Kennedy lets doctors compound six unapproved peptides, including BPC-157
Oct 29, 2026
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Federal health officials will not take enforcement action against licensed physicians and state-licensed pharmacies that compound six unapproved peptides, including BPC-157 and TB-500, under a policy Health and Human Services posted Wednesday.
The policy requires a patient-specific prescription, bulk ingredients from an FDA-registered manufacturer with a certificate of analysis, a single active ingredient and reporting of serious adverse events to MedWatch, according to the HHS policy document. The FDA had previously advised people not to use the peptides, The Independent reported.
In other news, emergency physicians at 20 departments spent 2.4 fewer minutes on each note when they used an AI scribe, and Eli Lilly's investigational retatrutide produced more than twice the weight loss of Ozempic in a head-to-head type 2 diabetes trial.
THE DETAILS
- WatchRegulation Oct 28, 2026
HHS says the policy lasts until a final rule on the 503A bulks list and may be revisited if safety signals arise.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an enforcement discretion policy covering BPC-157, Epitalon, KPV, MOTS-c, Semax and TB-500, each limited to set routes, such as intranasal only for Semax and topical or oral for KPV, according to the HHS document. Compounders must use bulk substances from FDA-registered manufacturers with a certificate of analysis, label each product as compounded and not for resale, and report serious adverse events and quality problems to MedWatch and the states. The policy does not cover substances that are components of FDA-approved drugs. HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard told The New York Times that the policy "does not grant F.D.A. approval or establish clinical safety and effectiveness," according to The Independent, which reported that the FDA had previously advised people not to use the peptides.Sources: HHS, The Independent - FYIEvidence Oct 27, 2026Among 275 attending physicians in 20 emergency departments, 3 academic and 17 community, 31% of encounters were documented with an ambient AI scribe, according to an observational study in Annals of Emergency Medicine. Comparing each physician's scribed notes with their own unassisted notes, median active time in the note fell to 10.0 minutes from 12.5, an adjusted reduction of 2.4 minutes. Scribed notes were started about 15 minutes later and ran about 14% longer, while completion came 6 minutes sooner and 72-hour returns fell 0.8 percentage points (95% CI, 0.1 to 1.5), the authors reported.Sources: Annals of Emergency Medicine, PubMed
- FYIEvidence Oct 28, 2026In the open-label phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-2 trial, 1,298 adults with type 2 diabetes on metformin, with or without an SGLT2 inhibitor, were randomized to weekly retatrutide 9 mg or 12 mg or semaglutide 2 mg, according to Eli Lilly. Mean baseline A1C was 8.3% and BMI 36.8. A1C fell 2.2 points with both retatrutide doses vs. 1.8 with semaglutide, and weight fell 19.5% and 20.9% vs. 9.4%, the company said. Discontinuation for adverse events was 4.8% and 7.9% with retatrutide vs. 2.7% with semaglutide. The results are the company's own and have not been peer reviewed; retatrutide is not approved anywhere.Sources: Eli Lilly, BioPharma Dive
- FYIDeployment Oct 28, 2026Registered AI agents can now search Zocdoc's directory, verify a patient's insurance and book confirmed appointments directly onto clinicians' calendars, the company said Wednesday. Agents must identify themselves, obtain explicit patient consent before booking and protect patient and provider data; Google Gemini and Amazon Health AI are already in its booking network, and Instinct, a text and call agent, joined through a new partnership. Agents may not train on, resell or republish the data, Healthcare Dive reported, adding that Zocdoc did not say how it will enforce those terms.Sources: Zocdoc, Healthcare Dive
- FYIEvidence Oct 28, 2026In a single-center randomized trial of 266 patients in China, an AI system that recognizes scanning stations and prompts the endosonographer by voice raised median station completeness during biliopancreatic endoscopic ultrasound to 1.00 from 0.81, according to Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Procedures took 12.7 minutes with AI vs. 10.6 without, and no serious procedure-related adverse events occurred. The system classified stations correctly in 94.2% of internal images but 78.8% of external images, and the authors said multicenter, multivendor validation is needed.
- FYIEvidence Oct 28, 2026The SPARC pragmatic trial randomized 1,520 patients receiving suicide care in 9 emergency departments and 36 primary care clinics to two-way Caring Contacts texts or instrumental support calls added to usual care, according to the American Journal of Psychiatry. Among 723 adolescents, Columbia scale suicidal ideation and behavior scores were similar at 6 months and lower with texts at 12 months (adjusted difference, -0.64; 95% CI, -1.11 to -0.18). Among 797 adults, scores were higher with texts at 6 months (0.50; 95% CI, 0.12 to 0.88) and similar at 12 months. The authors said the best follow-up may depend on age.Sources: American Journal of Psychiatry, PubMed