What is the difference between a peptide drug and a research peptide?

A peptide drug, like semaglutide or tesamorelin, went through the FDA approval process: manufacturing standards, controlled trials, and an approved label with a stated dose. A research peptide is the same category of molecule sold without that process, labeled for laboratory use, with no standardized manufacturing oversight and, for most of them, no human trial published at all. The chemistry can be identical; the evidence and oversight behind the vial are not.

Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.

Part of research peptides, the category. What research peptides are, legally and practically, before getting into specific compounds.