The 'biohacking' trend that has tech workers experimenting on themselves
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What are gray market peptides and why are they popular in Silicon Valley?
Gray market peptides are the new Silicon Valley party drug. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace Tech. I'm Megan McCarty Carino.
In an industry known for pushing the bounds of human innovation, tech elites are now trying to push the bounds of their own bodies. The hot new biohacking trend is injectable peptides, sort of like the ones found in GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, but these are not approved by the FDA. These gray market peptides, largely from Chinese manufacturers, are being used by tech workers not just to lose weight, but to optimize their health and performance in all manner of ways.
How do gray market peptides differ from FDA-approved medications?
Independent journalist Jasmine Sun recently wrote about this for The New York Times.
Most folks these days actually know peptide as the P in GLP-1s, which are glucagon-like peptide agonists. So the gray market Chinese peptides people are buying and injecting have all sorts of purported benefits from weight loss to fitness to productivity. But I think because of the azempic craze, folks started first thinking, can I get cheaper azempic straight from Chinese manufacturers rather than buying the more expensive kind? And then once they did that, they wondered, well, maybe there's a magic shot I can buy for skincare or for productivity or for all of these other benefits. And so people are now experimenting with a much wider range of less tested, non-FDA approved peptides that promise to do things like increase your muscle growth, help you sleep better, all sorts of things.
What are the potential benefits of using injectable peptides?
So we've been calling these gray market peptides because, as you note, they have not been approved by the FDA. Where do they kind of fall in the regulatory landscape?
It's a very interesting landscape. Yeah. So personal use is legal in the sense that an individual, an adult in the US can inject themselves with whatever they want. In this case, they're not like on the DEA list or anything like that.
What legal issues surround the purchase of gray market peptides?
However, when people are buying these peptides from Chinese drug manufacturers, they're usually purchasing them as quote unquote research chemicals. And so these are meant to actually be sold to scientists who are doing science experiments with the peptides. They are often explicitly labeled on the vials, quote unquote, not for human use. However, this is a gray market in the sense that people can purchase them saying, yeah, I'm doing research on myself and inject them anyway. And the peptide suppliers, they're happy to make a buck. They will just turn the other way.
And how much do these kinds of peptides cost? How sort of big is the market?
Yeah, so I do think the initial appeal of peptides is that they aren't super expensive. And you can get them for something like one-tenth, one-fifth of the cost than when you go on market because you're buying them in vials with just the ingredient. You have to mix them yourself and inject it in yourself. It's not coming in these pens automatically.
How is the market for peptides evolving in the tech industry?
And the market for peptides, including the gray market, is actually growing a lot. So when I looked at the U.S. customs data, we saw the imports of hormone and peptide compounds from China specifically roughly doubled to $328 million in the first three quarters of 2025, up from $164 million in 2024. So it's more than doubled. I would say the majority of this is those GLPs being used in either compounding pharmacies or gray market suppliers. But it also includes some other peptides like melanotan, which promises to make you tanner.
These are a little bit experimental. Have you heard of any bad experiences or negative side effects from people using these?
Yeah, I would definitely say that most doctors I spoke to are not advocates of using peptides because of the health risks that they pose. So some folks who use them did experience some mild negative side effects.
What health risks are associated with using unregulated peptides?
This can be because of misdosing. So one woman I spoke with accidentally doubled her dose one day and her heart rate sped up and her hair started falling out and things like that. I hadn't heard of catastrophic side effects in most cases, but we did see a case where two women at a sort of health and longevity festival in Las Vegas
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What are gray market peptides and why are they popular in Silicon Valley?
0:00–0:53
2
How do gray market peptides differ from FDA-approved medications?
0:53–1:44
3
What are the potential benefits of using injectable peptides?
1:44–2:09
4
What legal issues surround the purchase of gray market peptides?
2:09–3:07
5
How is the market for peptides evolving in the tech industry?
3:07–4:02
6
What health risks are associated with using unregulated peptides?
4:02–5:14
7
How does tech culture influence the use of biohacking practices?
5:14–9:14