The Clinical Case for Peptide Therapies (And Where Gaps Still Exist)

Jenn Cohen

by Jenn Cohen

Communications, Radence

You are almost certainly hearing about peptides. From a concierge physician, a friend running a recovery protocol, a podcast you respect. The market is active, the claims are confident, and in most cases, the evidence is thin at best.

We’re sharing our perspective because you deserve an honest accounting of where the science actually stands, not a categorical dismissal of a fast-moving field. Consider this your evidence review, written plainly, so you can make an informed decision about what is worth considering and what is not.

Why The Market Is So Loud

The word “peptide” is not, on its own, a useful word. A peptide is a short protein – a string of amino acids that signals cells to do something. Insulin is a peptide. So is BPC-157. What separates them is not their molecular category, but decades of rigorous human trials. The category is not nearly as telling as the evidence itself.

Physicians can legally prescribe nearly any substance not banned by the FDA, and compounding pharmacies can fill those prescriptions. This creates a commercially active gray zone where peptides with minimal human evidence circulate freely and are promoted widely.

In 2023, the FDA placed BPC-157 and several other peptides on its Category 2 do-not-compound list, citing inadequate clinical data and safety risks. The list is subject to ongoing review as nominators withdraw and regulatory assessments continue; the landscape is actively evolving. Products manufactured overseas introduce additional concerns around purity and dosing consistency.

Social media actively promotes many of these peptides, often by figures with large platforms. What you need to know is that this promotional activity reflects neither safety nor efficacy.

Where The Evidence Stands

STRONG

Insulin has more than a century of clinical use. GLP-1 receptor agonists (Ozempic, Wegovy, Victoza) represent the most clinically significant peptide development in the longevity context. Trials involving 3,000 to 60,000 participants have demonstrated roughly 20% lower cardiovascular event risk and 12% reduction in all-cause mortality in people with cardiometabolic disease.

GLP-1S AND ALZHEIMER’S: AN UPDATE – Early, small trials showed mechanistic promise for Alzheimer’s prevention. A 2026 clinical trial of more than 3,000 individuals did not yield statistically significant improvement. We are continuing to monitor this research and will continue to update our members to the findings as they become available.

INCOMPLETE

Collagen peptides and GHK-Cu have modest human evidence in cosmetic applications and meta-analyses and small trials show improvement in skin hydration, elasticity, and firmness. Study quality is limited; most are short, small, and industry-funded. Radence neither endorses nor discourages oral collagen as the results are not definitive.

TB-500 has been the subject of Phase 1 and 2 trials for heart damage, skin ulcers, and corneal injuries. Trial activity in this area is difficult to verify — many listed as active have stopped enrolling. We are monitoring for completed, peer-reviewed findings.

WEAK OR ABSENT

BPC-157 has over 100 animal studies and limited human data. In 2023, the FDA placed it on its Category 2 do-not-compound list citing safety concerns and insufficient clinical evidence; that designation remains under active regulatory review.
Ipamorelin and CJC-1295 reached early-phase human testing but never completed efficacy trials. CJC-1295 development was halted following a trial participant death; the death was not conclusively attributed to the peptide, as the participant had pre-existing coronary artery disease.
Epithalon Epithalon shows lifespan extension in mice and circadian rhythm improvement in monkeys, but no human trials have been published.
Cerebrolysin is approved in parts of Europe and Asia, but a 1,000-participant randomized controlled trial failed to show a difference on its primary endpoint.
Semax and Selank have Russian regulatory approval, although no peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials from US or EU journals exist.

A Specific Risk Worth Naming

Several of the compounds most actively promoted work through mechanisms that up-regulate growth hormone. Those same mechanisms may also promote tumor growth and hormonal imbalance. This is why active cancer is widely considered a hard contraindication for these therapies, as growth-promoting signals do not discriminate between healthy and malignant cells. This is not theoretical and is part of the basis for the FDA’s action.

For Members Pursuing Peptides Independently

Radence will not prescribe experimental peptides — but we will not leave you unmonitored either. Radence monitors active clinical trials across all the categories above. When rigorous human evidence changes, our protocols will reflect it.

Jenn Cohen

Communications, Radence

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Redesigning Medicine from the Inside Out

In today’s rapidly evolving medical landscape, physicians are increasingly called upon to balance innovation with evidence, patient expectations with system constraints, and emerging tools with deeply rooted traditions. For Dr. Julie Chen — a leader in genomic precision medicine, board-certified in internal medicine, and fellowship-trained in integrative medicine — that means reclaiming what medicine was always meant to be: comprehensive, compassionate, and grounded in science.

“We all went into medicine to help people heal,” said Dr. Chen. “But many of us find ourselves navigating systems that are optimized for disease management, not for prevention. That isn’t a personal failing. It’s a systems problem.”

Dr. Chen currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Radence, a company pioneering a multimodal precision-based model of care. At its core, Radence seeks to identify and intervene on disease risk earlier than traditional models allow — not in response to pathology, but in anticipation of it.

“Most of what we see in chronic disease is not sudden,” Dr. Chen said. “It’s a long, progressive breakdown of physiologic resilience. Our job is to understand that trajectory and to act on it early, when the patient still feels ‘fine,’ but the biology is already shifting.”

Addressing the Limits of Traditional Care

Dr. Chen has tremendous respect for the goals of current conventional medicine. However, she sees it as incomplete.

“Our traditional system is remarkable at acute intervention,” she said. “But it’s less equipped to manage early disease interception of the slow-developing dysfunctions that characterize so many of our biggest health challenges — cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, metabolic dysfunction.”

She points to constraints many physicians know well: 15-minute visits, fragmented specialty care, limited tools for subclinical disease, and a reactive rather than predictive infrastructure.

“It’s not that doctors don’t care about prevention or early detection,” Dr. Chen said. “It’s that the system doesn’t always give them the time or tools to do it well.”

A Multimodal, Systems-Oriented Approach

What Radence offers is a framework to augment what clinicians are already doing. Its platform brings together genomics, imaging, metabolomics, advanced blood work, and wearable data to generate a comprehensive picture of an individual’s health trajectory.

“We use high-resolution tools to pick up signals that traditional workups might miss. But more importantly, we translate those findings into real-world decisions. We help people understand their risk and take steps to modify it,” Dr. Chen said.

That process is deeply collaborative. Radence doesn’t seek to replace a patient’s care team. It works in partnership with referring clinicians, offering extended assessments and evidence-based recommendations that complement existing care plans.

“This is not about displacing primary care or specialists. It’s about supporting them with another layer of data and insight,” Dr. Chen said. “We know that no one understands the patient better than their own doctor. Our role is to enhance that relationship, not compete with it.”

Precision without Elitism

One concern often raised about precision or concierge medicine is equity—that these models only serve the affluent. Dr. Chen sees this differently.

“Early adopters always pave the way for broader access,” Dr. Chen said. “Every major medical advance — from medications to whole-genome sequencing — started in specialized settings before becoming standard. What we’re building now will eventually become more scalable. But someone has to lead, and that’s where Radence comes in.”

To that end, the company is investing in outcomes research, clinical validation, and real-world evidence to support its protocols. “We’re not just innovating,” she said. “We’re validating. We’re contributing to the science so this model can expand.”

Data Alone is Not Enough

Despite Radence’s technological sophistication, Dr. Chen emphasizes that data is only as powerful as the context it’s given.

“We’re not just handing people dashboards,” she said. “We’re walking them through it. We pair high-resolution diagnostics with meaningful conversation. That’s where trust is built. That’s how change happens.”

The result is more than early detection testing. It’s engagement.

“When patients understand their physiology, when they see the why behind a recommendation, they are more likely to act,” Dr. Chen said. “We’re not just changing lab values. We’re changing behavior.”

Four Disease Domains, One Coordinated Strategy

Radence begins by focusing on the survival layer — the four disease categories responsible for the majority of premature mortality and morbidity: cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, and neurodegeneration. These are not isolated silos, Dr. Chen noted. They are deeply interconnected through shared pathways of inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic regulation, and genetic risk.

“If you have insulin resistance, you’re not just at risk for diabetes. You’re at increased risk for dementia and cardiovascular disease,” she said. “We take a systems-level view of risk. That means we can intervene in ways that impact multiple domains simultaneously.”

From there, the platform expands to assess autoimmune risks, hormone regulation, immune function, and more.

“We meet the patient where they are, and then we grow with them,” Dr. Chen said. “It’s dynamic. It’s continuous. And it’s deeply personal.”

An Invitation to the Medical Community

For Dr. Chen, one of the most innovative aspects of Radence is the partnership.

“We want to work with clinicians who are curious, collaborative, and committed to pushing the standard of care forward,” Dr. Chen said. “Whether you’re a cardiologist, internist, neurologist, or family physician, there’s a place for you in this model. We need your insight. Your experience. Your trust.”

She knows that change is never easy, especially in a field as high-stakes and evidence-driven as medicine. But she also knows that physicians are problem-solvers.

“We’re not asking people to abandon conventional care,” Dr. Chen said. “We’re inviting them to build on it. To extend it. To make it better.”

In an era where both patients and clinicians are demanding more — more answers, more support, more continuity, Dr. Chen sees Radence as a blueprint for what’s possible.

“This is the future of care: science-led, system-aware, patient-centered, and clinician-empowering,” Dr. Chen said. “We’re not starting over. We’re starting ahead.”

Screen showing various biological systems

Embracing Early Detection

For many, healthcare begins when something feels wrong — a nagging pain, unusual fatigue, or symptoms that can no longer be ignored. That moment of concern leads to appointments, tests, referrals, and eventually, a diagnosis. By then, the body may have already crossed a threshold. The opportunity for prevention has passed.

“We’ve trained ourselves to respond to crisis instead of investing in clarity,” said David Medvedeff, CEO of Radence. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Today, the landscape of healthcare is shifting. Groundbreaking advancements in science and technology are making it possible to detect risks and uncover disease long before symptoms arise. This is more than just progress. It’s an invitation to take ownership of personal health in a way that is proactive, precise and deeply empowering.

Protect What Matters Most

Conventional healthcare was built to intervene after illness begins. Even individuals with access to premium services often find themselves navigating a fragmented system of multiple specialists, disjointed testing, and a lack of holistic insight to optimize wellness.

“What people want isn’t more information,” Medvedeff said. “They want precise data-driven actions. They want to trust that they’re seeing the full picture and that nothing important is being missed.”

Discerning individuals expect more. There is a desire to understand and protect what matters most before it’s at risk. That’s where comprehensive early detection and prevention enters the conversation.

Empowered by Early Detection

The real power of early detection lies in what it makes visible, revealing the silent chronic illnesses that often progress unnoticed including cancer, cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological diseases. Radence expertly develops best-in-class proprietary protocols for advanced testing, such as organ-specific MRIs, Whole Genome Sequencing, multi-cancer screening, and advanced cardiac imaging to provide an unprecedented and personalized view into the body’s future risks.

“It’s not a contest to see how many biomarkers we can tally, that’s a fool’s game,” Medvedeff said. “It’s about selecting the right tests, the ones grounded in science, personalized to each member’s ROI, that can reveal meaningful insight we can do something about.”

This level of precision allows for focused, evidence-based decisions. It eliminates guesswork and brings clarity.

Access to Actionable Health Insight

When approached with purpose, early detection data is not about overwhelming people with numbers and potentially creating unnecessary anxiety. It’s about providing actionable insights. A well-designed early detection and prevention strategy offers more than information. It delivers confidence. “Let’s face it, if you have cancer or cardiovascular disease you will know about it one day. The question is do you want to know about it early, when it is highly treatable, or would you rather wait and see if conventional medicine can do something heroic for you. Either way, you will know about it,” Medvedeff said.

Early detection provides the answer. And it does so in a way that allows for data-driven decision making early enough to have an impact on the future. This is an advancement in the past few years that is only just coming to light, one that Radence members can have now and will eventually change the face of medical care for everyone.

A Trusted, Multimodal Approach

Trust is the cornerstone of any healthcare relationship. It is built on integrity. Offering a higher standard of care means consistently aligning science, service, and empathy.

“True luxury in healthcare is knowing that your care is grounded in science, delivered with accuracy, and tailored to you as a whole person,” Medvedeff said.

Radence’s multimodal approach integrates precision medicine with thoughtful, personalized guidance in partnership with our members’ trusted physicians and concierge doctors. It ensures that no result is left unexamined, and that each next step is considered with care and in context of one’s personal and family health history and concerns.

The Radence Standard of Care

When precision medicine and advanced early detection meet highly personalized, compassionate care, the result is a healthcare experience rooted in science, wisdom and excellence. This is the Radence Standard of Care: anticipatory, personalized, and scientifically sound.

“The future of healthcare is here,” Medvedeff said. “And it’s time we hold our health to the same higher standard we hold for every other aspect of our lives. Now is the time to embrace clarity, pursue insight, and choose prevention. Because health, at its best, is not only about avoiding illness. It’s about creating the conditions to add more life to every year. ”