GHKCU
GHK-Cu
The copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a sequence identified in human plasma. The imidazole nitrogen of the histidine and the peptide backbone chelate a single copper ion. What is supplied commercially is normally the copper complex rather than the free tripeptide, and the two are distinct substances.
GHK-Cu has 1 registered human study on ClinicalTrials.gov, reaching phase 2, covering 60 planned or enrolled participants across the 1 study that published a figure. No FDA-approved product contains GHK-Cu. 54 papers naming it were published in the last ten years.
Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Counts include only trials whose registered intervention names GHK-Cu; the registry search is fuzzy, so every match is re-checked. None of this says whether GHK-Cu works or is safe.
FDA status
Research only
Human studies
1
Furthest phase
Phase 2
Papers, 10 yr
54
Readership
20,088
monthly average, Feb–Jun 2026
Tracking since 2026-07-29 · About this data
What has actually been tested in humans
Phase 1 or 2 only
1
Registered human studies
Phase 2
Furthest phase reached
60
Planned or enrolled participants, across 1 study that published a figure
None
No FDA-approved product contains it
3 loose registry matches were checked and 1 confirmed — 2 named something else and were discarded. We count a study only when GHK-Cu is named as an intervention in it.
Registered means registered — not that the study finished, and not that it found anything. The grade is mechanical: it is computed from the registry and the FDA record alone, and it grades how much is known, never whether a compound is good or safe. Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Check the query.
What GHK-Cu is, and what it has been studied for
GHK-Cu is tracked here.
Across 1 registered trial, it has been studied in Acute Standardized Cutaneous Wounds (Punch-biopsy Wounds). A condition here is what a sponsor registered the trial under — it records what was investigated, not what was shown.
The trials were run by Hudson Biotech. A named commercial sponsor means a compound is in formal development; its absence does not mean the opposite, only that no company has registered a trial under its own name.
How far it got
GHK-Cu reached Phase 2 across 1 registered trial.
No FDA-approved product contains GHK-Cu. A compound can stop at any rung for commercial reasons as easily as scientific ones, and the registry does not record which.
Is anyone studying GHK-Cu?
Papers published each year that name GHK-Cu in the title or abstract, with the clinical trials that started in the same year marked beneath. Ten calendar years.
| Year | Publications | Trials started | Complete year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| 2019 | 5 | 0 | Yes |
| 2020 | 8 | 0 | Yes |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | Yes |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| 2023 | 12 | 0 | Yes |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | Yes |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | Yes |
| 2026 | 15 | 1 | No |
54 papers and 1 registered trials between 2017 and 2026. A paper counts when “GHK-Cu” appears in its title or abstract — phrase-matched, so a paper mentioning the words separately is not counted. The total is a single query over the whole window, which is why it does not equal the bars added together: PubMed files a paper under both its electronic and its print publication date, so one paper can appear in two years. Publication volume measures scientific attention, not whether a compound works: a well-studied compound can be well-studied and ineffective. Sources: PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov · collected 2026-08-02.
Published research on GHK-Cu
54 indexed papers name GHK-Cu in their title or abstract. These are the 8 PubMed ranks most relevant. Listing a paper is not a judgement about it, and none of these is summarised here — follow the link and read what it says.
- Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data
- The potential of GHK as an anti-aging peptide
- Topically applied GHK as an anti-wrinkle peptide: Advantages, problems and prospective
- Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions
- Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians
- Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance
- Exploring the beneficial effects of GHK-Cu on an experimental model of colitis and the underlying mechanisms
- Phenothiazine-Based Cu(II)-Selective Fluorescent Sensor: GHK-Cu Sensing Applications
Collected 2026-08-02from PubMed, phrase-matched on “GHK-Cu” in title and abstract. Run the same search.
About GHK-Cu
The copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine, a sequence identified in human plasma. The imidazole nitrogen of the histidine and the peptide backbone chelate a single copper ion. What is supplied commercially is normally the copper complex rather than the free tripeptide, and the two are distinct substances.
- Also known as
- Copper tripeptide-1 · GHK · Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper
Structure and mechanism only. Nothing above describes what this compound is for, and no dose appears anywhere on this page.
Reading on this compound
All articles →PepRack articles that reference this compound. This is not a news feed — we syndicate nothing and publish no datelines.
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