Approved drug vs research peptide.

The same molecule can come as an approved pen, a compounded vial or a research-market powder. Each comes with different information and different oversight.

Semaglutide, tirzepatide, tesamorelin and PT-141 (Vyleesi) are FDA approved. BPC-157, TB-500 and retatrutide are not.
"Research use only" does not authorize human use.
The FDA says compounded drugs aren't FDA approved, and it doesn't review them for safety, effectiveness or quality before they're sold.
FDA found counterfeit Ozempic in the legitimate US supply chain. Real lot numbers alone don't prove a pen is real.
A useful COA is independent and batch-matched, and checks identity, purity, amount, sterility and endotoxin.

How to read a COA

A certificate of analysis (COA) is a lab report on one batch. Go down it in this order.

Lot match The batch number must match the actual vial in your hand.
Third-party lab An independent lab, and confirm the report directly with that lab. A seller's purity claim is not proof.
Identity by mass spec Mass spectrometry shows the molecule is the one on the label.
HPLC purity HPLC or UPLC shows impurities. A purity percentage doesn't tell you the amount in milligrams.
Amount per vial A separate assay estimates the amount in the sampled vial. It does not confirm the dose drawn or product sterility.
Endotoxin and sterility Injections need both, on the finished product. Chemical purity can't confirm either.

Red flags

A purity screenshot and nothing else A seller's purity claim is not proof.
"Research use only" on something sold to inject Research-only labels don't establish medicine-quality manufacture or lawful sale for human use.
No sterility or endotoxin result For an injection, purity alone can't establish either.
A COA with gaps FDA found identity, assay, aggregate and endotoxin testing gaps in example TB-500 certificates.

What the FDA has warned about

Counterfeit pens Counterfeit Ozempic turned up in the legitimate US supply chain.
Dosing mistakes Compounded-vial mistakes of 5 to 20 times the intended dose.
Fake labels Fraudulent compounded-product labels and unapproved online products.
Research-labeled GLP-1s FDA names compounds like survodutide and mazdutide in warnings about research-labeled GLP-1 products of unknown quality.

Next: Lesson 5: How to mix

Information only, not medical advice. Peptifacts does not sell anything and does not link to sellers.