Eight records on ClinicalTrials.gov, all from a sponsor named Hudson Biotech and first posted between 27 February and 1 April 2026, list "recruiting" trials of BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, MOTS-c, Melanotan II, tesamorelin, tirzepatide and retatrutide. By their own wording at least three are not real trials: the TB-500 record calls itself "fictional", the tesamorelin record is titled "(Mock Study)", and the Melanotan II record calls itself an "example" record. The tirzepatide record reuses the name, enrolment and protocol code of Eli Lilly's completed SURMOUNT-1 trial. ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify what sponsors submit, so these eight NCT numbers should not be cited as evidence of human trials for any of these compounds. As of 13 October 2026 the only other registered BPC-157 trial is a 30-person Phase 1 at the University of Arkansas that has not started recruiting.
A ClinicalTrials.gov number looks like proof. It has an NCT prefix, a government domain, a phase and a recruiting status. For eight peptide records registered this spring, the records say in their own text that they are not trials.
We found them while building a trial tracker for every compound we cover. Eight records share a sponsor, "Hudson Biotech". All were first posted between 27 February and 1 April 2026, and all are marked recruiting. They cover two drugs with real late-stage programmes, tirzepatide and retatrutide, and six compounds that are mostly sold as research peptides: BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, MOTS-c, Melanotan II and tesamorelin.
What the records say about themselves.
Three of the eight undercut themselves in plain text.
| NCT | Compound | Phase, size | What the record says |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCT07487363 | TB-500 | Phase 1/2, 80 | Summary opens: "This fictional study is an example of a ClinicalTrials.gov-style record" |
| NCT07481734 | Tesamorelin | Phase 2, 120 | Brief title ends "(Mock Study)" |
| NCT07437560 | Melanotan II | Phase 2, 60 | Summary opens: "This example interventional study record describes…" |
| NCT07481747 | Tirzepatide | Phase 3, 2,539 | Title, acronym, enrolment and protocol code match Lilly's SURMOUNT-1 |
| NCT07467447 | Retatrutide | Phase 2, 300 | Protocol code matches Lilly's 2021 retatrutide Phase 2 |
| NCT07437547 | BPC-157 | Phase 2, 120 | Hamstring strain. Same template as the rest |
| NCT07437586 | GHK-Cu | Phase 2, 60 | Topical gel, wound healing. Same template |
| NCT07505745 | MOTS-c | Phase 2a, 120 | Prediabetes. Same template |
The other five do not use the words, but they share everything else with the three that do.
The shared template.
All eight list exactly one site, the same hospital in Shenzhen, China. None names a principal investigator. All eight give the same two contact people, with phone numbers that differ by one digit and email addresses on a domain that does not match the sponsor's name. Seven give a start date of 2 or 5 February 2026, and the eighth 15 February. Seven give an estimated primary completion date of 14 February 2027. Every one was "actually" started before it was registered.
Running eight trials at one hospital is possible. A 2,539-person Phase 3 obesity trial, a split-wound dermatology study, a vitiligo phototherapy trial and an MRI-confirmed hamstring-injury study, all starting the same week at the same site, with no investigator named on any of them, is not a pattern real sponsors leave.
The SURMOUNT-1 copy.
SURMOUNT-1 is Eli Lilly's
pivotal tirzepatide obesity trial. It was registered in December 2019, enrolled
2,539 people, completed, and was published in 2022. The Hudson Biotech record
NCT07481747 calls itself "(SURMOUNT-1)", gives an enrolment of 2,539, and lists
its study ID as I8F-MC-GPHK(b), which is Lilly's protocol code for SURMOUNT-1
with a letter added.
The record also contradicts itself. It says the primary efficacy assessment is at week 72. It says the trial started on 2 February 2026 and will reach primary completion on 14 February 2027, which is 54 weeks later. A trial cannot measure a 72-week endpoint in 54 weeks.
The retatrutide record, NCT07467447, does the same thing on a smaller scale. Its
study ID J1I-MC-GZBF is the protocol code of Lilly's 2021 retatrutide Phase 2
(NCT04881760), which enrolled
338 people and is complete.
Why it matters for peptide buyers.
For compounds like BPC-157, TB-500 and MOTS-c, almost all of the evidence comes from animals. A registered human trial would be real news, and an NCT number is easy to paste into a product page, a forum post or a sales video. We have not yet seen a seller cite these eight records. If one does, the citation proves nothing.
The registry is not built to catch this. Each ClinicalTrials.gov record carries the notice that listing a study does not mean the US federal government has evaluated it. Sponsors submit the content and answer for it. Formatting checks are not verification.
Here is what the registry actually shows once the eight records are set aside, as of 13 October 2026:
| Compound | Registered human trials you can take at face value |
|---|---|
| BPC-157 | A 2015 Phase 1 safety study in healthy volunteers (Croatian sponsor), status unknown, no results posted. A 30-person Phase 1 after rotator-cuff repair (University of Arkansas), not yet recruiting |
| TB-500 (17-23 fragment) | None. Trials of full-length thymosin beta-4 exist, mainly eye drops and cardiac injections, but that is a different molecule |
| GHK-Cu | None of the peptide as a treatment. One commercial patch study measures blood GHK levels |
| MOTS-c | One completed Phase 1 of CohBar's analogue CB4211, not MOTS-c itself |
| Melanotan II | None |
| Tesamorelin | Approved as Egrifta, with a long trial record. The new liver-fat record is the mock one |
How to check an NCT number yourself.
- Read the summary. It sounds obvious, but three of these eight fail at the first paragraph.
- Look for a principal investigator. Real interventional trials name one, with an institution.
- Check the dates against the protocol. Start, treatment length and completion have to add up.
- Search the protocol code and acronym. If the same study ID or trial name belongs to a pharma company's completed trial, you are looking at a copy.
- Check the sponsor outside the registry. A company that runs eight trials in six therapeutic areas has a website, a pipeline page and press coverage.
This is the same rule we apply to certificates of analysis: a document that looks official proves only that someone made it. The checks that hold are the ones that do not route through the person showing you the document.
What we do not know.
We do not know who filed these records or why. They could be a training exercise that was submitted by mistake, a test of the registry, or something meant to be cited. The records do not say, and we have not guessed. We have not contacted the listed hospital and do not suggest it is involved. Its name appearing in a record does not show that it knows the record exists.
We will update this page if the records are corrected, withdrawn or explained. We now check the registry for every compound we cover each month. Any new record that matches this pattern will be added here.
Sources
- ClinicalTrials.gov records, retrieved 13 October 2026: NCT07487363, NCT07481734, NCT07437560, NCT07481747, NCT07467447, NCT07437547, NCT07437586, NCT07505745 - primary source for every statement about the eight records
- Eli Lilly, SURMOUNT-1, NCT04184622 and Eli Lilly, retatrutide Phase 2, NCT04881760 - the originals whose protocol codes the copies reuse
- University of Arkansas, BPC-157 after rotator-cuff repair, NCT07803250 and PharmaCotherapia, PCO-02 Phase 1, NCT02637284 - the BPC-157 records outside the set
- Internal: Paradigm Peptides forged its COAs, Pinned Aminos conviction
Frequently asked
Is BPC-157 in clinical trials?
Barely. As of 13 October 2026 ClinicalTrials.gov lists two BPC-157 records you can take at face value: a 2015 Phase 1 safety study in healthy volunteers by a Croatian sponsor, whose status the registry lists as unknown with no results posted, and a 30-person Phase 1 on recovery after rotator-cuff surgery at the University of Arkansas, which has not started recruiting. A third record, a 120-person Phase 2 for hamstring strain (NCT07437547), belongs to the set of eight described here and should not be cited.
How can I tell if a ClinicalTrials.gov record is real?
Check four things. A named principal investigator and a real research site. A sponsor with a footprint outside the registry. Dates that agree with the protocol. A trial cannot finish 54 weeks after it starts if it treats patients for 72. And a summary that describes a study, not an "example record". Then look for the same protocol code or acronym under a different sponsor. A copy of a big-pharma trial gives itself away there.
Does ClinicalTrials.gov check the trials it lists?
No. Each record carries the registry's own disclaimer that listing a study does not mean the US federal government has evaluated it. Sponsors submit the information and are responsible for it. The registry does run quality checks on format and completeness, but it does not confirm that a trial is happening.
Are the TB-500 or thymosin beta-4 trials real?
The only record for TB-500 itself, the 17-23 fragment sold by peptide vendors, is NCT07487363, which calls itself fictional. Real trials exist for full-length thymosin beta-4, a different and much larger molecule. These include RGN-259 eye drops from ReGenTree (Phase 3) and a recombinant thymosin beta-4 injection for heart attack in China (Phase 2). Results for the full protein do not transfer to the fragment.