Peptide therapy
Physician-prescribed peptide protocols — growth-hormone secretagogues, recovery and metabolic peptides, prescribed and monitored by a licensed clinician.
Peptide therapy near you
Peptide therapy clinics closest to you
Each of these names peptide therapy on its own website. We don't infer it from a clinic's type or category.
ELMNTL
The Luxe Medspa Aesthetics & Bodycare
Buckeye Physical Medicine & Rehab
Beyond Skin Aesthetics
pēkomd: Peter Koltz, MD
Retro Health and Aesthetics
BB Aesthetic & Wellness
Reverse Aesthetics
The Med Spa at Your Concierge MD
Pure Health Aesthetics & Wellness
Affinity Whole Health
ReNew You Aesthetic RN
M~Esthetics Wellness, Weight Loss & IV Hydration
SHIFT Health
Graceful Beauty Aesthetics Mansfield
Golden Aesthetics Luxury Medspa
Vytality Blu Health & Medspa
Amy Brenner, MD & Associates
Ace Integrative Health
Your Wellness Center
PureMD MedSpa - West Chester
Zen Medical Weight Loss & Skin Clinic
Enhanced Wellness
Ageless Vitality Center
Aesthetic Health & Wellness
Aim Wellness Medical Spa
Elevated Aesthetics & Wellness: Injectables, Aesthetic Medicine, Men's Health
Advanced Age Management
Longer Trails Precision Medicine
Bellava Aesthetics
Zero Gravity Aesthetics and Wellness
2,469 more clinics offer peptide therapy — browse by city below, or start from a state:AlaskaAlabamaArkansasArizonaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutWashington, D.C.FloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIowaIdahoIllinoisIndianaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMassachusettsMarylandMaineMichiganMinnesotaMissouriMississippiMontanaNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNebraskaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNevadaNew YorkOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaWashingtonWisconsinWest VirginiaWyoming
GLP-1 medications compared
The three names people ask about most work on different receptors, and only two of them are approved. Weight-loss figures below are averages from company-run trials in adults with obesity — individual results vary widely, and these are not all head-to-head.
| Semaglutide | Tirzepatide | Retatrutide | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receptors | GLP-1 | GIP + GLP-1 | GIP + GLP-1 + glucagon |
| FDA status | Approved | Approved | Investigational — not approved |
| Brand names | Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus | Mounjaro, Zepbound | None — no approved product |
| How it's taken | Weekly injection (or daily tablet) | Weekly injection | Weekly injection, in trials only |
| Average weight loss | 13.7% at 72 weeks | 20.2% at 72 weeks | ~28% at 68–80 weeks |
| Evidence | SURMOUNT-5, head-to-head vs tirzepatide | SURMOUNT-5, head-to-head vs semaglutide | TRIUMPH phase 3 — not head-to-head |
In September 2023 the FDA placed a group of popular peptides in “category 2” — substances it considers to present significant safety risks — and other nominations were withdrawn, which also removes them from the compounding pathway. BPC-157, CJC-1295, epitalon, thymosin alpha-1 and TB-500 all sit in that withdrawn group; ipamorelin is restricted under the 503B policy. Sermorelin and tesamorelin are approved drug substances and are unaffected.
Source: FDA — Bulk Drug Substances That May Present Significant Safety Risks ↗A synthetic fragment marketed for tendon, joint and gut healing. Almost all of the evidence behind those claims is from animal studies; there are no adequate human trials. The FDA's stated reason for removing it from the compounding pathway is that it has little or no safety information for the proposed routes of administration, alongside concerns about immunogenicity and impurity characterisation. It is still widely sold online, which is a different thing from being legally prescribable.
Source: FDA — Bulk Drug Substances That May Present Significant Safety Risks ↗Worth separating by route. As a topical cosmetic ingredient, GHK-Cu is common in serums and is regulated as a cosmetic, not a drug. As an injectable, it is a different matter: the FDA lists injectable GHK-Cu among the withdrawn nominations, citing immunogenicity risk from aggregation and peptide-related impurities, and limited human safety data. A clinic offering it in a serum and a clinic offering it as an injection are not doing the same thing.
Source: FDA — Bulk Drug Substances That May Present Significant Safety Risks ↗Peptide therapy: common questions
Is peptide therapy legal in the United States?
Prescribing peptides is legal when a licensed clinician does it for a legitimate medical purpose. The complication is supply. Some peptides — sermorelin and tesamorelin, for example — are approved drug substances. Others can no longer be legally compounded by pharmacies: in September 2023 the FDA placed several in “category 2” (substances it considers to present significant safety risks), and several more nominations were withdrawn, which removes them from the 503A compounding pathway entirely. BPC-157, CJC-1295, epitalon, thymosin alpha-1 and TB-500 are all in that withdrawn group. A clinic can still lawfully treat you with peptides; what it cannot lawfully do is source a restricted peptide from a compounding pharmacy.
What is the difference between sermorelin, ipamorelin and CJC-1295?
All three are growth-hormone secretagogues — they prompt your own pituitary to release growth hormone rather than supplying it directly — but they differ in half-life and, more importantly for a patient, in regulatory standing. Sermorelin is an approved drug substance. Ipamorelin is restricted under the FDA's 503B policy. CJC-1295 was withdrawn from the compounding list. Two clinics can both advertise “peptide therapy” and be offering meaningfully different things, which is why it's worth asking which specific peptide is being proposed.
How long does peptide therapy take to work?
It depends entirely on the peptide and what it's being used for, and clinics vary widely in what they tell patients. Growth-hormone secretagogues are typically prescribed as an ongoing nightly protocol rather than a course with an endpoint, and any effects are gradual rather than immediate. Be sceptical of a clinic promising a specific result on a specific timeline — the clinical evidence base for most of these compounds is thin, which is the same reason the FDA cites when restricting them.
Does insurance cover peptide therapy?
Almost never for longevity, anti-aging or performance use — these are cash-pay services at nearly every clinic. There are narrow exceptions where a peptide is an approved drug prescribed for its approved indication (tesamorelin for HIV-associated lipodystrophy, for instance). Ask for the total protocol cost including follow-up labs before you start, not just the price of the first month.
What should I ask a clinic before starting peptide therapy?
Four things. Which specific peptide, by name — not just “peptides.” Where it is sourced, and whether that pharmacy is a 503A compounder or a 503B outsourcing facility. Which clinician is prescribing, and what their license is. And what monitoring is included — baseline and follow-up labs, and who reads them. A clinic that answers all four plainly is telling you something about how it operates.
Are peptides the same as steroids or HGH?
No. Anabolic steroids are synthetic testosterone derivatives. Human growth hormone is the hormone itself, supplied exogenously. Most peptides prescribed in this setting are secretagogues — signalling molecules that ask the pituitary to release its own growth hormone. That is a real pharmacological distinction, though it is sometimes used in marketing to imply a safety profile that the evidence doesn't yet establish.
How to choose a longevity clinic
What to look for
- Physician-led — clinicians you can look up by name and license
- Baseline lab work before any prescription or protocol
- Transparent, all-in pricing — including labs and follow-ups
- A clear plan for monitoring and adjusting your results over time
- A plan built around your goals, not a one-size-fits-all package
Be wary of
- Treatments (NAD+, peptides, hormones) pushed before any diagnostics
- “Reverse aging” or guaranteed-outcome claims
- Prescriptions written without recent lab work