The peptide party got cancelled. The grey market didn’t

Summary

Gut health, weight loss, anti-ageing—India’s grey market is bubbling with “miracle shots” promising quick fixes. The catch is, most of these products haven’t got regulatory approval. But that’s not stopping buyers.

Bengaluru/Mumbai: Late in August, at Bengaluru’s Koramangala, the city’s familiar playground for startups and wellness brands, an unusual event was being planned. The invitation promised something that sounded like a weekend party, with music, food, networking and, intriguingly, “peptide tastings”. Around 50 people were expected to attend.

The star of the evening was not supposed to be a cocktail or a new wellness product, but peptides, a class of compounds that has moved rapidly from the laboratory and pharmaceutical industry into the world of weight loss, muscle recovery, longevity and biohacking.

Soon as the “peptide party” was announced on X, it unleashed a wave of criticism from the medical fraternity, alarmed at what appeared to be unfettered promotion of unapproved drugs. However, the idea behind the party was to start a conversation and tap into a growing trend, the organisers told Mint. “India’s first peptide party”, as it was marketed, was following a wave of peptide clubs, ‘raves’ and workshops in San Francisco’s longevity circles.

“The peptide party was conceived as a way to start a conversation, not as a product launch or a clinic,” Aisurya Mishra, brand strategist at Upsurge Labs, which organised the event, told Mint. “India in general has been a little behind when it comes to biotech and biological science conversations that are already mainstream in the West. Peptides are a good example of that… even though the science itself isn’t new, it is really just a chain of amino acids. We didn’t want India to be behind on this as well.”

The party never happened.

After the social media storm, Karnataka’s food and drug regulator stepped in and sought details from the organisers, who subsequently cancelled the event. The state regulator did not respond to Mint’s request for details.

According to Mishra, the peptide party was to have five items on a tasting menu—oral peptides that were already available commercially and not prescription-grade—with doctors lined up to speak on peptides from a clinical perspective.

In Silicon Valley, where the pursuit of longevity and self-optimisation has become a cottage industry, experimental peptide use has mainstreamed over the past year. Globally, unapproved and under-trial peptides, usually originating from China, have leapt out of niche biohacking and fitness communities into the mainstream, driven by a host of influencers, popular podcasters like Joe Rogan and increased backing by US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The trend is catching on in India as well.

Mint found several online platforms selling injectable peptides promising anti-ageing, weight-loss, gut-repair, skin and hair rejuvenation, anti-inflammatory and other benefits, often carrying disclaimers that these are “for research use only” and not for human consumption. And yet, these peptides can be bought as easily as vegetables online.

Injectable peptides do not fall within the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) health-supplement and nutraceutical framework, which covers products intended for oral consumption and excludes those administered by injection. Doctors warn about the risks of using peptides unsupervised.

Yet, the “research only” disclaimers have done little to stop people from using these compounds on themselves without regulatory approval or medical supervision. About half a dozen users who spoke with Mint on condition of anonymity said they buy peptides from suppliers they consider trustworthy. This murky supply chain includes online platforms, wellness, cosmetic and biohacking clinics, and low-profile suppliers.

At the crux of this trend unfolding in the shadows is a growing cultural shift among Indian consumers—a desire to optimise the body even if it means experimenting with the bounds of pharmaceuticals.

What are peptides?

Peptides are basically short chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Some peptides occur naturally in the body and act like messengers, influencing things such as hormones, metabolism, inflammation, tissue repair and appetite. Scientists can also make peptides in a lab and design them to mimic, enhance or block these biological signals.

Like any prescription drug, peptides need to go through preclinical research, clinical trials and regulatory review to establish safety, efficacy and dosage forms. However, most popular peptides being consumed fall into three categories.

GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (the active ingredient in Novo Nordic’s Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro) are approved by regulators and used in treating obesity and type-2 diabetes.

The second category is peptides that are approved for a certain treatment but used for other purposes.

The third is experimental peptides, which lack substantial clinical human trial data and are sold commercially for “research only” through websites as well as via Telegram, Reddit and WhatsApp channels. Mint reached out to eight online platforms selling peptides “for research” but the queries did not elicit any response.

Most popular among the grey market peptides are: BPC-157 for recovery, injury and gut health; GHK-Cu for skin, hair and anti-ageing; TB-500 for muscle recovery; semax and selank for cognition and focus; and retatrutide for weight loss.

India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) hasn’t approved these peptides for therapeutic use. It has granted Eli Lilly permission to conduct clinical trials of retatrutide but has not approved it for marketing. The use of non-injectible GHK-Cu in some topical cosmetic products is regulated separately from drugs.

The peptide consumer

P.T. Rajesh, 40, a body transformation specialist and gym owner from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, has been using peptides for more than a decade. He started using human growth hormone in 2015 as he prepared for bodybuilding competitions.

HGH, a peptide hormone administered by injection, is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) as a prescription medicine for people with certain medical conditions. In India, recombinant HGH is approved as a prescription medicine for certain medical indications, but not for uses such as bodybuilding or performance enhancement.

Today, Rajesh uses GHK-Cu for skin and hair benefits. A 25mg vial, he says, costs around ₹11,000. The fact that these products carry labels such as “not for human consumption” or “research use only” does not concern him. “If you are using them cautiously and you know what you are doing, you can use them without any issues,” he says.

Finding such peptides is not difficult. “Sellers are everywhere,” he says. “People who import protein supplements are usually the ones, as it’s easy for them to get it in.”

For another cohort using unregulated peptides, the need stems from a medical problem.

A 26-year-old MBBS graduate from Delhi began researching peptides after his mother, who had grade 3 osteoarthritis, was left with few options. The cartilage in her knees was severely worn down, causing inflammation and pain. After about a year of conventional treatment, doctors recommended surgery, while warning that the results might not be particularly promising.

His mother needed to lose about 10kg, but severe knee pain made exercise difficult. While looking for alternatives, he came across studies on BPC-157, TB-500, and retatrutide. His mother used retatrutide alongside a structured diet, while he used BPC-157 and TB-500, and a CJC-1295/ipamorelin combination to stimulate growth hormones.

The supply chain

Bengaluru-based Karan, who runs a functional wellness clinic in Bengaluru, started commercial exploration of peptides in 2019, but struggled finding vendors. The clinic offers peptides to select clients as part of larger packages, after a host of diagnostic tests to ensure safety.

“Vendors are nothing but local dealers and chemists who import it, repackage it and sell it online… so far, we have fired five dealers after finding contamination in the product,” says Karan, who asked to be identified by his first name.

Vendors import peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients—or APIs, the main raw material in a medicine that produces its intended therapeutic effect—from Chinese manufacturers, and typically provide a COA, or ‘Certificate of Analysis’, with the batch. However, the COA only ensures purity of the substance, and doesn’t guarantee the product is not contaminated.

Karan says his clinic undertook independent testing for contamination, largely through laboratories overseas, although this adds about 20% to the overall cost. “Say you are purchasing a batch worth ₹10 lakh, we would spend ₹2 lakh for contamination testing,” he says. The clinic is now on the hunt for verified vendors.

In many cases, individual vendors import these peptides as ‘artisanal chalk’, thus bypassing drug regulator scrutiny, says Karan.

Umang Patel, who runs Zenith Health Sciences, says peptide APIs imported for “research use” in India require a testing licence, as well as an import licence for the purpose of research and development, which need to be procured from the central and state regulatory authorities.

His pharmaceutical venture buys peptide APIs from Chinese drugmakers which are exported directly to markets like Europe, the UAE and Latin America, The firm, however, does not import into India or work with Indian vendors, according to Patel.

Globally, peptides are big business. A report by American blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis in June found grey market transactions for peptides exceeding a $100 million run rate in 2026. This is a massive jump from 2024, when cryptocurrency flowing into the grey-market peptide ecosystem hovered at roughly $1 million per quarter. No such India-specific data could be found.

In July, an advisory committee of the US FDA narrowly voted to recommend six peptides—BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, Semax, and Epitalon—to be allowed for compounding.

Compounding—where pharmacists combine ingredients to create custom medications—are a mainstay in the US. India doesn’t have a framework regulating compounding. But some Indian firms have taken note of the development in the US.

“We have been working with certain manufacturers in anticipation of this ruling from the FDA. Our initial test batches are already in place,” says Anshu Shrivastava, director of strategy and corporate development, HRV Pharma.

The proprietary drug-development platform recently signed a deal with Hyderabad-based Arene Life Sciences to jointly invest ₹50 crore in a dedicated peptide facility. Shrivastava pegs the total addressable opportunity for peptides in global regulated markets at $2 billion.

Risk of the unknown

The biggest concern around unapproved peptides may not be what is known about them, but what remains unknown.

India’s Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 does not specifically define “peptide”. However, a peptide intended for the treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease or disorder may qualify as a “drug”. That distinction matters because drugs are subject to regulatory oversight, including requirements around their manufacture, quality and safety.

For doctors, the evidence itself is a problem. While Eli Lilly’s retatrutide has the most substantial human data among some of the commonly discussed peptides, it is still not an approved drug, and that has several implications, according to Dr. Priyanka Hemrajani, senior consultant, dermatology, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram.

A compound can produce an effect in the body without there being enough evidence to know whether that effect is beneficial, what dose is appropriate, who should avoid it, or what could happen after prolonged use, say experts.

Some peptides can affect hormones, blood sugar, metabolism and the immune system, markers that need to be tested for before taking a drug. When administered by injection, there are also more immediate risks such as pain, swelling and infection.

“Repeated exposure can introduce effects that are harder to identify, particularly when someone is using more than one peptide at a time. For doctors, that can make both diagnosis and treatment more complicated,” says Dr. Hemrajani.

Moreover, peptides meant “for research” are often supplied as powders that have to be reconstituted before use, creating opportunity for contamination.

“The bodybuilding community is one area where I see a lot of patients who have caused significant harm and damage to their bodies and their endocrine system in the pursuit of bodybuilding goals,” says Dr. Swapneil Parikh, a Mumbai-based internal medicine specialist and clinical researcher.

He adds that while several of these compounds warrant clinical trials, big pharma firms are de-incentivised from conducting trials on some popular peptides due to how their patents were filed.

For instance, with BPC 157, the original patent was filed in the early 1990s and has since lapsed. This means that a company conducting expensive clinical trials on the drug would still not retain exclusive rights to sell it, nor make a profit. This, says Parikh, has left some of these compounds in a limbo where they may have significant benefits but lack any structured clinical research data.

Who is accountable?

“Research use only” sounds like a clear warning, but sellers use that label to stay outside the standards that apply to medicines, say industry experts.

Ajit Marathe, founder and chief information officer of Skin Beyond Borders (SkinBB), a skincare marketplace, explains that a research product does not have to meet the same manufacturing and quality standards as an injectable medicine.

Under India’s Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, certain substances that are not intended for medicinal use can be exempted from some drug requirements if they are labelled accordingly. But that does not necessarily provide a blanket defence to a seller who knowingly supplies such a product for human use, says Aditya Patni, partner at law firm Khaitan and Co.

“The main offence of selling or offering an unapproved new drug, can attract 3 to 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of at least ₹1,00,000 (or three times the value of the drugs, whichever is higher),” says Patni.

However, the Drugs and Cosmetics Act does not expressly criminalise mere possession for personal use, Patni adds. “Limited personal imports are also permitted in certain circumstances, subject to conditions under the drugs rules. But when an individual imports a product directly from overseas without meeting those conditions, they can potentially be treated as the importer, leaving the shipment open to detention or seizure.”

For regulators, however, identifying and acting against sellers is a challenge as the market is fragmented across websites, online marketplaces and private messaging groups, while products can move through small consignments and informal distributors.

The CDSCO did not respond to Mint’s request for comments.

While India does not have a separate regulatory category for peptides sold online, the rules will apply depending on factors such as how a substance is classified, what claims are made, and how it is supplied, says Patni. That leaves a chain of accountability stretching from the manufacturer and importer to the distributor and seller, and, in some cases, the online platform selling the peptide.

The peptide may be a research product on paper, a medicine in the hands of the buyer, and something else entirely to the seller. In that gap is where the grey market lies.

About the Authors

Samiksha Goel is a Bengaluru‑based journalist at Mint with seven years of experience reporting on startups, venture capital and strategic business narratives. She specialises in investigative reporting and company strategy‑focused stories that go beyond surface‑level developments to unpack why and how companies evolve, pivot and compete. Samiksha has been among the first to chronicle major startup sagas, from early deep dives into the GoMechanic story to nuanced analyses of shifting dynamics between food‑tech platforms like Swiggy and their restaurant partners, bringing clarity to complex, fast‑moving markets.<br><br>Before joining Mint, she was at The Morning Context, where she produced long‑form investigative pieces on consumer internet startups. She began her journalism career with Deccan Herald and The New Indian Express, covering emerging ventures and the broader business ecosystem. Drawing on a background in philosophy, she brings analytical rigour and intellectual curiosity to her reporting.<br><br>Outside her professional work, Samiksha enjoys reading, especially historical fiction and magic realism, going on day treks from Bengaluru, exploring the city’s food scene, and experimenting with fun recipes in her kitchen. Her days are spent digging into startups, untangling company strategies, and occasionally getting lost on a walk by a Bengaluru lake, sometimes in that order.

Jessica has been tracking the pharmaceutical, life sciences and healthcare sector for Mint since November 2024. Based in the country's financial capital, she reports on everything to do with health and medicines. This includes corporate action, patent wars, deals, startup activity and consumer trends. She also keeps a keen eye on the ever-evolving world wellness and preventive health, which moves faster than regulation can keep up. She has a deep interest in what the future of health looks like and how science, innovation, policy and company decisions inform and impact the health of citizens. She has been a reporter for five years, working with publications like The Core and News18 prior to this, covering various sectors like automobiles, real estate, energy, sustainability and urban mobility. Jessica has a bachelor’s degree in English from St Xavier’s College, Mumbai and a postgraduate diploma in media from Sophia’s College, Mumbai. Her work is driven by a desire to decode how macro decisions and events alter and shape the lives of ordinary people. Drop her a mail or a message to discuss business scoops, exciting new medicines and inventions, or your latest wellness routine.