Local doctors weigh-in on peptide craze as RFK Jr. pushes to remove 12 from banned list

CHARLOTTE, NC — From celebrities, to influencers, the passion for peptides is sweeping through social media.

Dr. Carlos Jorge was more than a decade ahead of the newest health trend. He said peptides have been around for a while. Drugs like GLP-1s, insulin and collagen all fall under the peptide category. But there are hundreds more that haven’t been studied or tested enough to get federal approval.

“These are very effective molecules when used correctly,” Dr. Jorge explained.

His clinic in south Charlotte, Companion Health,  prescribes peptides for patients whether to lose weight, heal from injury or slow the aging process.

“Let’s just say an injury. If you play basketball and you tweak your ankle and you’re like, hey, I don’t want to take long term anti-inflammatories, is there something else that we could do? Okay. Yeah, there is.
There’s something called BPC,” explained Dr. Jorge.

BPC-157 is one of 12 peptides Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, wants to move off the FDA banned list after it was placed there in 2023. In mid -April, Kenendy posted to social media his intentions to remove those peptides off the banned list which he says caused a “dangerous black market that puts Americans at risk”.

“A lot of these supplements are not actually under the FDA guidelines and so we don’t have any idea about their dosing, their efficacy,” said Novant Health’s Dr. Vaishnavi Gadicharla

Both Dr. Gadicharla  and Dr. Jorge tell us a common side effect is allergic reactions, especially around the injection sites.

“The other big thing is just it not being efficacious. It hasn’t done anything. But patients keep taking it hoping that they’ll see some sort of difference,” said Dr. Gadicharla

Dr. Jorge’s clinic gets his peptides from trusted compounding pharmacies that follow FDA guideline. He worries less reputable pop-up companies will start making peptides as the craze grows and the ban is lifted.

“If we just sort of rip this band aid off, there’s going to be a lot of flood of peptides, and that may create sometimes more side effects and concerns that we may not be ready for,” Dr. Jorge said.

Dr. Jorge said he is excited for the future of peptides if those 12 are lifted. Especially because he believes it will lead to more testing.

The Patient Caregiver Artist Coalition is expected to discuss lifting the ban in July.