Is Thymosin Alpha-1 legal in Canada?

An immune-tuning peptide from the thymus. It is approved in many countries for hepatitis and to help the immune system alongside other treatments.

Thymosin Alpha-1 was first taken from the thymus, a gland that trains immune cells. It tunes T cells and the body's first-line defences.

How it works: It helps T cells mature and work. It acts on dendritic cells, the immune cells that raise the alarm, and on immune signals called cytokines.

Approval history: Not FDA-approved (it has orphan status, a label for drugs aimed at rare diseases); approved in 30+ countries as Zadaxin

Allows a drug to be sold by issuing a Notice of Compliance and a Drug Identification Number (DIN). A compound that is not allowed for sale cannot legally be sold for use in people. Bringing in prescription drugs for your own use is also limited.

The legal category above is how The Longevity Archive reads Health Canada, Health Products and Food Branch listings for Thymosin Alpha-1 on the reviewed date. It is not a legal opinion. Rules change. Bringing a compound into the country, prescribing it and owning it can each be treated differently. Check with the agency before you act on anything here.

Check Health Canada directly

Whether Thymosin Alpha-1 is banned in sport is set by the World Anti-Doping Code and by military rules, not by its legal status in Canada. Before you compete or get tested, look up Thymosin Alpha-1 by name on the Prohibited List, or look up a named product in Global DRO. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, category S0 bans, at all times, any drug-like substance that meets two tests. No other section of the List covers it. And no government health regulator anywhere has a current approval for it as a treatment in people. Many substances that are approved somewhere are banned by name in another section. So approval does not mean a substance is allowed in sport.

• WADA Prohibited List
• Global DRO (check a named product)
• USADA (US athletes)
• Operation Supplement Safety (US service members)

The rules you compete or serve under decide this, not this page.