Which has more human data, BPC-157 or TB-500?

Neither has a full peer-reviewed controlled trial. BPC-157 has a few small uncontrolled reports. TB-500 itself has none; the human trials are of full-length thymosin beta-4 as an eye drop or gel.

BPC-157 vs TB-500 · Peptidarium Library

Q: Are BPC-157 and TB-500 banned in sport?

Yes, both. BPC-157 is in class S0 (non-approved substances) of the WADA Prohibited List. TB-500 is named in class S2.3 (growth factors and growth factor modulators) as a derivative of thymosin beta-4. Both are prohibited at all times.

The short version: BPC-157 has a large animal literature of its own. TB-500 has almost none, because nearly every study is of the full-length protein it is cut from, thymosin beta-4. Neither has a full controlled human trial.

Entry 0001

BPC-157

Fifteen residues from a protein found in human gastric juice. First reported in 1993 by a group in Zagreb. About 35 animal studies for every human report.¹

Entry 0002

TB-500

Seven residues, positions 17 to 23 of thymosin beta-4, with an acetyl cap. The seven-residue piece is the part of the protein that binds actin.⁵ Studies of the fragment itself are mostly about detecting it in racehorses.⁷

Side by side

Point	BPC-157	TB-500
Parent	Body Protection Compound, a protein reported in human gastric juice	Thymosin beta-4, a 43-residue protein found in most cells and in platelets
Length	15 residues	7 residues, N-acetylated
Sequence	GEPPPGKPADDAGLV	Ac-LKKTETQ
Avg mass	1419.5 g/mol	889.0 g/mol
Formula	C₆₂H₉₈N₁₆O₂₂	C₃₈H₆₈N₁₀O₁₄
First described	1993, Zagreb¹	Parent protein 1981; fragment characterised 2012^4,6
Animal literature	Large: gut, tendon, muscle, vessels, skin, in rats and mice²	Large for the parent protein: skin wounds, heart, cornea^8,9. Very little for the fragment itself
Human reports	Six small reports, none controlled and published in full^2,3	None for the fragment. Parent protein tested as an eye drop in phase 3 trials for dry eye and corneal defects¹⁰
Half-life	Under 30 min in rats and dogs¹¹	No published pharmacokinetic study for the fragment
WADA	S0 · non-approved substance	S2.3 · growth factor modulator
Licensed	Nowhere	Nowhere. Parent protein not approved either

How the evidence compares

The two names look like a pair, but the research behind them is shaped differently. For BPC-157, the studied molecule is the molecule sold. For TB-500, the studied molecule is usually the full protein, and the sold molecule is a seven-residue fragment of it.

BPC-157, animal

Hundreds of papers

BPC-157, human

6 small reports

Tβ4 protein, animal

Hundreds of papers

Tβ4 protein, human

Phase 2–3 eye trials

TB-500 fragment

Detection and synthesis papers

Bars are a rough guide to volume, not quality. Sources in the reference list.

What was measured for each

Area	BPC-157	Thymosin beta-4 (parent of TB-500)
Skin	Wound closure in rodent burn, diabetic and alkali models²	Faster closure of full-thickness wounds in rats; keratinocyte migration in culture⁸
Tendon	Load to failure and healing after Achilles transection in rats²	Not a main line of research
Heart	Arrhythmia and injury models in rats²	Cardiomyocyte survival and function after coronary ligation in mice⁹
Eye	Little work	Corneal healing in animals; dry eye and neurotrophic keratopathy trials in people¹⁰
Gut	Colitis and ischaemia models in rats²	Little work

What this means for a readerIf you are looking up tendon, gut or vessel research, the BPC-157 literature is where the primary papers are. If you are looking up skin, heart or eye research, the papers are on thymosin beta-4, and you should check whether a given study used the full protein or the fragment before citing it for TB-500.

Status in sport and law

Both are prohibited at all times under the WADA Prohibited List, but in different classes. BPC-157 is listed under S0, the class for substances with no approval for human use anywhere. TB-500 is named in S2.3, growth factors and growth factor modulators, as a derivative of thymosin beta-4.¹² Neither is licensed as a medicine in the UK, the EU or the US.

Common questions

Is TB-500 the same as thymosin beta-4?

No. Thymosin beta-4 is a 43-residue protein. TB-500 is a synthetic copy of seven of those residues, positions 17 to 23, with an acetyl group on the end. Almost all published research is on the full protein.

Are BPC-157 and TB-500 banned in sport?

Yes, both, at all times. BPC-157 is in class S0. TB-500 is in class S2.3 as a derivative of thymosin beta-4.

Which has more human data?

Neither has a full, peer-reviewed, controlled trial. BPC-157 has a few small uncontrolled reports. TB-500 has none; the human trials are of full-length thymosin beta-4 as an eye drop.

Why are they sold together as a blend?

Because both appear in the tissue-repair literature and some vendors pair them. No published study has tested the two together, so a blend has no evidence of its own.

Where do the two come from?

BPC-157 is part of a protein found in human gastric juice. Thymosin beta-4 was first isolated from calf thymus in 1981 and is found in most cell types.

References

Sikirić P, et al. A new gastric juice peptide, BPC. J Physiol Paris. 1993;87(5):313–327.
Józwiak M, et al. Multifunctionality and possible medical application of the BPC 157 peptide: literature and patent review. Pharmaceuticals. 2025;18(2):185. PMID 40005999
Vasireddi N, et al. Emerging use of BPC-157 in orthopaedic sports medicine: a systematic review. HSS J. 2025;21(4):485–495. PMID 40756949
Low TL, Hu SK, Goldstein AL. Complete amino acid sequence of bovine thymosin beta 4. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1981;78(2):1162–1166.
Van Troys M, et al. The actin binding site of thymosin beta 4 mapped by mutational analysis. EMBO J. 1996;15(2):201–210.
Esposito S, et al. Synthesis and characterization of the N-terminal acetylated 17-23 fragment of thymosin beta 4 identified in TB-500, a product suspected to possess doping potential. Drug Test Anal. 2012;4(9):733–738. PMID 22962027
Ho ENM, et al. Doping control analysis of TB-500, a synthetic version of an active region of thymosin β4, in equine urine and plasma. J Chromatogr A. 2012. PMID 23084823
Malinda KM, et al. Thymosin beta4 accelerates wound healing. J Invest Dermatol. 1999;113(3):364–368. PMID 10469335
Bock-Marquette I, et al. Thymosin β4 activates integrin-linked kinase and promotes cardiac cell migration, survival and cardiac repair. Nature. 2004;432:466–472. PMID 15565145
Sosne G, et al. 0.1% RGN-259 (thymosin β4) ophthalmic solution promotes healing and improves comfort in neurotrophic keratopathy patients in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked phase III clinical trial. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(1):554. Authors are consultants to or partners of the sponsor.
He L, et al. Pharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157 in rats and dogs. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:1026182. PMID 36588717
World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List, classes S0 and S2.3. wada-ama.org

Peptidarium Library. BPC-157 vs TB-500 (comparison 01), 2 November 2026. peptidarium.com/compare/bpc-157-vs-tb-500