What BPC-157 is
BPC-157 is a peptide that FDA's review says is reported to be made up of 15 amino acids, Gly-Glu-Pro-Pro-Pro-Gly-Lys-Pro-Ala-Asp-Asp-Ala-Gly-Leu-Val. BPC is short for Body Protection Compound. The review describes BPC-157 as a fragment of the BPC protein originally isolated from human gastric juice, and says it's also known as Bepecin or PL-14736.
The review gives the formula of the free base as C62H98N16O22 and its molecular weight as 1,419.5 g/mol, and describes it as a white to off-white lyophilized powder.
FDA also says BPC-157 is a common name and not a United States Adopted Name, and that it has encountered multiple salts and derivatives sold under that same name. It calls inconsistent naming a safety risk, because patients may be dosed with a different substance than the physician ordered. It treats BPC-157 free base and BPC-157 acetate as different substances.
Where it stands with the FDA
BPC-157 isn't approved by the FDA, and the agency says it isn't a component of any FDA-approved drug. It reached the FDA because two nominators, Wells Pharmacy Network and LDT Health Solutions, put it forward for compounding. Those nominations were later withdrawn, and FDA reviewed it on its own initiative.
FDA's page on category 2, the group it keeps for substances that may present significant safety risks, lists BPC-157 among substances that were previously in category 2 and were withdrawn by the nominators. That page, current as of April 22, 2026, says compounded drugs containing BPC-157 may pose a risk of immunogenicity for certain routes of administration. Immunogenicity is a drug's tendency to set off an immune response. The page also says FDA has identified no, or only limited, safety-related information for the proposed routes of administration, so the agency lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans. FDA's list of nominated substances, updated May 14, 2026, doesn't have BPC-157 in any category.
The review looked at one use, ulcerative colitis. BPC-157 was also nominated for Crohn's disease, celiac disease and tendonitis. FDA didn't evaluate those, because the nomination didn't include sufficient information, and it says it did not identify clinical studies using BPC-157 in those populations.
The review concluded that the criteria weigh against putting BPC-157 on the list of substances pharmacies may compound with, and proposed not adding it. The reasons it gives are that the substance isn't well characterized, that there's a lack of information on its safety profile and its immunogenicity risks, that the evidence is insufficient to say whether it works for ulcerative colitis, and that FDA-approved drugs for ulcerative colitis already exist. The briefing document says FDA won't issue a final determination until the committee's input has been considered and all reviews have been finalized.
On injections in particular, the review says FDA is concerned about the potential for immunogenicity of both the free base and the acetate when formulated as an injection, because of the potential for aggregation and peptide-related impurities.
The review says FDA found no studies that gave BPC-157 to people by injection under the skin. Its search of its adverse event database through December 4, 2025 retrieved three reports, all associated with injectable BPC-157. The events included an injection site reaction, shortness of breath, and diffuse hyperpigmentation and gingival darkening. FDA says it's unclear whether these were attributable to BPC-157.
FDA put BPC-157 on the agenda of its Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee for July 23, 2026. The meeting page had no minutes posted as of October 2026, so this page doesn't report a vote.
The strength in the record
The injection described in the nominations was 2,000 mcg/mL, given under the skin. The nominations also listed capsules, a nasal spray, a suppository and a cream. None of those is drawn into a syringe, so this page leaves them out.
| Strength in the record | Water for a 5 mg vial | One unit holds | 10 units hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 mcg/mL | 2.5 mL | 20 mcg | 200 mcg |
Add that much water to a 5 mg vial and it comes to that strength. Any other amount of water works too. It only changes how many units the same dose takes up.
Storing BPC-157
FDA's review says it is reported that lyophilized BPC-157 free base is stable at room temperature for 3 weeks, but that it's recommended to be stored dry below -18°C, because moisture greatly decreases the long-term stability of lyophilized peptides. For the acetate, it says the literature reports it's expected to be stable stored below -20°C. It doesn't say there whether that means the powder or a mixed vial.
For a mixed vial, the review says the free base in solution is stable for 2-3 weeks stored at 4°C and for 3-4 months at -20°C. The footnotes it gives for the powder and mixed-vial figures are web pages on two companies' sites, not published studies, so read them as reports and nothing firmer. The review also says that how stable a peptide stays depends heavily on how the finished product was made.
There's no approved label for BPC-157, so nothing official says how long a mixed vial keeps.
BPC-157 dosage calculator questions
How do I turn a BPC-157 dose into syringe units?
Divide the dose by the concentration to get millilitres, then multiply by 100. A 5 mg vial mixed with 2.5 mL is 2 mg/mL, so one unit on an insulin syringe holds 20 mcg and ten units hold 200 mcg.
How much bacteriostatic water goes in a 5 mg vial of BPC-157?
There's no single right amount. The water only sets the concentration, and the amount of BPC-157 in the vial stays the same. With 5 mg, 1 mL makes 5 mg/mL, 2 mL makes 2.5 mg/mL and 3 mL makes 1.667 mg/mL. Choose the amount that puts your dose somewhere between about 10 and 40 units, where it's easiest to read.
Is BPC-157 approved by the FDA?
No. FDA says BPC-157 isn't a component of any FDA-approved drug. It reviewed BPC-157 for use in compounded drugs and concluded the criteria weigh against it, then put it on an advisory committee's agenda for July 23, 2026.
Does this page tell me how much BPC-157 to take?
No. FDA says BPC-157 isn't a component of any FDA-approved drug, so there's no approved dose to point to. Separately, FDA's review says it found no studies that gave BPC-157 to people by injection under the skin. The dose box starts empty, and the chart only converts.
Is BPC-157 acetate the same as BPC-157?
FDA's review treats them as different substances. It says BPC-157 free base and BPC-157 acetate are different active ingredients, and that it has encountered multiple salts and derivatives sold under the same common name. The calculator works from the milligrams printed on your vial, whichever form that is.
Is BPC-157 banned in sport?
FDA's review says BPC-157 is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list, under the section for non-approved substances.
More peptide calculators by name
The same instrument, set up one peptide at a time. For any other vial, use the peptide reconstitution calculator.