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DOCUMENTED. FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research dated a warning letter to Empower Clinic Services, LLC, doing business as Empower Pharmacy of Houston, Texas, on Sept. 18, 2026. The letter is FDA’s allegation, not a court finding, and it is not a shutdown order.
DOCUMENTED. Lilly’s release of Sept. 29, 2026 reports 20.8% average weight loss at the 12 mg dose (efficacy estimand) over 80 weeks in adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, against 4.0% with placebo. Lilly calls retatrutide an investigational molecule that cannot be legally sold or marketed for human use.
REPORTED. Local outlets say the U.S. Postal Inspection Service led a Sept. 23 search of Apex Waste Management in North Sioux City, SD, whose officers are tied in state records to Apex Peptides; none of those outlets reports FDA involvement or charges.
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DOCUMENTED. FDA posted warning letters on Sept. 1, 2026 (dated Aug. 24) to five peptide sellers, stating that products sold as “research use only” are unapproved new drugs. The letters are FDA’s allegations; each firm was told to respond within 15 business days.
DOCUMENTED. A U.S. Attorney’s Office release dated July 30, 2026 says Matthew J. Kawa, who ran Paradigm Peptides, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and his sister, Jennifer L. Stechkober, to 16 months, after both pleaded guilty to introducing unapproved new drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead.
REPORTED. FDA’s page confirms a July 23-24, 2026 advisory committee meeting on seven peptides; outlets report the panel supported six of them (including BPC-157) for the 503A bulks list and rejected one, although FDA’s own briefing document proposed that none of the seven be included. The votes are nonbinding and a formal rule would be needed before pharmacies could compound them.
DOCUMENTED. A U.S. Attorney’s Office release dated July 23, 2026 says Brandon Piper of Gobles, Michigan was sentenced to 21 months in prison for conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs with intent to defraud and mislead the FDA and consumers, in a case involving semaglutide and tirzepatide imported from China.
REPORTED. Trade newsletters and blogs report that Peptide Sciences (about March 6, 2026), Science.bio (January 2026) and StrateLabs (from July 1, 2026) closed. We could not view the companies’ own pages, and no source we found says a government action caused any of the closures.
DOCUMENTED. FDA posted a warning letter on June 23, 2026 (dated June 17) to Wholesale Peptide of Brooksville, FL, saying its Prostamax and gonadorelin products are unapproved new drugs. The letter is FDA's allegation; the firm had 15 working days to respond.
DOCUMENTED. FDA posted warning letters on Apr. 7, 2026 (dated Mar. 31) to five peptide sellers, citing unapproved new drug violations; all five letters also name bacteriostatic water sold alongside the peptides. The letters are FDA’s allegations; each firm had 15 working days to respond.
DOCUMENTED, ALLEGATION ONLY. A U.S. Attorney’s Office release dated April 1, 2026 says Justin Bradley Watkins, a Utah-licensed osteopathic physician, was indicted on charges involving misbranded drugs from China. An indictment is an allegation, and the release says defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
DOCUMENTED. FDA posted a warning letter on Dec. 23, 2025 (dated Dec. 12) to Pinnacle Professional Research dba Pinnacle Peptides of Greensboro, NC, saying its SARMs products are unapproved new drugs. The letter is FDA's allegation; the firm had 15 working days to respond.
DOCUMENTED. FDA posted warning letters on Dec. 17, 2024 (dated Dec. 10) to four online sellers of research peptides, saying their semaglutide, retatrutide and related products are unapproved new drugs. The letters are FDA’s allegations; each firm had 15 working days to respond.
DOCUMENTED. U.S. Attorney’s Office releases describe three earlier prosecutions tied to peptide-type injectables: Tailor Made Compounding and Jeremy Delk (sentenced Feb. 24, 2021), Precision Peptides owner Gavin Burns Smith (May 9, 2016) and Adam F. Higdon (Oct. 15, 2013). None of the sentences in those releases was a federal prison term.