01 A public reading guide

Know what a name means before you decide what to do.

Peptide names can appear in clinical care, research papers, cosmetic products, online discussions, and informal sales claims—often without enough context to tell those situations apart. This guide puts the essential questions in one place: What is it? What evidence exists? What does its status mean? What is still unknown? It is designed to help readers recognise the difference between an approved medicine, an investigational idea, an early research compound, and a named blend.

Explore research editions

AI-assisted matching ranks only the current Field Guide catalogue. It does not provide medical advice, dosing, or treatment recommendations.

A practical reference for reading claims carefully, asking better questions, and knowing where evidence stops.

Annotated peptide specimen sketches, archival research notes, laboratory glassware, and a magnifying lens on a warm paper field guide

Start hereClear does not mean simple-minded.

It means the important context comes first.

Important context

This is information only, not medical advice and not a tool for clinical decisions. Nothing on this site is a diagnosis, treatment plan, prescribing instruction, product recommendation, or a substitute for individual care. The guide does not assess whether any compound, medicine, research study, or technical value is appropriate for a particular person.

Technical terms, status labels, half-life information, and any dosage or timing fields are provided only to explain how people may encounter a topic in scientific or medical information. They are not instructions to start, stop, combine, obtain, or change any product. For a real health decision, use the current product label and speak with a licensed clinician who can consider your medical history, medicines, risks, and goals.

How this guide handles status

02 Orientation

One word can change the whole picture.

Prescription context

Approved products may exist, but always for a specific labelled use—not a broad category of claims.

Clinical research

Human research is underway. It is not a promise of approval, availability, or suitability.

Early or limited research

The evidence is usually laboratory, animal, small-study, or otherwise incomplete—not enough to establish routine use.

Biology, cosmetic & chemical context

A natural molecule, cosmetic ingredient, or chemical target is not automatically a proven medicine.

03 The guide, made readable

Explore the library by meaning, not marketing.

This directory brings together approved medicines, trial-stage candidates, research compounds, natural molecules, cosmetic ingredients, and named blends. The same word can mean very different things in each setting. Start with the category, then use the selected-entry notes to understand what has been studied, what is established, and what remains uncertain.

Read this group first

Prescription context

12 entries

Approved products may exist, but always for a specific labelled use—not a broad category of claims.

Read this group first

Clinical research

9 entries

Human research is underway. It is not a promise of approval, availability, or suitability.

Read this group first

Early or limited research

48 entries

The evidence is usually laboratory, animal, small-study, or otherwise incomplete—not enough to establish routine use.

Read this group first

Biology, cosmetic & chemical context

8 entries

A natural molecule, cosmetic ingredient, or chemical target is not automatically a proven medicine.

Read this group first

Combination note

9 entries

A named blend is a directory label, not a tested protocol or a safety endorsement.

Selected entry

Field note · 03/01

Prescription context

Semaglutide

Metabolic medicines

The short version

A GLP-1 receptor agonist used in specific FDA-approved products for type 2 diabetes and/or chronic weight management.

How to read the evidence

FDA-approved products exist for particular uses, products, and patient groups. The approval question is always specific: it does not automatically apply to another formulation, dose, combination, or purpose.

Why context matters

The clearest source is the current official product label. Labels set out approved uses, warnings, who should not use a medicine, and how risks are monitored.

Evidence-linked reference

Dosage example in context

Not a treatment plan

Read every item as an explanation of the original evidence setting. The same seven points appear for every entry, including entries where a reliable value has not been established.

01
Reference type
Label-specific reference
02
Amount in the source
Initiate at 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks. Then follow the dosage escalation schedule in Table 1, titrating every 4 weeks to achieve the maintenance dosage. The usual recommended maintenance dosage of WEGOVY injection is 2.4 mg once weekly.
03
Timing in the source
Administer WEGOVY injection once weekly as an adjunct to diet and increased physical activity, on the same day each week, at any time of day, with or without meals.
04
Duration in the source
Initiate at 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks. Then follow the dosage escalation schedule in Table 1, titrating every 4 weeks to achieve the maintenance dosage.
05
Population and purpose
Adults and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with obesity, or adults with overweight in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbid condition, to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction long term.
06
How to interpret it
This is a context-specific value from a label or research record. It is not a personal treatment plan, a recommendation, or proof that the product is appropriate, safe, or authorised for another purpose. This record reflects the FDA-approved product label for Wegovy, outlining specific titration and maintenance dosages for weight management and cardiovascular risk reduction in indicated populations.
07
Read the original evidence
Label: WEGOVY- semaglutide injection, solution WEGOVY- semaglutide tablet

A careful next step

Do not assume an online, compounded, imported, or research-labelled version is the same as an FDA-approved medicine. Regulatory status and quality oversight are not interchangeable.

Search registered clinical studies Search peer-reviewed literature

The guide covers 76 individual compounds and 9 named blends. Some names also have aliases, which are explained in their own entries. Category labels are reading aids, not legal classifications, and they should not be used to judge whether a product is right for anyone.

Archival research cards, a molecular specimen sketch, laboratory glassware, and a magnifying lens arranged as an evidence trail on warm paper

04 The evidence guide

Research is a path, not a yes-or-no badge.

Strong claims need strong, relevant evidence. The earlier the research stage, the more careful the language should be. A useful starting question is not simply “has this been studied?” but “studied in whom, for what purpose, against what comparison, and with what limits?”

Field note

A study can be well done and still answer only one narrow question. The group, product, outcome, and comparison all matter.

1
Lab and animal work
Useful for understanding a possible mechanism. It cannot predict a real-world benefit or full safety picture in people.
2
Early human studies
Often explore safety, tolerability, and what researchers should study next. Small studies may miss uncommon harms.
3
Larger controlled trials
Better for answering whether a medicine helps a defined group compared with a relevant alternative or placebo.
4
Approval and monitoring
Approval is for an intended product and use. Safety monitoring continues after a medicine reaches the public.

Read FDA’s clinical research overview

Search registered clinical studies Search biomedical research papers Check current medicine labels

05 Details that change meaning

“Approved,” “compounded,” and “investigational” are not interchangeable.

FDA approval means the agency has evaluated a particular product’s benefits and risks for a specific intended population and use. A compounded drug is not FDA-approved; it may be appropriate only in limited circumstances when a patient’s needs cannot be met by an approved product. Research-stage names can also appear online without a lawful, reviewed product behind them.

FDA guidance on unapproved GLP-1 products FDA compounding-risk reference FDA approval databases and labels

An unlabeled amber glass vial, reference notes, botanical material, a pencil, and molecular sketch on a warm research desk — Good information leaves room for what is not yet known.

06 The language, unpacked

Useful words in plain English.

Peptide

A short chain of amino acids. Some peptides are natural signals in the body; others are made or modified for research or medicine.

GLP-1 receptor agonist

A medicine type that acts on a receptor involved in blood sugar, appetite, and digestion. Products differ in evidence, approval, and safety information.

Compounded drug

A drug made for a patient under certain legal conditions. It does not receive FDA premarket approval for safety, effectiveness, or quality.

Half-life

A technical estimate of how quickly the amount of a substance in the body falls by half. It does not tell someone what they should take or how a product will affect them.

Preclinical

Research that happens before human trials, such as laboratory or animal studies. It can guide questions; it cannot prove human benefit.

Investigational

Being studied as part of research or development. It does not mean a product is approved, available, or appropriate outside that research context.