Repair peptides

GHK-Cu

Copper tripeptide-1

US status
Compoundable (503A)
Class
Repair peptides
Approved product
None
Route
Topical (cosmetic); injectable has no lawful route

By Peptide America · Publisher · Reviewed August 2026

Regulatory record

2 dated actions on record.
April 2026
FDA removes GHK-Cu from Category 1 of the interim 503A bulks list on April 22, 2026, the nominations withdrawn by the nominators. GHK-Cu was not among the seven peptides reviewed at the July 2026 PCAC meeting.
May 2026
After a nominator clarified on May 5, 2026 that it had intended to withdraw only its nomination of the injectable route, FDA's list document updated May 14, 2026 states that GHK-Cu (except for injectable routes of administration) will be added back to category 1, and lists it there. The injectable route was not restored and sits on no list. FDA states it intends to consult the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee before the end of February 2027.

Every entry above is dated; the record is current as of the review date.

Definition

GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring tripeptide, glycyl-histidyl-lysine, complexed with copper; it was identified in human plasma and declines with age, and it has a long history in topical cosmetics.

The molecule's two lives must be kept separate: as a cosmetic ingredient in creams and serums it is unremarkable and legal, while the injectable form sold for regeneration is a different product with a different legal position.

Evidence

The topical literature describes effects on skin regeneration and collagen signaling, largely from in vitro and small cosmetic studies [1]. A 2026 review of peptide therapies for musculoskeletal and performance uses finds no clinical trial support for injectable GHK-Cu [2].

The distance between a cosmetic ingredient's cell-culture record and an injected drug's evidentiary bar is the whole story here; the first does not carry the second.

GHK-Cu is also sold inside injectable blends, marketed under names such as GLOW and KLOW, that combine it with BPC-157 and TB-500 and, in KLOW, with KPV. Searched in September 2026, neither blend name appears as a phrase in any PubMed record, and the six records that name GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and TB-500 together are all 2026 review articles rather than studies of the combination [10]. ClinicalTrials.gov lists one registered, still-recruiting phase 2 trial of a topical GHK-Cu gel and no registered study of GHK-Cu combined with any of the other three peptides [11].

Side effects

No controlled study has measured the side effects of injected GHK-Cu, so no reliable list of them exists. The FDA states that compounded injectable drugs containing GHK-Cu may pose a risk of immunogenicity, an immune reaction to the peptide, because of the potential for aggregation and peptide-related impurities, and that there are limited data in humans to inform safety-related considerations [8]. The injection-scoped literature holds no trial of any type [4].

Topical use has a longer history but no dedicated safety study. The two human trials applied the tripeptide to skin, one on venous ulcers and one after laser resurfacing; both were small efficacy trials, and their published abstracts report treatment outcomes rather than adverse-event findings [5, 6]. A cream on the skin is also a different exposure from a peptide injected under it, so the topical record does not describe the injectable one.

Reviewers place GHK-Cu among the unapproved peptides for which rigorous human safety data are scarce: a 2026 review of peptide therapies in sports medicine concludes that such compounds carry a potential for serious harm that the existing record cannot measure [2].

Educational summary of the cited sources, not medical advice; a prescriber weighs these risks against a person’s own history.

Lawful access

GHK-Cu's position is often described as a Category 2 removal. It is not one. GHK-Cu sat in Category 1 of the interim 503A bulks list — the category for substances under evaluation, which a pharmacy may compound while the review continues — and FDA removed it from that category on April 22, 2026 because its nominations were withdrawn by the nominators. Category 2 has never named this substance [3].

The two routes then parted. A nominator clarified on May 5, 2026 that it had meant to withdraw only its nomination of the injectable route, and FDA's list document, updated May 14, 2026, states that "GHK-Cu (except for injectable routes of administration) will be added back to category 1" and lists it in Category 1 accordingly [3]. The injectable route was not restored; it sits on no list, and no lawful compounding route exists for it today. FDA states it intends to consult the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee before the end of February 2027 regarding the potential inclusion of GHK-Cu on the 503A bulks list [3]; GHK-Cu was not among the seven peptides reviewed at the July 2026 meeting. Topical cosmetic use is regulated as a cosmetic and is unaffected by any of this.

Injectable material sold online is research-use-only chemical supply, outside pharmacy licensure and quality standards.

Supply

Partner programs; this reference earns a commission on starts. Details.

  • Bodybuilding Health+PartnerForm: TopicalBasis: Compounded

    Publishes GHK-Cu as a topical preparation, listed under a heading of advanced peptide therapies and described as supporting skin repair and collagen, prescribed after a provider-guided intake. No injectable form of it appears on the page.

    Visit Bodybuilding Health+ (opens in a new tab)
  • EdenPartnerForm: Topical foamBasis: Compounded$68 a month

    Publishes GHK-Cu as a topical hair foam for men and for women, dispensed by prescription as a cosmetic; no injectable GHK-Cu appears on its site.

    Visit Eden (opens in a new tab)

Every finding was read in September 2026; tap a seller to see it. Prices are each seller’s own published figure, in its own unit. Order is alphabetical, not a ranking.

Questions

Is GHK-Cu safe?

Its safety as an injection is not established. The FDA has cited possible immune reactions and peptide impurities in injectable GHK-Cu and states that human data are limited [8]. Topical cosmetic use has a longer history but no dedicated safety trial.

Is GHK-Cu legal in the US?

As a topical cosmetic, yes. For compounding, FDA's list document updated May 14, 2026 places GHK-Cu, except for injectable routes, in Category 1, so a pharmacy may compound a non-injectable preparation while review continues; the injectable route sits on no list and has no lawful compounding route as of September 2026 [3].

Is GHK-Cu FDA-approved?

No. Drugs@FDA holds no application under the name [9], and a cosmetic that contains it does not need FDA premarket approval [7].

What is the difference between GHK-Cu injection and topical GHK-Cu?

They share a molecule but not an evidence base or a legal position. Both human trials applied GHK-Cu to skin, while the injection-scoped literature holds no trial [4, 5, 6]. The topical versus injectable review sets the two side by side.

What are GLOW and KLOW?

They are injectable blends sold as GHK-Cu with BPC-157 and TB-500, with KLOW adding KPV. No human trial has tested either combination [10, 11]. The GLOW and KLOW review sets out each component's status.

Elsewhere in this index

Filed under

Evidence reviews

Reference tables

Same class

  • BPC-157PCAC-recommended · pending
  • TB-500PCAC-recommended · pending
  • KPVPCAC-recommended · pending
  • ARA-290No lawful route

References

  1. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:648108. PMID 26236730
  2. Mendias CL, Awan TM. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Med. 2026 Aug;56(8):1921-1935. PMID 41966639
  3. US Food and Drug Administration. Bulk drug substances nominated for use in compounding under section 503A of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Updated May 14, 2026. Read August 2026. The document's update note states that "GHK-Cu (except for injectable routes of administration) was removed from category 1 on April 22, 2026, because the nominations for GHK-Cu were withdrawn by the nominators," that a nominator clarified on May 5, 2026 that it intended to withdraw only the injectable nomination, and that GHK-Cu (except for injectable routes of administration) "will be added back to category 1"; the substance is listed in Category 1 on that page. The 503A Category 2 list on the same document names six substances — cesium chloride, domperidone, germanium sesquioxide, ibutamoren mesylate, kisspeptin-10, and quinacrine hydrochloride for intrauterine administration — and GHK-Cu is not among them. Source
  4. PubMed, National Library of Medicine. Census run September 2026 across three name variants — "GHK-Cu" OR "copper tripeptide" OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine" — returning 197 indexed records, 71 carrying the Humans MeSH term, 3 under "clinical trial"[Publication Type] and 3 under "randomized controlled trial"[Publication Type]. Split by route in the search itself: combined with the terms topical, cream, serum, skin, wound or cosmetic the names return 116 records and the same 3 trial-type records; combined with the terms injection, injectable, subcutaneous, intravenous or intramuscular they return 23 records, 3 of them tagged Humans and 0 under either trial type. The three injection-scoped human-tagged records were opened: a biomaterials paper on polymer microspheres, a 2026 review primer on injectable peptides for sports physicians, and a 2018 pilot of an intradermal hair-growth formulation; none is a trial of injected GHK-Cu. All three trial-type records were opened and read: a 1992 venous-ulcer trial and a 2006 laser-resurfacing trial, both topical, and a 2006 wound study in rabbits. The publication-type filter was proved live in the same run against a control term returning 8,906 records under the clinical-trial type and 6,115 under the randomized type; the invalid tag clinicaltrial[pt] returned 0 for that control term, and a deliberately invalid record identifier errored at the start and the end of the run. The counts reproduce the August 2026 run behind the trial-record table exactly. Source
  5. Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, et al. A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers. J Vasc Surg. 1992;16(2):251–257. PMID 1495150
  6. Miller TR, Wagner JD, Baack BR, Eisbach KJ. Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2006;8(4):252–259. PMID 16847171
  7. US Food and Drug Administration. FDA Authority Over Cosmetics: How Cosmetics Are Not FDA-Approved, but Are FDA-Regulated. Content current as of November 18, 2025. Read September 2026. The page states that under the law cosmetic products and ingredients do not need FDA premarket approval, with the exception of color additives; that the FD&C Act defines cosmetics by their intended use, as articles intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance (section 201(i)); and that a product intended for a therapeutic use, such as treating or preventing disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body, is a drug under section 201(g) even if it affects the appearance. Source
  8. US Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks, content current as of April 22, 2026, table of bulk drug substances nominated but withdrawn, entry for GHK-Cu (for injectable routes of administration). Read September 2026. The entry states that compounded injectable drugs containing GHK-Cu may pose risk for immunogenicity due to the potential for aggregation and peptide-related impurities, and that there are limited data in humans to inform safety-related considerations. The table is introduced on that page as a list of substances previously in category 2 of the interim policies that were withdrawn by the nominators; the list document cited as reference 3 records the April 22, 2026 removal as a removal from category 1. This index prints both documents as written and does not reconcile them. Source
  9. US Food and Drug Administration, Drugs@FDA through the openFDA drugsfda endpoint. Queried September 2026 on the generic name, the substance name and the brand name for "GHK-Cu": no matching application. Control in the same run: the identical query for "bremelanotide" returned NDA 210557. Source
  10. PubMed, National Library of Medicine. Searches run September 2026. The quoted phrases "GLOW peptide", "KLOW peptide", "GLOW blend" and "KLOW blend" were each reported by E-utilities as not found in any record. ("GHK-Cu" OR "copper tripeptide") AND ("BPC-157" OR "BPC 157") AND ("TB-500" OR "TB500" OR "thymosin beta 4" OR "thymosin beta-4") returned 6 records, all published in 2026 and all review or overview articles on peptide therapies (PMIDs 42635865, 42578445, 42021992, 41966639, 41490200, 41476424); none is a study of the combination. BPC-157 names combined with KPV names returned 0 records. Under "clinical trial"[Publication Type], four BPC-157 name variants returned 0 records, four KPV name variants returned 0 of 113 records, and three GHK-Cu name variants returned 3. In the same run the control term aspirin returned 8,916 records under the same filter, the invalid tag clinicaltrial[pt] returned 0 for that control, and esummary on the invalid identifier 99999999 errored. Source
  11. ClinicalTrials.gov, National Library of Medicine, v2 API. Searches run September 2026. "GHK-Cu" returned 3 registered studies, among them NCT07437586, a randomized, vehicle-controlled phase 2 trial of a topical GHK-Cu gel on acute skin wounds, recruiting, started February 2026, no results posted. "BPC-157" returned 4: NCT07437547, a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial in hamstring strain, recruiting; NCT07803250, a phase 1 study after rotator cuff repair, not yet recruiting; NCT02637284, a phase 1 study of an oral preparation, status unknown; and NCT07752381, a single-arm dietary-supplement study, completed; none has posted results. "TB-500" returned 1, NCT07487363, a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1/2 trial, recruiting. "KPV" returned 0. "GLOW peptide" returned 13 studies and "KLOW" 1, none concerning a peptide blend. Each pairing of BPC-157, TB-500, GHK and KPV searched together returned 0. Control in the same run: "aspirin" returned 2,968 studies. Source