PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Valley health experts are sounding the alarm after a federal advisory panel narrowly voted to recommend expanding access to six peptide compounds, moving the substances one step closer to legal sale at specialty compounding pharmacies despite what some doctors say is a critical lack of human safety data.<\/p>\n
Dr. Harmeet Narula, an endocrinologist at Banner Health<\/a>, said the vote raises serious questions about whether the science has kept pace with the demand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need data in humans to show these drugs actually work and are safe. So, that\u2019s a concern,\u201d Narula said.<\/p>\n Narula pointed out that even FDA career scientists, the agency\u2019s own reviewers, recommended against lifting the restrictions at this time, making the advisory panel\u2019s decision all the more striking.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re injecting something, you want to make sure \u2014 A, it\u2019s safe, B, it works,\u201d Narula said.<\/p>\n FDA reverses course after 2023 ban<\/p>\n The FDA first placed the compounds on a restricted list in 2023, citing safety and efficacy concerns. Now, three years later, a federal advisory panel has voted following a two-day meeting to recommend that specialty compounding pharmacies be allowed to legally mix and sell them, a reversal that has caught the attention of Valley medical professionals.<\/p>\n Demand surges across the Valley<\/p>\n The push for expanded access comes as peptides \u2014 short chains of amino acids \u2014 have exploded in popularity across the country and here in the Valley<\/a>. <\/p>\n Promoted online for uses ranging from weight loss and injury recovery to immune support, the compounds have moved from social media feeds into local medical clinics, where providers say they can barely keep up.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day we get pinged on the internet, you know, through our contact form on the website. There\u2019s all kinds of people that are asking about peptides,\u201d said Mark Stewart, owner of Gameday Men\u2019s Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n For Valley patient Frank Peake, the experience has been personal. Peake said peptide injections have delivered results he wasn\u2019t finding elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a phenomenal experience with the peptides that I\u2019ve used. I\u2019ve been taking them for weight loss, muscle growth, and general health,\u201d Peake said.<\/p>\n Final decision rests with FDA and HHS<\/p>\n Despite the advisory panel\u2019s recommendation, the vote is non-binding. The final decision on whether to allow compounding pharmacies to mix and sell the six compounds rests with the FDA and the Secretary of Health and Human Services<\/a>, meaning the debate over the future of peptides is far from settled.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here<\/a> with a brief description.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 KTVK\/KPHO. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n