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What Are Peptides?

Peptides are short chains of 2 to 50 amino acids that bind to specific cellular receptors. This is the foundation entry: what they are, how they signal, the five practical categories, and how strong the evidence is for each.

Philippines Peptides editorial deskUpdated 10 min read

Short answer

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, usually 2 to 50, that act on specific receptors in the body. As of 23 September 2026, a few are registered medicines in the Philippines, such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Most research peptides, including BPC-157 and TB-500, are not registered and rest mainly on animal evidence.

Video guide: Peptides in the Philippines: A Beginner Guide (2:08)
Video transcript

New to peptides in the Philippines? Here is the beginner guide, in plain terms. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that bind to receptors in the body. The guide sorts them into 5 working categories. Republic Act 9711 says a drug must be registered with FDA Philippines before it is imported, sold or distributed. The FDA portal lists semaglutide as Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide as Mounjaro, all prescription drugs. Prescribing belongs with a licensed Philippine physician. A portal search on 23 September found no registered product for retatrutide, BPC-157, TB-500, ipamorelin or tesamorelin. Those are sold as research material. A research peptide comes as a powder in a sealed vial, not approved for human use. Bacteriostatic water is sterile water with 0.9% benzyl alcohol, a preservative. To judge a supplier, check 4 things: local stock, published batch reports, clear refund terms, and prices on the page, not DM for price. Our partner and supplier, Primara Labs, stocks in Metro Manila: same day if ordered by 12 noon on a weekday, and J&T to the provinces. Batch reports are published at primaralabs.com/coa as they are issued. Retatrutide batch RETA-4728-A was tested by Janoshik for bacterial endotoxin. There is a 60-day money-back guarantee: if an accredited independent laboratory reports the vial is not the compound on the label, Primara refunds what you paid. Every product page shows its price: a 15 mg semaglutide vial is ₱1,990. Every vial order includes bacteriostatic water, insulin syringes and alcohol pads. Read the full beginner guide on Philippines Peptides, then browse Primara Labs and order on WhatsApp.

Categories
05
GLP-1 Class
03 peptides
Min Length
02 AAs
Max Length
50 AAs

Definitions and scale

The basics

Peptides are molecules made up of 2 to 50 amino acids linked together in a chain. They are smaller than proteins, which are longer chains, but work in a similar way: they bind to receptors and trigger specific biological responses.

The body produces many peptides of its own to regulate hunger, metabolism, sleep, tissue repair and hormone release. Synthetic peptides are made to copy or modify these natural signals.

Some peptides act by prompting the body to release its own hormone rather than supplying the hormone directly. The growth hormone secretagogues are the clearest example: tesamorelin, CJC-1295 and ipamorelin act on the pituitary rather than replacing growth hormone.

Receptors, cascades, targets

How peptides work

Receptor binding
Peptides bind to specific receptors on cell surfaces, like a key in a lock. Each peptide targets a particular receptor type.
Signaling cascades
Once bound, the receptor triggers a cascade of signals inside the cell. GLP-1 receptor agonists, for example, act on receptors in the brain that regulate appetite and on the pancreas, where they increase insulin release when blood sugar is raised.
Evidence varies
How much is known about a peptide depends on how it has been studied. The GLP-1 medicines have large phase 3 human trials behind them. Many research peptides rest mainly on animal and cell studies, which do not show what happens in people.

Our partner and supplier lists research vials across several of the categories below, priced in pesos. They are research material, not registered medicines. View the Primara Labs catalogue

The five working classes

Peptide categories

Most readers meet five practical categories. The GLP-1 class has the largest body of human trial data, so it comes first, with one representative phase 3 trial per compound and the adverse events reported in that same trial.

Class 01 · GLP-1 receptor agonists

PeptideReceptor profileEvidence level
RetatrutideGLP-1, GIP, glucagon (3)Phase 3 human
TirzepatideGLP-1, GIP (2)Phase 3 human
SemaglutideGLP-1 (1)Phase 3 human

Retatrutide · TRIUMPH-1

Outcome. In TRIUMPH-1, an 80-week phase 3 trial of 2,339 adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one weight-related condition, without diabetes, body weight fell by 19%, 25.9% and 28.3% on the 4 mg, 9 mg and 12 mg arms, against 2.2% on placebo.

Side effects reported in TRIUMPH-1. Discontinuation for adverse events: 4.1%, 6.9% and 11.3% on the 4, 9 and 12 mg arms, against 4.9% on placebo. Nausea: 28.6%, 38.4% and 42.4% on the 4, 9 and 12 mg arms, against 14.8% on placebo.

Source

Tirzepatide · SURMOUNT-1

Outcome. In SURMOUNT-1, a 72-week phase 3 trial of 2,539 adults with BMI of 30 or more, or 27 or more with at least one weight-related complication, excluding diabetes, body weight fell by 15%, 19.5% and 20.9% on the 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg arms, against 3.1% on placebo.

Side effects reported in SURMOUNT-1. Discontinuation for adverse events: 4.3%, 7.1% and 6.2% on the 5, 10 and 15 mg arms, against 2.6% on placebo.

Source

Semaglutide · STEP 5

Outcome. In STEP 5, a 104-week phase 3 trial of 304 adults with obesity, or overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity, without diabetes, body weight fell by 15.2% on the 2.4 mg arm, against 2.6% on placebo.

Side effects reported in STEP 5. Discontinuation for adverse events: 5.9% on the 2.4 mg arm, against 4.6% on placebo. Nausea: 53.3% on the 2.4 mg arm, against 21.7% on placebo.

Source

The remaining four categories are listed below with the highest level of human evidence found for each compound. A compound marked Animal and cell has not been shown to do anything in people.

Evidence map, strongest first

What each compound is studied for

What research has looked at for each compound, with the highest level of human evidence found. A research topic is not a demonstrated benefit, and animal findings do not establish an effect in people. The screening guide comes before any of this: Can I Take Peptides?

CompoundStudied forEvidence level
BremelanotideHypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women; earlier, sexual arousal disorder and erectile dysfunction; body weight in a phase 1 studyPhase 3 human
ElamipretidePrimary mitochondrial myopathy and Barth syndrome in people; mitochondrial injury after blocked blood flow in animalsPhase 3 human
Retatrutideobesity and overweight with a weight-related condition, type 2 diabetes, knee osteoarthritis pain, obstructive sleep apnoea, chronic low back pain, cardiovascular and renal outcomes, and fatty liver disease (MASLD)Phase 3 human
SemaglutideObesity and overweight, obesity with type 2 diabetes, maintenance of weight reduction, and cardiovascular outcomes in people with cardiovascular diseasePhase 3 human
TesamorelinExcess visceral fat in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy, fatty liver disease in HIV, abdominal obesity with reduced growth hormone secretion, and cognition in older adultsPhase 3 human
TirzepatideObesity and overweight, obesity with type 2 diabetes, maintenance of weight reduction, and comparison with semaglutidePhase 3 human
IpamorelinRecovery of gut function after bowel surgery (phase 2); growth hormone release in healthy men; growth hormone release, bone growth and gut motility in animalsPhase 2 human
BPC-157Tendon, ligament and muscle healing and gastrointestinal injury in rats; interstitial cystitis and knee pain in small uncontrolled human reportsSmall human studies
CJC-1295Growth hormone and IGF-1 secretion in healthy adults; HIV-associated visceral obesity (phase 2, terminated)Small human studies
DSIPChronic insomnia and sleep, withdrawal states (uncontrolled), pituitary hormones, and as an adjunct to anaesthesiaSmall human studies
GHK-CuDiabetic foot ulcers and skin after laser resurfacing (small topical trials); cosmetic skin use; ligament and wound healing in animals; fibroblast growth in cell cultureSmall human studies
NAD+Ischaemic heart failure (intravenous); blood NAD levels in healthy adults (oral and intravenous); heart and brain injury after blocked blood flow in animalsSmall human studies
SelankGeneralised anxiety disorder and neurasthenia; anxiety-spectrum disorders alongside a benzodiazepineSmall human studies
SemaxStroke and post-stroke rehabilitation, cerebrovascular insufficiency, optic nerve disease, motor neuron diseaseSmall human studies
KPVColitis and colitis-associated tumours, peritoneal inflammation and oral mucositis in mice and rats; inflammatory signalling in cell cultureAnimal and cell
MOTS-cInsulin resistance, diet-induced obesity, age-related physical decline and autoimmune diabetes in mice; circulating levels as a biomarker in peopleAnimal and cell
TB-500Wound, corneal and tendon healing in animals (fragment and full-length protein); dry eye, corneal healing and skin ulcers in humans (full-length thymosin beta-4 only)Animal and cell

Which classes are registered medicines

Registration in the Philippines

Receptor biology does not change between countries. What changes in the Philippines is which compounds are registered medicines. Under RA 9711 a drug must be registered with FDA Philippines before it is imported, sold or distributed; the status page records what the register shows for each compound.

In Class 01, the FDA Philippines Verification Portal lists semaglutide as Ozempic and Wegovy and tirzepatide as Mounjaro, each classified as a prescription drug, and prescribing belongs with a licensed Philippine physician. Retatrutide is investigational: a search of the same portal on 23 September 2026 returned no registered drug product for it, or for BPC-157, TB-500, ipamorelin or tesamorelin.

The compounds in Classes 02 to 05 that this site covers are sold as research material, not as registered medicines. The regulation hub sets out the law on registration, prescription and import with its primary sources.

What this primer is not

Risks & disclaimer

Foundational references

Sources

  • Human trial results and adverse events in Class 01 are read from the trials dataset published by our partner and supplier at primaralabs.com/research/trials, each row linked to its primary source above. Evidence levels and research topics come from its evidence map.
  • Jastreboff AM et al. Tirzepatide once weekly for the treatment of obesity (SURMOUNT-1). NEJM 2022;387:205-216. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2206038 · PubMed: 35658024
  • Jastreboff AM et al. Triple-hormone-receptor agonist retatrutide for obesity: a phase 2 trial. NEJM 2023;389:514-526. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2301972 · PubMed: 37366315
  • Sikiric P et al. Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: novel therapy in gastrointestinal tract. Curr Pharm Des 2011;17(16):1612-32. PubMed: 21548867 (mechanism review for BPC-157, drawn from animal and cell studies).
  • FDA Philippines Verification Portal. verification.fda.gov.ph: the register used for the Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro registrations and the absence of a record for the research compounds named above.

Continue the series

Next steps

Can I take peptides? (screening)Storage and handlingChoosing suppliers (sourcing)Browse the peptide library

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