🟢 Peptides get the green light

Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration voted to loosen restrictions on a slew of peptides so that compounding pharmacies can dispense bespoke mixes of them. As of now, consumers are bypassing the FDA by buying vials of peptides labeled “for research use only” and then conducting that research on themselves, to put it euphemistically. 

The move (which is non-binding, but jibes with the stated will of the agency’s leadership) is a massive win for the telehealth industry, which has been eager to pounce on the opportunity to sell yet another product in a vial to consumers seeking to live longer and look hotter. 

Unlike FDA approved drugs, there isn’t much literature on the safety or efficacy of the substances that will soon be flooding telehealth sites — and, if the GLP-1 craze is any indicator — Instagram and TikTok feeds. BPC-157, one popular peptide said to have regenerative effects, is probably the most widely studied and even it has not had thorough studies done on humans. 

On the other hand, some (mostly those who want to sell peptides) argue, if people are injecting themselves with unproven and potentially unsafe substances anyways, why not hold suppliers to basic safety standards as opposed to letting a grey market thrive? 

The Takeaway

Once these peptides get the FDA’s official blessing, it opens up a new consumer unit for telehealth companies. The main two players in the public markets are Hims & Hers and Enhanced Group — both rallied after the vote. 

Similar to telehealth’s relationship with knock-off GLP-1s, the idea is patients are drawn into the service seeking a certain drug, they talk to a doctor or nurse, and voilà — a small glass vial and needles arrive at your door and live in your fridge. 

It’s unclear how big a market we’re talkin’. The global peptide therapeutics market is valued at approximately $52 billion today and projected to reach $87 billion by 2035, according to one estimate from Precedence Research.

Enhanced Group (the company behind the Enhanced Games) has said that it’s ready to go. In its most recent earnings call in May, Hims CEO Andrew Dudum didn’t give a firm timeline on rolling out that segment but said, “We likely won’t be first to market.”

• J. Edward Moreno

• 📊 Elections: The race to watch in the remaining primaries for this midterm election is quickly becoming the Wisconsin Democratic governor election, which has seen candidates jump in and drop out over the past several weeks as the establishment failed to coalesce around a chosen candidate. Currently considered the likeliest to win is progressive state assemblywoman Francesca Hong, who has a 78% chance of winning the nomination.

• 🎵 Charli XCX: Last week the new Charli XCX album “Music, Fashion Film” was officially released, and the verdict is that it’s good. Markets priced in the probability of the album hitting No. 1 sometime this year at 49% as of the release day, up from 27% a week prior. 

*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.

That’s roughly how many pairs of allegedly counterfeit Nike shoes Vietnamese officials found in a raid of a Ho Chi Minh City factory, according to a Friday statement from the country’s trade regulator.