Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agency has sent to the White House a plan to allow access to peptide drugs, according to an Oct. 15 post on a government website.
HHS and its Food and Drug Administration division crafted the plan, titled “Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides.”
It was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Oct. 14, according to the post, which does not list any other details.
HHS did not respond to a request for more information by publication time.
Kennedy has expressed approval of peptides, or molecules that contain amino acids, which are sometimes used by fitness enthusiasts and others.
He has said that a 2023 FDA ban on certain peptides was illegal because regulators are not supposed to ban substances for compounding absent a safety signal, and the regulators did not identify a safety signal.
The FDA, with Kennedy’s backing, presented a proposal to its pharmacy compounding advisory committee to allow compounding pharmacies to mix some peptides.
FDA staffers opposed the proposal, saying that mixing the peptides could lead to life-threatening reactions.
In July, the committee recommended that the FDA place four peptides on the list of ingredients compounding pharmacies can use, including BPC-157. It later endorsed two other peptides, but said emideltide should not be approved.