Buying and sourcing
Three of the thirteen approved peptides here are no longer marketed
On this page
19 of the 68 compounds tracked here have an FDA-approved product containing them.
Ten of those products are currently marketed. Three are discontinued: pramlintide (SYMLIN), sermorelin (GEREF), and gonadorelin (LUTREPULSE KIT and FACTREL).
Discontinued means the manufacturer stopped selling it. The approval itself stays in the FDA's records.
So FDA-approved and available on prescription today are two different statements, and only one of them is about whether you can get it.
This page explains the difference between an FDA approval and a product being marketed, using the compounds tracked here. It is not advice about obtaining any product, and contains no dose, schedule or route.
What marketing status records
Every product in the FDA's approval database carries a marketing status: prescription, over-the-counter, discontinued, or tentative approval. It describes whether the specific presentation is being sold, not whether the approval is valid.12
This matters because an approval is a historical fact that never goes away. A product approved in 1990 and withdrawn in 2008 still appears in the database, and a search that ignores marketing status will report it as approved with no further qualification.1
The three on this site
- Pramlintide — SYMLIN. Approved, recorded as discontinued.
- Sermorelin — GEREF. Approved 1990, recorded as discontinued.
- Gonadorelin — LUTREPULSE KIT and FACTREL. Approved, both recorded as discontinued.1
Sermorelin is the one most often quoted in marketing, because its approval is genuine and old enough to predate mandatory trial registration. It therefore appears as an approved compound with an empty registry — a combination that looks impressive and means something quite specific.1
Why products get discontinued
Most discontinuations are commercial. A manufacturer stops a line because demand fell, a newer product replaced it, a supply chain became uneconomic, or the company was restructured. The FDA maintains a separate process and public record for withdrawals on safety or effectiveness grounds.3
So the correct reading of discontinued is narrow: nobody is currently selling this presentation. It is not a verdict on the molecule, and it is not a safety warning.3
How to check any product yourself
Drugs@FDA is public and searchable by ingredient or brand. The record shows the application number, the approval date, every product under that application, and the marketing status of each. It takes about a minute.1
If a seller cites an approval, the application number is the thing to ask for. An approval with no application number attached is not checkable, and an approval that turns out to be discontinued is a different claim from the one being made.1
Common questions
Does discontinued mean the drug was found unsafe?
Usually not. Safety withdrawals are recorded separately and are rare. Most discontinuations are commercial decisions.
Can a discontinued product come back?
Yes. An approval that remains valid can be re-marketed, and products do return when a manufacturer sees a reason to make them again.
Is a compounded version of a discontinued drug the same thing?
No. A compounded preparation is not an FDA-approved product and is not reviewed for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality in the way an approved product is.
Sources
- RegulatoryDrugs@FDA — approved drug products databaseU.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/ ↗↩ Back to text
- RegulatoryopenFDA Drugs@FDA API — marketing status fieldU.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026open.fda.gov/apis/drug/drugsfda/ ↗↩ Back to text
- RegulatoryFDA — Drug Shortages and Discontinuations reportingU.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2025www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/drug-shortages ↗↩ Back to text