Health Canada

Health Canada is the federal department responsible for public health, and within it the Health Products and Food Branch reviews and authorises drugs, natural health products and medical devices for sale in Canada under the Food and Drugs Act. A drug it authorises receives a Drug Identification Number. Selling a product for human use that makes drug claims without authorisation is an offence, whatever the product contains.

Research peptides sit in a defined position relative to this regime. They are not authorised drugs, they may not be sold or promoted for human use, and Health Canada has periodically issued advisories about unauthorised injectable products marketed to consumers. They may be sold for laboratory research, which is the basis on which every product here is offered. Each compound profile's "Regulatory status in Canada" section states whether an approved counterpart exists, as it does for semaglutide, tirzepatide and tesamorelin, and makes clear that the research-grade material is not that product.

Two foreign regulators come up on the profiles as well. The U.S. FDA's 2023 review of bulk substances for compounding affected many peptides, and the WADA prohibited list governs their status in sport.