BPC-157 and healing peptides
What is bpc-157 and healing peptides?
BPC-157 is a lab-made chain of 15 amino acids based on a protein in stomach juice. People inject it, often with TB-500 in a "Wolverine stack", hoping to heal tendons, muscles and joints faster. It is not an approved drug in the US, and the healing results come almost entirely from rats.
Listed here because well-known people have tried it on themselves. Trying something is not recommending it; each entry says whether the person tells others to do it.
Who has tried it
Tried by 3 people we can source: 2 kept, 1 stopped.
Kept
Ben GreenfieldFitness and biohacking coach, author
Dates not stated · Recommends it to others
Credits a stack built on BPC-157 and TB-500 with healing a torn upper hamstring and publishes dosing guidelines for readers, while calling peptide therapy experimental.
“to heal an annoying, persistent, and quite painful torn upper hamstring by using what I call the “Recover Like Wolverine” stack”
Ben Greenfield Life, Ben's peptide stack for recovery (September 2024, updated April 2026) · Status checked April 13, 2026 · Suggest a correction
Andrew HubermanNeuroscientist at Stanford, host of Huberman Lab
Dates not stated · Does not recommend it to others
Keeps BPC-157 at home and injects it for short runs after a strain, feels he recovers faster, but says he cannot rule out placebo and sees no reason to take it without an injury.
“I definitely feel like after a pain or strain, the recovery is faster, but I can’t do the control experiment because it goes systemic.”
The Tim Ferriss Show #876, Dr. Andrew Huberman on peptides, performance and protocols (July 2026) · Status checked July 22, 2026 · Suggest a correction
Stopped
Tim FerrissAuthor and podcaster, The Tim Ferriss Show
Dates not stated · Does not recommend it to others
Took the BPC-157 and TB-500 stack after elbow surgery and says he has no idea whether it helped, because there was no way to compare.
“Because I took the Wolverine Stack after I had elbow surgery and I’m like, “Did it help?””
The Tim Ferriss Show #876, Dr. Andrew Huberman on peptides, performance and protocols (July 2026) · Status checked July 22, 2026 · Suggest a correction
What the evidence shows
In animals, the results are consistent. BPC-157 sped healing of cut Achilles tendons in rats [1], and reviews describe similar effects on muscle, ligament and bone injuries, mostly from a small number of research groups [2]. A 2025 systematic review found 36 studies, of which 35 were preclinical and only one was clinical, and no clinical safety data [3].
In people, the evidence is two small reports from one clinic, with no control group. In a retrospective series of 16 patients, most said their knee pain eased after BPC-157 was injected into the knee [4]. A pilot study gave intravenous BPC-157 to two healthy adults and saw no change in lab tests or side effects [5]. Neither design can show that the peptide works or that it is safe.
No randomized trial has tested BPC-157 for any injury, and its long-term effects in people are unknown. Products sold online as "research use only" are unregulated and may not contain what the label says.
Safety
- BPC-157 is not FDA approved for any use. In 2023 the FDA listed it among compounding substances that may pose significant safety risks; by April 2026 it had moved to the list of withdrawn nominations, which still does not let pharmacies compound it under the standard rules.
- In July 2026 an FDA advisory committee voted 8 to 6 to recommend adding BPC-157 and TB-500 to the list pharmacies may compound from, against FDA staff advice. The vote is not binding, and as of November 2026 the FDA has not added them.
- Gray market vials sold "for research purposes only" may be contaminated, underdosed or a different substance, and injecting them carries infection risk.
- BPC-157 and TB-500 are banned in tested sport by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
- There are no long-term human safety data, so it is not for anyone who is pregnant, has cancer or a history of it, or is a competing athlete.
Common questions
Does Ben Greenfield use BPC-157?
Yes. He says a peptide stack built on BPC-157 and TB-500 healed a torn upper hamstring, and he publishes the doses he suggests, with a disclaimer that peptide therapy is experimental and banned in tested sport.
Does Andrew Huberman take BPC-157?
Occasionally. In July 2026 he said he keeps some at home and injects it for short runs after a strain. He said he cannot do a control experiment and sees no sense in taking it without an injury.
Is BPC-157 legal?
It is not FDA approved for any use. A July 2026 FDA advisory committee voted narrowly to recommend letting pharmacies compound it, but the FDA has not acted on that vote. Gray market "research" peptides are not legal to sell for human use, and it is banned in tested sport.
Sources
- 1.Staresinic M, Sebecic B, Patrlj L, et al. Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon and in vitro stimulates tendocytes growth. J Orthop Res, 2003. doi:10.1016/S0736-0266(03)00110-4
- 2.Gwyer D, Wragg NM, Wilson SL. Gastric pentadecapeptide body protection compound BPC 157 and its role in accelerating musculoskeletal soft tissue healing. Cell Tissue Res, 2019. doi:10.1007/s00441-019-03016-8
- 3.Vasireddi N, Hahamyan H, Salata MJ, et al. Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review. HSS J, 2025. doi:10.1177/15563316251355551
- 4.Lee E, Padgett B. Intra-Articular Injection of BPC 157 for Multiple Types of Knee Pain. Altern Ther Health Med, 2021. PubMed 34324435
- 5.Lee E, Burgess K. Safety of Intravenous Infusion of BPC157 in Humans: A Pilot Study. Altern Ther Health Med, 2025. PubMed 40131143
- 6.US Food and Drug Administration. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks. FDA, 2026. Link