How the rest of the world handles it

The international comparison

The U.S. isn't deciding this in a vacuum. Here is how four peer regulators treat the same peptides and the same question of pharmacy compounding - and the pattern is striking: every one of them is as strict as, or stricter than, the United States. None permits an over-the-counter "wellness peptide" market. Each claim links to the regulator's own page.

🇺🇸 United States - FDA Under review

The baseline. Historically more permissive on compounding than the peers below.

Peptides are regulated as drugs; several compounded peptides were placed under Category 2 review and are now before the FDA's advisory committee (July 23-24, 2026). See the tracker →
Compounded semaglutide was permitted only during the official drug shortage; melanotan II was never FDA-approved; retatrutide cannot be lawfully compounded.

🇪🇺 European Union - EMA + national agencies

Stricter than the US at the point of sale. No OTC peptide market; unlicensed sale is illegal.

Research peptides have no EMA or national marketing authorization and cannot be legally sold for human use; the Falsified Medicines Directive keeps unapproved products out of the legitimate supply chain. EMA
In 2024 the EMA warned of a "sharp rise" in illegal medicines sold in the EU, specifically naming GLP-1 drugs (semaglutide, liraglutide, tirzepatide) sold via fraudulent websites and social media. EMA news
Approved GLP-1 medicines (Ozempic, Wegovy) are available by prescription - the divergence from the US is entirely on the unapproved, research peptides.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom - MHRA

Legality turns on presentation: label it "research chemical" and it's tolerated; market it for human use and it becomes an unlicensed medicine that is unlawful to sell.

The moment a peptide is marketed for human use, dosing or injection, it becomes an unlicensed medicinal product and supplying it without authorization is unlawful.
GLP-1 weight-loss peptides are prescription-only; the MHRA has seized illegal GLP-1 products and shut down an illegal manufacturing facility. Reported
Melanotan II is illegal to sell in the UK - unlicensed, untested, and linked to adverse reactions; the MHRA has warned consumers and closed supplier websites. Cancer Research UK

🇦🇺 Australia - TGA

Among the strictest, with active enforcement. Several research peptides are now prescription-only.

BPC-157 was added to Schedule 4 (prescription-only) of the Poisons Standard in 2025; the TGA issued a safety advisory on the rise in unapproved peptides, naming BPC-157, GHK-Cu, TB-500, retatrutide and CJC-1295. TGA
Compounding of such Schedule 4 peptides is allowed only under a patient-specific Special Access Scheme approval - never for research or general sale. TGA media release
Melanotan II: not approved; illegal to supply without a prescription; the TGA issued 27 infringement notices to a single individual for alleged supply. TGA

🇨🇦 Canada - Health Canada

Direct public advisories and seizures. Unauthorized peptides cannot be legally sold, prescribed, or compounded.

An April 2025 public advisory warned against buying or injecting unauthorized peptides sold online - naming BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, TB-500 and retatrutide - citing risks of liver and kidney damage, blood clots, tumours, infection and contamination. Health Canada
Health Canada seized unauthorized injectable peptide drugs, including BPC-157, from a domestic supplier. Advisory

What the comparison shows

Every peer regulator is equal-to-stricter than the US on selling unapproved peptides to consumers - none allows an open "wellness peptide" market.
Compounding is uniformly narrower: prescription- and patient-specific everywhere (Australia's SAS, the UK's "Specials," Canada's general prohibition, the EU's national magistral rules).
Melanotan II is the clearest shared story - explicit warnings and enforcement in Australia, the UK, and the EU, all citing skin-cancer risk and illegal, unlicensed status.
The point isn't that stricter is automatically better - it's that a legal, regulated pathway, not an unregulated grey market, is the international norm.

Sources are the regulators' own publications (tga.gov.au, canada.ca, ema.europa.eu) plus Cancer Research UK and trade reporting where noted. National compounding rules vary within the EU; figures are summarized from official advisories. Peppies is independent and unaffiliated with any government body. Spot an out-of-date link? Tell us.