Overview
- The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Wednesday put unapproved injectable peptides into its priority compliance list so it can target imports, advertising and supply with seizures and possible civil or criminal penalties.
- New Zealand’s Medsafe has warned that peptides not prescribed by a doctor or dispensed by a pharmacy are illegal and can cause serious or life‑threatening reactions.
- Australian Border Force and state police worked with the TGA in recent operations that seized peptides, performance drugs and illicit steroids with an estimated street value of more than $2 million.
- Public demand has surged through influencer posts and online ads while some sellers label products as 'research chemicals' or 'not for human consumption' to try to evade regulation.
- Experts and independent tests say many products are wrongly dosed, contaminated or degraded without proper cold‑chain storage, which raises risks of abscess, infection, hormone disruption and hospitalisation and has led to calls for stronger local surveillance and harm‑reduction measures.