Peptides Community
Regulation · WADA
R 0162026-08-06

WADA and sport — peptide regulation

Executive summary

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List classifies many peptides as prohibited substances under Category S2 (Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics) and S4 (Hormone and Metabolic Modulators). The rules apply to all athletes under the World Anti-Doping Code, which is implemented by national anti-doping organisations (NADOs) and international federations.

WADA Prohibited List 2026

Category S0 — Non-approved substances

  • BPC-157 is explicitly listed under S0. S0 covers pharmacological substances that are not addressed by another section of the List and have no current approval by a governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use.

  • An unlisted substance is not automatically an S0 substance: both conditions must be established. Checking only FDA and EMA records cannot establish the absence of approval by every governmental regulatory health authority, so a compound-specific conclusion may require current national-register and anti-doping-organization review.

Category S1.2 — Other anabolic agents

  • Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) and clenbuterol are listed under S1.2. They are not peptide categories, but are included here to prevent a common cross-category error in market discussions.

S2 is prohibited at all times, but several subsections have materially different scope:

  • S2.1.5 — innate repair receptor agonists: includes the class, with asialo-EPO and carbamylated EPO as examples.

  • S2.2.1 — testosterone-stimulating peptides in males: CG, LH, GnRH (gonadorelin) and its agonist analogues, plus kisspeptin and its agonist analogues. The male-only qualifier matters; it does not turn GnRH antagonists into agonists.

  • S2.2.2 — corticotrophins and releasing factors: includes corticorelin and tetracosactide (cosyntropin/ACTH 1-24).

  • S2.2.3 — GH, analogues and fragments: includes AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191.

  • S2.2.4 — GH-releasing factors: includes GHRH analogues such as CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin; growth-hormone secretagogues/mimetics including ipamorelin and macimorelin; and GHRPs including GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and hexarelin.

  • S2.3 — growth factors and modulators: includes IGF-1/mecasermin and its analogues, mechano growth factors, FGF, HGF, PDGF, VEGF, and thymosin-beta-4 and derivatives such as TB-500, plus other modulators meeting the functional wording in the List.

Category S4 — Hormone and Metabolic Modulators

  • S4.1 aromatase inhibitors: includes anastrozole.

  • S4.2 anti-estrogenic substances: includes tamoxifen.

  • S4.3 agents preventing activin receptor IIB activation: includes follistatin and other myostatin inhibitors.

  • S4.4.1 AMPK activators: explicitly names mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA-c (MOTS-c) as an example.

  • S4.4.2 metabolic modulators: insulins and insulin mimetics. They are prohibited at all times. A TUE can authorise qualifying therapeutic use for an athlete with diabetes but does not change the substance's prohibited classification.

Monitoring Program 2026

The 2026 Monitoring Program includes:

  • Markers of semaglutide and tirzepatide.

  • GnRH analogues in females under 18 years only.

These items are monitored in- and out-of-competition.

Monitoring substances are not prohibited but are tracked for patterns of use.

Source: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list

Substance-specific checks and non-prohibited examples

  • A TUE does not make a substance non-prohibited. Insulin remains prohibited under S4.4.2 and desmopressin under S5 even when an athlete has an approved TUE for qualifying therapeutic use.

  • Semaglutide and tirzepatide are in the 2026 Monitoring Program; monitoring is not prohibition. Athletes must still check the exact substance and current list rather than infer status from a drug class.

  • Topical cosmetic peptides, food-derived peptides, collagen peptides, and therapeutic peptides such as linaclotide are not generally listed merely because they are peptides. Classification can nevertheless turn on the exact ingredient, route, metabolite, or biological effect.

  • Melatonin is not prohibited by the 2026 List; that fact does not place it in Category S4.

Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs)

An athlete with a documented medical condition requiring a prohibited peptide can apply for a TUE through the relevant anti-doping organization. A TUE is an individual authorization; it does not reclassify the substance.

A TUE application is assessed against all four ISTUE criteria: (1) the prohibited substance or method is needed to treat a diagnosed medical condition supported by relevant clinical evidence; (2) therapeutic use is highly unlikely to produce additional performance enhancement beyond a return to normal health; (3) there is no reasonable permitted therapeutic alternative; and (4) the necessity is not a consequence of prior use, without a TUE, of a substance or method prohibited at the time. The criteria are applied to the individual case by the relevant anti-doping organization; this atlas does not predict an outcome.

Detection

WADA-accredited laboratories use liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) for peptide detection. Challenges include:

  • Short half-lives of many peptides.

  • Unknown metabolites for novel peptide analogues.

  • Structural similarity to endogenous peptides.

Sanction rules are case-specific and can change when a revised Code takes effect. This atlas does not summarize early-admission or other individual sanction reductions; consult the Code and results-management rules operative on the relevant date.

National implementation

NADOs in each country implement the WADA Code:

  • USADA (United States).

  • UKAD (United Kingdom).

  • CCES (Canada).

  • Sport Integrity Australia (Australia).

  • NADOs in all EU/EEA member states and signatory countries.

Consequences depend on the rule, timing, intent or fault findings, prior violations, applicable Code edition and other case-specific factors. A peptide class alone is not enough to predict the sanction.

Practical interpretation limits

This is general regulatory research, not legal advice. Classification can turn on composition, claims, intended use, route, supplier role, and facts not captured by a product name.

Primary sources

  1. WADA Prohibited List 2026. https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/2026list_en_final_clean_september_2025.pdf

  2. WADA International Standard for TUEs. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/therapeutic-use-exemption-tue/international-standard-therapeutic-use-exemptions-iste

  3. WADA Monitoring Program. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/monitoring-program

  4. World Anti-Doping Code 2021. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/world-anti-doping-code

  5. WADA Laboratory Testing. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/laboratory-testing

  6. USADA. https://www.usada.org

  7. UKAD. https://www.ukad.org.uk

  8. CCES. https://www.cces.ca

  9. Sport Integrity Australia. https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/anti-doping