional firm) partnered with the Zagreb group — alongside the US company **Parke-Davis** — and advanced BPC-157 for **inflammatory bowel disease / ulcerative colitis** under the codes **PL-10, PLD-116 and PL 14736**.
- A **Phase 1** safety study in healthy volunteers reported it safe and well tolerated (Veljaca et al., 2003). A **Phase 2 trial in ulcerative colitis was completed — but its results were never published** in a peer-reviewed journal, which remains the single biggest gap in its human record.
- Pliva was later acquired (Barr, then **Teva**) and the programme did not continue to approval; a later Phase 1 (NCT02637284, 2015) was registered but cancelled. As a hard-to-patent natural fragment it drew little commercial investment, and it has since lived as a gray-market "research" peptide — now in the 2026 FDA compounding review. ## Mechanism (as proposed) studies attribute BPC-157's effects to several overlapping pathways — up-regulation of **VEGFR2** and modulation of the **nitric-oxide** system via the Akt–eNOS axis (promoting angiogenesis; note that in cell culture BPC-157 shows *no direct* angiogenic effect and appears to act by modulating VEGF expression *in vivo*), **growth-hormone-receptor** up-regulation in tendon fibroblasts (~4-fold in one independent rat study), plus FAK/paxillin and ERK1/2 signalling and reduced inflammatory cytokines. These mechanisms are largely derived from rodent work; whether they translate to humans is unproven.

Evidence grades by outcome:
outcome: GI / gastric mucosal protection (NSAID-, ethanol-, stress-induced ulcers)
grade: B
base: Numerous rodent studies since 1993; the most-replicated finding
effect: Consistent protective effect
caveat: Robust preclinical signal only; no completed human RCT
outcome: Tendon & ligament healing
grade: B
base: Multiple rodent models incl. transected Achilles; independent replication (Taiwan)
effect: Accelerated healing, better biomechanics
caveat: Consistent in animals; mechanism plausible; no human efficacy trial
outcome: Muscle & bone injury healing
grade: C
base: Rodent crush/transection/fracture models
effect: Improved functional & structural outcomes
caveat: Preclinical only; heterogeneous designs
outcome: Nerve / spinal-cord / brain injury
grade: C
base: Early rodent models
effect: Neuroprotective signals
caveat: Far from human evidence
outcome: Ulcerative colitis (the FDA-nominated compounding use)
grade: D
base: Preclinical + limited
effect: Insufficient to conclude
caveat: FDA's July-2026 briefing proposed not listing it; inadequate human data
outcome: Marketed "healing stack" / human recovery, performance, anti-aging
grade: F
base: None (extrapolated from animal data)
effect: Not demonstrated in humans
caveat: No controlled human trials support these marketing claims
outcome: Human safety & long-term effects
base: No adequate human data
effect: Unknown
caveat: Long-term safety not established; gray-market purity/sterility is a separate risk

Legal status:
region: EU
status: Not approved
note: Not approved for human use; no marketing authorisation. Not eligible for magistral/officinal compounding (no European Pharmacopoeia monograph; not in national formularies). Sold in the EU only as a non-medicinal "research" chemical, which does not authorise human use.
region: US
status: Not FDA-approved (503A Cat. 2)
note: Removed from the FDA's 503A Category 2 (restricted) list in April 2026, which lifted the explicit compounding ban. Not added to the 503A positive Bulks List. Reviewed by the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) on 23 July 2026 (docket FDA-2025-N-6895); FDA's own pre-meeting briefing documents proposed not adding it to the list. The PCAC vote is advisory only; the FDA's final determination is issued as a Federal Register rule — none issued as of this writing. Net: a transitional gray area, no formal authorisation.
region: INT
status: Status varies
note: Approved nowhere for any indication; research status varies by country.

Cosmetic claims:

Note: Status: reference entry — not for sale. No dosing, reconstitution, or administration is published (intentional). Neutral scientific reference only.
Status note: regulatory status is evolving — re-check the PCAC outcome and any Federal Register rule

Sources:
Sikiric P, et al. Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: review of the evidence. J Physiol Pharmacol. 2013.
Chang C-H, et al. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 enhances growth-hormone-receptor expression in tendon fibroblasts. 2014.
Hsieh M-J, et al. Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation. J Mol Med (Berl). 2017.
Brcic/Seiwerth/Sikiric, et al. Modulatory effect of gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on angiogenesis in muscle and tendon healing. (VEGF up-regulation.)
Vasireddi N, et al. Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: a Systematic Review. 2025. — 544 articles screened → 36 included (35 preclinical, 1 clinical).
Jozwiak M, et al. BPC-157 review across 12+ organ systems. Pharmaceuticals. 2025.