Arabic version: ببتيدات غير معتمدة تُباع عبر وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي والبريد
According to ABC News, unregulated and experimental peptides that have not been approved for use in Australia are being advertised through social media and sent through the mail, despite warnings about potentially serious health effects.
The ABC coordinated the purchase of a vial and syringe from a dealer who used Facebook Marketplace under a pseudonym. Sellers offered substances including melonatan II, a tanning peptide, and retatrutide, an experimental weight-loss drug linked to liver failure. Listings also promoted products as “research chemicals” or not for human use, but the Therapeutic Goods Administration has said such disclaimers do not make their supply lawful.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids involved in functions including immunity, weight, ageing and hormones. While some peptide medicines, including insulin and certain GLP-1 treatments, are approved when prescribed medically, unapproved products not listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods have not been assessed by the TGA for safety, quality or effectiveness. The regulator has warned that unapproved peptides can cause liver damage, severe allergic reactions and inflammation.
Testing of samples including retatrutide, PBC-157, TB-500 and GHKCu found none contained the dosage stated on their labels. University of Queensland researcher Dr Timothy Piatkowski said one TB-500 sample contained nothing, while other results ranged from about 40 per cent to 190 per cent of labelled claims. The 190 per cent result was from a retatrutide vial. Victoria has recorded six cases of acute liver injury in people using the unapproved drug so far this year.
Australia Post said sending illicit items is prohibited and that it works with law enforcement agencies and Australian Border Force on detection operations. Meta said it removed Marketplace advertisements for peptides that breached its policies, though a further search a week later returned similar results. In April 2026, a joint operation involving the TGA, Australian Border Force and Victoria Police led to three arrests and the seizure of $2 million worth of products.
